What Is the Cost of a Wet Room Vs A Walk in Shower?

Are you considering adding a wet room or shower to your bathroom? Choosing between the two is a challenge, and so is understanding how they’re different.

Both result in a costly remodelling project, and you can expect to pay a decent amount of money for either option. In this post, we’ll unpack the differences in the functionality and pricing of the two.

The Cost of  a Wet Room Vs. a Walk-in Shower – What are the Pros and Cons?

Let’s start with the pros and cons of a wet room vs. a walk-in shower.

What are the Pros of a Walk-in Shower?

• More affordable than a wet room
• Works in a variety of spaces with multiple designs
• You can install radiant heat
• Easier to maintain
• Remodelling your bathroom or adding a walk-in adds value to your home

What are the Cons of a Walk-in Shower?

• Not watertight
• Limited layouts
• A solid barrier to entering the shower
• Not as accessible

Eclipse grey décor installation, walk in shower

What are the Pros of a Wet Room?

• Accessible and watertight
• More layout options
• No barriers to entering the room
• Adds more value to your home than a walk-in

What are the Cons of a Wet Room?

• More expensive to install
• Not suitable for smaller bathrooms
• May attract mould or mildew
• Challenging to keep dry
• Restricts the positioning of radiant heat

Wet Rooms allows the whole room to become waterproof

What Is the Cost of a Wet Room Vs Walk in Shower?

When assessing the cost of a wet room vs walk in shower, we find that wet rooms are the more expensive choice.

Typically, you’ll be paying around 20% to 30% more over a standard bathroom fitment. The preparation and waterproofing involved with a wet room are more extensive than a walk-in shower, and you can expect to spend more on materials and labour.

Both options use similar construction materials fittings, and they share the same membranes and tiles. However, as with any bathroom remodelling job, the issue is the size. You’ll pay more per square foot for a larger remodel.

Average professional fitment costs for your bathroom can vary between $125 to $150 per square foot, depending on the fittings, tiles, and floor space. The larger the wet room or shower, the more you will have to shell out in expenses towards to project.

Using our guide, the typical cost for installing a new bathroom is around $18,000 to $20,000 for the job, including materials and labour. So, you can expect to pay about a ¼ of that price for a walk-in shower. The final costs depend on the shower space’s size, the fittings, and the amount of work involved.

With a wet room, you need to waterproof the entire area, not just the floor. Therefore, you can expect costs to rise to around $150 to $175 per square foot.

Therefore, using our example, your wet room remodels cost might be closer to $21,500 to $24,000, depending on your finishes.

How Does a Wet Room or Walk-in Shower Affect the Resale Value of My Home?

Wet rooms have a slight resale advantage over traditional bathrooms with walk-in showers. Most bathroom models recoup homeowners around 60% to 70% of the remodels value. The final estimate depends on the quality of the finishes and the workmanship.

Since wet rooms have higher waterproofing levels, they typically fetch more in your asking price at the time of sale.

Cost of Wet Room Vs Walk in Shower – Installation

The differences between fitting a wet room and a traditional bathroom walk-in shower involve the waterproofing. In a wet room, you need to cover more area with the walls. Typical shower installations are much smaller.

The entire floor needs to drain with a wet room instead of just the shower floor in a traditional bathroom. That means you’ll need to accommodate your flooring choices to meet the floor’s slope required for optimal draining.

With a wet room, you’re essentially building an extended version of a walk-in shower that takes up the room’s entire floor space. Therefore, you can expect to pay more on fitment costs. All the fittings in a traditional bathroom and a wet room are more or less the same. However, the difference in the cost comes in the size of the area you need to waterproof.

Cost of a Wet Room Vs Walk in Shower – The Verdict

A wet room will cost you more than a walk-in shower, and it’s challenging to maintain. However, the wet room will add more value to your home, and it’s a nice option to have over a traditional bathroom and walk-in shower.

It will help if you have professional assistance with designing and building a wet room. Make sure you work with the best contractors, experienced tilers and bathroom fitters offer quality guarantees on their work. With a reputable tiler and bathroom fitment specialist, you’ll get a cost-effective remodel in half the time of a DIY project.