Swapping a tired bathroom for a walk-in shower is one of the most common jobs we get asked about around Dundee. Before you decide between a shower room and a full wet room, though, look at your floor, your drainage and how you'll use the room over the next ten years, because those things matter more than how the photos look.
A shower room keeps the shower in its own area, usually on a low-profile tray with a glass screen or enclosure. The rest of the floor stays dry and is finished like any other bathroom floor.
In a wet room the floor itself is the shower tray. The whole floor is laid to a gentle fall towards a drain and fully waterproofed (tanked) underneath the tiles, so water can go anywhere in the room without causing damage. That makes it level-access, but it also leaves much less room for mistakes in the build.
The biggest factor is what's under your feet. Tenement flats in the West End and Lochee, and many older villas in Broughty Ferry, have timber joists. A wet room is possible on timber, but the joists have to be checked, often stiffened, and a pre-formed floor former fitted so the fall is built in. Any flex in the floor will crack grout and break the waterproofing sooner or later.
Lots of 1960s and 1970s houses across the city have solid concrete ground floors. Getting the fall there can mean breaking out the screed to sink the drain, which is messier but gives a very solid result.
Drainage is the other hurdle. The waste needs a steady fall to the soil stack. If the shower is far from the stack, or the joists run the wrong way, you may need a pump, which adds cost and a bit of noise.
Every room is different, so treat these as rough guides and not quotes. A full shower room refit with a low-profile tray, glass screen, new tiling and fittings usually falls somewhere between £6,000 and £11,000 for a typical small to mid-sized room.
A properly built wet room tends to cost more, often £9,000 to £16,000 or more, because of the floor preparation, tanking system, linear or centre drain and the extra time spent on setting out the tiles. Structural work to joists, relocating the soil pipe or a pump can push either figure up.
If you're in a tenement or a flat with someone below, a leak is a shared problem. Check your title deeds and building insurance before you start, and think honestly about whether a tray-based shower room carries less risk for your situation.
Moving a toilet or shower to a new position, altering joists or adding new drainage may need a building warrant. Swapping fittings like for like usually doesn't. It's worth a quick check with Dundee City Council building standards, or Angus Council if you're in Monifieth, Carnoustie or Arbroath, before work begins. If the change is for mobility reasons, ask about an occupational therapy assessment through the council, as help with adaptations is sometimes available.
A wet room makes most sense if someone in the house has, or will have, mobility needs, or if the room is small and you want it to feel bigger with no screen dividing it. A shower room is usually the better choice for upstairs rooms on timber floors, rented or resale-focused properties, and anyone who'd rather keep towels and toilet roll dry.
There's also a middle option: a level-access tray set flush into the floor with a fixed glass panel. You get most of the step-free look without tanking the whole room.
Free consultation at our Monifieth showroom, or we come to you. Free drawn proposal returned within two weeks.
A consultation at our Monifieth showroom, or a visit to yours. We will take the brief, walk the space, and come back with honest options and a written scope.