I am converting my bathroom (upstairs) to a wet room and wondered about hav ing a internal window to let light in. This would have to be in the wet roo m area so shower proof and wondered if I could use a non opening window, or glass bricks in the stud wall. Obviously the window is the easiest, outsi de bit inside, but glass bricks might be better but I am a little worried a bout the weight on a wooden floor, and whether the weight would crack the j oints in the glass bricks if floor sags. Any ideas would be appreciated.
If using glass bricks, use the plastic spacers now available. Use silicone for the bonding and fill the joint faces with acrylic. If you use all silicone, it's a pig to get off the bricks.
having a internal window to let light in. This would have to be in the wet room area so shower proof and wondered if I could use a non opening window , or glass bricks in the stud wall. Obviously the window is the easiest, o utside bit inside, but glass bricks might be better but I am a little worri ed about the weight on a wooden floor, and whether the weight would crack t he joints in the glass bricks if floor sags. Any ideas would be appreciated .
Thanks, the original bathroom had an outside window (had a bath under it). That area is now being used for a disabled through floor lift, and the main bathroom becoming a wet room. A new stud wall is being put in opposite the outside window so it could have glass bricks or something to let light in, but it needs to be water tight, any ideas appreciated hope that all makes sense. steve
I've done the glass blocks thing, albeit in a masonry wall.
Yes - you can put these in the stud wall - they're not that heavy being hollow. Best to make a water resistant (maranti wood perhaps) frame to hold them and build that into the wall. if anything moves, the frame should allow the blocks to move as a unit and not crack.
What's the practicable alternative for someone who cannot reliably manage the step into a bath or shower tray please? (This is not an academic question. I'd *really* like to know as it might mean I could stop looking for somewhere to move to with capacity for a wet room which is not practicable here.)
Look I have two wetrooms here, Ok its easy because they are on screed but even so its no great shakes
What you have to do is ensure decent tiling and a decent floor drain and carry the tiles far enough up the walls to be safe from drenching.
What are the gotchas?
- flexible floors that bugger tiles.
- not sealing the floor tiles to the wall with silicone before doing te wall tiles.
- not arranging the floor to slope towards the drain from EVERYWHERE so puddles form...
The biggest problem is getting the floor slope right, because chances are your wetroom to be will have a level floor on the same level as everywhere else and without digging into the floor you will either step up into it, or not get that slope
This means the initial prep is hard. either chipping away at slabs or rebuilding floor with extra beams upstairs and then cutting out some beams bits to get a lower slope, and then you have the need for a u-bend under the bloody thing.
Given 6" under the floor max,that's a tight ask.
So it real is a strop out of everything in yer bathroom including the floor it possible, and start again job.
Anything less will be a crap result as the man said.
You will need to totally relay the floor - screed or beams and ply - to get the shape right. Then plumb it and then tile the floor. smaller tiles like mosaic style are easier to follow the countours and less slippy on the feet.
Once tiled silicone the tiles to wall joint carefully - that's a place where water collects.
Then tile the walls.
Then use waterproof grout or a good quality cement based one like BAL.
Last time I looked those involve a step. So I don't see how they match a wetroom when planning ahead for someone likely to need to use a walker or chair.
Thank you (I think!) for confirming our conclusion that we don't want to try to add a wetroom to a Victorian terrace which is liable to movement[1], and where it would require an extension off the kitchen over the common sewer.
[1] there was a (now known to be ill-advised) subsidence claim some years ago
Interesting discussion - I went the wet-room way 40 years ago before that t erm became the in-word.
25 years ago that part of the house was rebuilt and we had no difficulty in going the same way; fortunately this was ground floor so the shower base i s recessed into the floor with no lip and the rest of the tiled floor has a gentle slope towards the base.
I don't know why Huge has so much difficulties with them - obviously a bad experience somewhere, something like 'fun' in the changing room showers per haps, but dampness is certainly not a valid excuse as background heat and a good fan will keep that totally at bay. How many queries do we get here on dealing with mould in showers ? Ours is now 25 years old and no mould, bec ause it is fully open to the ventilation and dries out properly.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.