Wet Rooms: The NZ Bathroom Trend That Actually Makes Sense

What Is a Wet Room?

A wet room dispenses with the shower tray and enclosure, instead waterproofing the entire bathroom floor to drain level. There is no step into the shower, no shower tray to clean around, and no screen to squeegee. The entire floor is the shower floor.

The Waterproofing Requirement

A wet room lives or dies on its waterproofing membrane. The entire floor and walls to 1500mm height must be fully tanked with a continuous, liquid-applied membrane. This is not a job for shortcuts: a failed wet room membrane can cause catastrophic water damage to the structure below. Specify a reputable membrane system, and ensure your tiler has wet room experience.

Floor Gradient

The entire floor must fall toward the drain at a minimum gradient of 1:80 (most installers target 1:60). In a small bathroom, this requires careful planning of the drain position. A linear drain against one wall is generally easier to achieve correct gradient than a central point drain.

Who It Suits

Wet rooms are excellent for accessible design (no step, easy wheelchair or walker access), for very small bathrooms where a shower tray would feel cramped, and for anyone who dislikes cleaning shower screens. The cleaning regime is genuinely simpler: the whole floor is wipeable from one position.