Walk-in Shower Installation in South London

What Affects the Cost?

• •Tray type chosen, either a low-profile stone-resin tray or a formed, tiled level-access floor
• •Glass screen specification, from a standard toughened panel to a frameless 10mm screen with a slim profile
• •Whether the existing floor can take the fall to a level-access drain without raising the room
• •Waterproofing required, from board-and-tape tanking on a standard tray to a full tanked floor for level access
• •Valve and outlet specification, from a single thermostatic bar valve to a recessed valve with a separate rain head and handset
• •Tiling complexity, including recessed niches, mitred corners and large-format walls

Areas We Cover

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a walk-in shower and a full wet room?

A walk-in shower keeps the showering zone contained. It uses a tray, either a low-profile stone-resin one set into the floor or a formed level-access floor, with a glass screen that holds the splash inside a defined area. The rest of the bathroom floor stays dry and is often finished in a different material. A full wet room takes the waterproofing across the whole room, so the entire floor falls to the drain and there is usually no screen or only a single splash panel. Both need tanking, but a wet room tanks the complete floor and the lower walls, while a walk-in mainly tanks the shower zone. In most South London bathrooms I fit a walk-in rather than a full wet room, because it gives the open feel people want without committing the whole room to a single fall, and it suits the timber suspended floors common in Victorian and Edwardian houses.

Can I have a level-access walk-in shower on a suspended timber floor?

Often yes, but it depends on the joists and the floor build-up. A level-access shower needs the drain and the fall set below the finished floor, so on a suspended timber floor we cut into the joist zone to drop a former and a linear drain, then board and tank over it. Where the joists run the wrong way or there is not enough depth, we either set the drain across the joist line or build the floor up slightly at the doorway to gain the fall. On a solid concrete floor it is more straightforward, because the screed can be cut and re-laid to the drain. I check the floor at the site visit before promising level access, because a level-access tray that cannot reach a proper fall will pool water, and a shower that pools is a shower that leaks. A low-profile tray is the reliable alternative where the structure will not allow a fully recessed drain.

How do you stop a walk-in shower leaking behind the tiles?

Tiles and grout are not waterproof. Water passes through grout joints over time, so the waterproofing sits behind the tile, not in it. We tank the wet zone with a tanking system, either a liquid membrane or waterproof boards with taped and sealed joints, taking it up the walls and across the floor or tray upstand. Internal corners, the floor-to-wall junction and the pipe penetrations all get a sealing tape or collar, because those are the points that fail first. The tanking is left to cure before any tile goes on. Done this way, the membrane carries any water that gets through the grout straight back to the drain rather than into the wall or the ceiling below. This matters most on the party walls and timber floors in older South London homes, where a slow leak can run for months before it shows.

What size does a walk-in shower need to be?

A comfortable walk-in starts at around 900mm wide, and 1000 to 1200mm gives room to move without water escaping past the screen. The depth from the wall to the screen wants to be at least 800mm so the spray stays off the opening, and a longer run lets you set a fixed panel without a door at all. In a tighter en-suite we still fit walk-ins down to 800mm by using a single fixed screen and placing the showerhead to throw water away from the entry. The screen position and the drain location matter as much as the raw size, because a well-placed linear drain along the back wall and a screen set past the spray will keep a small shower dry. At the site visit I measure the room and the soil pipe run, then lay out the largest workable showering zone for the space you have.

Do I need building regulations approval for a walk-in shower?

You will not need planning permission for a walk-in shower inside an existing bathroom, but parts of the work sit under the building regulations. Any new or altered electrics in the bathroom, such as a shower pump, an extractor fan or underfloor heating, fall under Part P and have to be installed and signed off by a qualified electrician. New waste pipework and ventilation are covered too, and the room needs adequate extraction to deal with the moisture a walk-in throws out. If we move the soil connection or alter the drainage, that work has to meet the standards as well. I handle the parts that need sign-off as part of the job, so the electrical certificate and the relevant notices are dealt with rather than left for you to chase. On a like-for-like swap inside the same room the regulatory side stays light, and I will tell you at the survey which parts apply to your bathroom.

Related Services