A guide to choosing the right wet room shower drain for your project.
Making the correct drainage choice is key to delivering a successful wet room project. However, it can be difficult to know exactly which wet room drain to go for. Making the decision involves balancing functionality, practicality and aesthetics to deliver the best solution for the user. Using this collection of wet room drainage solutions, you’ll learn about the different wet room gully types, the advantages of each and how each one will lend itself to your project; helping to make your decision a little easier. Take a look through our range of wet room shower drains below.
As we know, there’s a lot that goes on underneath the flooring of a wet room, and the star of the show is the drain. Choosing the right drain for your project is an important part of the construction process. It must be able to fit properly on the floor space, capture and drain the water, and match the aesthetic of the wet room.
The subsurface drainage system that is used will play an important role in removing excess surface water and keeping your wet room or bathroom floor clean,dry, and safe.
At Wetroom Materials, we offer a variety of different drain types and drainage systems for all kinds of projects.
Square wet room drains are one of the most commonly used types of drains – and there’s a reason for this! They can easily be added to most wet room projects and provide flexibility in most tile layouts. The drains are typically placed in the middle of the shower area with a four way slope to the drain.
Linear drains, also called trench or gully drains, are long and narrow drains that come in a variety of lengths. They’re perfect for a contemporary or minimalistic look in wet rooms. They’re especially useful for handling large volumes of water that are easily swept into the drain. These drains are quite versatile making it easy to place them against the wall, against a shower wall, or closer to the centre of the room.
Because of their sleek appearance, they offer flexibility in unique room layouts when needed.
They additionally require a minimal floor slope because of their reach – which simplifies the design process. They’re often used in high-end residential projects and modern apartment and housing builds. These drains are perfect for large format tiles but are suitable for any tile size.
Corner drains are, as the name suggests, designed to be installed in the corner of rooms. Because of their size, they’re great for use in rooms with small square footage. Installing a drain in the corner allows for more freedom in designing the figures and fittings of the wet room.
Wall-mounted drains are installed against the wall. This allows the drain to be positioned away from the standing area within the shower. This drain caters for a one way slope within the floor which in turn lends itself to large format tiles.This design element is beneficial as it can drain larger volumes of water.
These are commonly used in contemporary designs at high-end hotels and residential projects. They additionally benefit from accessibility – eliminating the need to step over or on a traditional floor drain.
The difficulty with subsurface drains is that not all floors have the space underneath to hold a drainage system. This is where low-profile drains come into play. Also known as shallow drains, low-profile drains are designed to have minimal height differences between the shower floor and the drain system by using shallow gullys. This is particularly useful in projects where the floor doesn’t go deep enough to hold a standard drain.
With these drains, it’s important to keep in mind that they may not hold as much volume of water as some other types of drains. So this should be taken into account when designing the project.
Our bespoke drains can be tailored to suit the dimensions you need. Our Unidrain shower drains are a perfect example of this. They offer possibilities for all kinds of projects and can be used in either residential or commercial wet rooms and showers.
To choose the right type of drain for surface drainage in a wet room, a few key factors should be considered. Different types of subsurface drainage systems can be used for different needs. Below is a list that will help you narrow down your options so that you can find the right drain for your project.
Still unsure what type of drain to choose for your project? Get in touch with our experts who will help you decide.
Your drain must be able to sensibly fit in the floor space of the room. There should additionally be enough space to slope the floor towards the drain. For larger areas, a linear or centre drain is a good option, whereas, for smaller areas, a corner drain might be the best option. In cases where a floor cannot be sloped, a wall-mounted drain can be used.
Choosing a style that matches both the aesthetic of the room and the client’s needs is incredibly important. The style of the drain should harmonise both needs. In general linear drains are used for more contemporary styles, while square and corner drains are more traditional. At WM we have over 20 different finishes to our linear and square drains, from tiled (invisible) drains to Brass, the choice is yours.
Take into consideration how much water will be flowing into the drain. This is crucial to avoid flooding or excess water. Typically a centre or linear drain can handle higher flow rates compared to corner or low profile drains. The flow rate of our drains ranges from 30ltr/m to 96ltr/min.
The process of installation should be taken into consideration as well. Linear, centre, and wall-mounted drains, for example, are more complex to install.
When it comes to designing and installing a linear wet room drain, one of the most important elements to consider is the length of the drain. This plays a vital role in ensuring that your wet room functions optimally by draining the right amount of water in the right place. There are a few steps that you can take to ensure that you choose the correct drain length.
The proof is in the numbers. Measuring the area where you’d like to place the drain will give you an idea of how long of a drain you should choose. While doing this, take into consideration any design features such as benches or alcoves that could affect the placement of the drain. Not all drains can be installed wall to wall – the most popular design choice is to use a drain that is 100-300mm shorter than the wall it is parallel to. This gives enough space to take aesthetics and sealing into consideration and allows for building tolerances
Some drainage systems are built to handle large volumes of water, while others may leave excess water pooling on the floor if your shower has a greater water output that your drain can take. It is of utmost importance to ensure your chosen wet room drain is suitable for your shower.
Where you place the drain will depend on the layout of the wet room – which will in turn have an effect on the size of the drain chosen.
Whatever the length of drain is needed, Wetroom Materials can help. We offer Unidrain’s bespoke wet room drains which can be fitted to any length for any project.
Please see below a list of the current wet room drains we have available:
My client bought a range of Wet Room Unislope Systems from our local retailer, Bathworks. We struggled to find anyone to come to site and take responsibility for the waterproofing until we came across WM | Wetroom Materials. They were willing to stand over their tanking system and more than helpful throughout all stages of the installation from site survey and room preparation to installation. A 10 Year no leak fully insured warranty gave me the confidence that we were dealing with a professional organisation. I would highly recommend these guys and will certainly be using them going forward.
Steven Quinlan | Director | Citius Limited
I have honestly found, WM | Wetroom Materials to be an easy and reliable company to work with. Whether it be a one wet room residential project, apartment block or a gym; they ensure there are no installation problems and we don’t have to worry about leaks. They take care of the specification and advising us on correct build ups and preparation. On a recent project we were able to buy their Unislope System from our bathroom show room retailer and they subsequently came to site to tank out the bathrooms. It was a time sensitive job and The Wet Room lads worked through the evening and into the weekend to ensure we completed the project on time. I have no hesitation in recommending WM, they are a pleasure to deal with.
Noel Geraghty | Director/Founder | NGS Mechanical Services
In Bright Designs, we understand the importance of specifying a reliable waterproofing system for bathrooms. We have worked on a number of projects with WM | Wetroom Materials over the years and I can honestly say that their waterproofing installation service offers complete peace of mind for us and our clients. The WM Team are there throughout all stages of the project from site survey and specification to installation. More importantly they also give us a 10 year no leak guarantee. I also like the fact that they will handle communication with the client and contractors in terms of delivering a high-quality installation which allows me the head space to focus on other aspects of the build."
Alan Burns | Director/Co-founder | Bright Designs. B Arch, B Sc Arch, MRIAI.
