Wet room help please

[Funswim]

Hi. I am hoping to get a wet room installed as I cannot get in and out of the bath, although the family need one still and I need a walk - in shower. I have RD in multiple joints, degenerative disc disease and osteoarthritis. I have to have surgery soon and am presently in plaster after a bone fusion in my foot. I can only shower while sitting on a plank (given by the O.T dept.) across the bath as the shower is fitted so you have to get in the bath to the shower unit and stand up to use it properly and I can't any more. I cannot sit on a stool in there as the floor of the bath is curved. It is most upsetting to have to struggle like this.I don't want to scrub tiles or get grouting that goes black or dirty shower screens with limescale problems or grimy plastic curtains as cleaning is physically too demanding for me, so good,easy clean surfaces are a must.

I would love to hear advice and experiences, please, on what I should get, cost, ease of cleaning etc and whether I would get VAT exemption and how to go about this. I am sure many of you lovely forum members have experiences that would help me make good choices and cost is needing serious consideration too. I do not get any benefits.

I live in Hampshire, UK.

[Funswim]

hi - good point and I missed that - thank you. It is our own property.

[charisma]

citizensadvice.org.uk/housi...

Might vary across the UK 🙂

[Ali_H]

You can get vat free equipment if the moderations are for disability assistance (I.e. paddle taps). You get the relief by filling in a form at the source of supply and then you don’t pay vat... note you can’t get paid vat back so need to get exemption rather than pay the vat. The shower may count as you can’t use the bath.

Ali

[FRreedman]

The best place to start is by contacting your local council, and speak to the Vulnerable Person Department (used to be social security dept), ask them to arrange for an Occupational Therapist to come to your house to assess you for your needs. ( Explain, briefly, you suffer with RD etc etc). That should get you anything you may be entitled to free of charge. If you do not qualify, then when obtaining quotes for your wet room you should stipulate that you require VAT exempt quotations. ( It may be better to not say anything initially, in case they just bump the price up and they keep the difference).

[AgedCrone]

I had a bath taken out and a double width shower put in......worked very well & not too much plumbing work.You can have a foldaway seat attached to the wall too.

[HappykindaGal]

I had a wet room installed. A year ago. The grouting is fine as it was coated with some sort of liquid to protect it. It’s also grey grouting. You don’t have to have white. The most expensive part was the tiles, particularly the non slip floor tiles. Also the room has to be tanked.

Think I spent around £5-6k. But, that did include sink, WC etc...rainfall shower system, extractor fan etc....

[BoneyC]

Our bathroom was adapted into a wet room about 15 years ago. I was successful in receiving council funding for part of the cost (we had to meet the rest) BUT, in hindsight, the builder that the council engaged to do the work (no doubt cheapest tender) was one of the worst I have ever encountered. I wont go into detail but we would have been better off financially and the work finished to a much higher standard if we had engaged our own plumber. Lesson learnt.

[Esmereld]

Looks like lots of great advice here. To avoid mould keep the room well ventilated. I always have the window open in the bathroom and rarely close the door.

[Funswim in reply to Esmereld]

Many thanks for all your valuable advice. It helps a lot to learn of other's experiences in dealing with this.

[Recorder500L]

We had our bath taken out and a large corner shower put in a couple of years ago. I didn't install a wet room as I was scared that I would slip, I have used them in Hotels; the water seems to go everywhere too. We did not put tiles on the walls but bathroom board that cover the whole of the walls, no need for grouting, just wipe clean. They also come in an array of colours and designs very pleased with it. Hope you find what you are looking for - Take Care.

[Pulfs]

I had my bath taken out and a walk in shower fitted into its space with a seat fixed to wall ,as we have a water softener it stays very clean and only needs a quick wipe down. Best thing I had done.

[lKeith]

Funswim

I had a wet installed nearly 2years ago. It's been an asset, Unfortunately they do not come cheap. I bought all the kit myself and managed to get A) a contribution to BLF and B) a refund on VAT from the supplier. Firstly you need to find a local builder that can do that sort of work as they need to get "Falls" in the floor unless it's timber in which case you would need to uplift the floor boards to get drainage. The whole area is surrounded with a full height shower curtain which does stain.

However if you use the shower daily or every other day you will be best advised to use "Mr muscle shower & scum spray" available from most leading supermarkets after each shower let it flow down the tiles and it keeps the area fairly clean from streaks, discoloured til grout etc.

The department of work & pensions should be able to give you forms for disabled, send those to the supplier with your order & the VAT should be deducted from the order. Unfortunately much of the Kit you require for this shower can be use by all so yo have to be fairly firm with the supplier

The cost should be around £4,000 overall. There are companies that like to sell shower type adaptions but these start at around £6,000 and upwards.

Good luck I can give you more info if required.

IKeith

[Funswim]

Thank you so much for your help