As is clear to anyone paying attention to the segment, wetrooms have become an increasingly popular feature in UK homes, along with hotels, residential facilities and health & fitness clubs, over the past decade.
In its Wetroom Market Report for 2021-2025, AMA Research notes that: “Until the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK wetroom market had been growing at a steady pace before it saw a sharp decline of around 9% in 2020.” Since then, however, the market has recovered, with “pent-up demand driving sales” throughout 2022 and 2023.
The speed of this sector’s growth is likely attributable to the dual appeal of wetrooms, as their functional benefits (particularly for older people and specific use-cases) dovetail with their modern, clean aesthetic. It could also be influenced, AMA’s report posits, by an increase in home refurbishments enabled by the savings homeowners made during the pandemic.
For tilers, wetrooms present something of a unique challenge, requiring a very stringent standard of waterproofing to ensure a secure installation and avoid costly failures. These jobs can also can require specialist training and products, creating a higher barrier of entry to even undertake them. Last year, in our conversation with Adam from Sussex Wetrooms, he suggested an equivalent to the Gas Safe Register, which is the official list of gas engineers who are legally qualified to work on gas appliances, for wetroom installers.
Although this level of standardisation is perhaps a way off, there are plenty of training resources designed to increase your confidence and ability to install a wetroom, including TTA’s Technical Publication on the topic. This comprehensive document covers everything from design considerations to material selection to fixing guidance.
So, while they present a few hurdles that standard kitchen and bathroom jobs don’t, wetrooms represent a huge opportunity for any tiling business – one that’s only likely to grow in future. The rest of this feature is designed to help you discover some products and methods to make your wetroom installations watertight.
