What We Did
At Moreheat Ltd we’ve built up over 40 years of experience in plumbing and heating services in and around Torquay, Torbay and Exeter. This includes bathroom fitting services and, in recent years, there has been an increasing trend to convert bathrooms into wet rooms. Firstly, because a wet room is ideal for maximising space in what was originally a small bathroom and, very importantly, for those with mobility problems, they provide an easy-to-use solution.
This article will reveal a step-by-step conversation that our bathroom installers recently undertook and here’s how we did it.
Moreheat’s bathroom design service
At our Torquay and Exeter offices we offer a comprehensive bathroom design and installation service at competitive rates, and also cover the wider South West area. After an initial inspection of our customer’s existing bathroom, we worked with them to ensure that the design of their new wet room incorporated all their ideas as well as those created by our design team.
It was important to ensure the end product would be both a relaxing, stylish addition to the property but also practical and efficient to meet the needs of the customer.
Preparation for a new wet room
First of all, our installers had to remove the old bathroom suite, flooring and all the tiling so that they could prepare a new floor and walls. This took 2 days out of the planned 18-day schedule.
The next step was to prepare the floor for the new wet room. As experienced plumbers and bathroom fitters, they knew that all the hard work put into preparing the floor and walls for a new wet room would ensure that it will be sound and properly sealed for years to come.
This preparation work includes what is known as the ‘1st fix’; the installation of pipework and drainage systems to go underneath the new floor. The new inset shower area was also ‘tanked’ as an extra precaution to ensure a better waterseal.
This is especially important as there is no shower tray in a wet room – just tiles running into a drain within the floor void. This involves extra work over and above the installation of a standard bathroom, where a shower is fitted in a stand-alone unit or over a bath.
Our Torquay and Exeter bathroom installers modified the floor for the new wet room
The floor structure needed to be modified to suit the new drain design. In a wet room, the drain/trap needs to sit in the floor, with supports to make sure the structure is sound and sealed.
Generally speaking, the work involved will depend on whether or not the wet room is on the ground or first floor, and can mean altering concrete on a solid (ground) floor or adjusting the concrete on a timber floor (first floor or above).
Depending on the type and size of planned wet room, this element can take longer than fitting a standard shower unit but once the work is done, the quality and practicality of a wet room is obvious and it is easy to see why so many of our customers are now choosing this option as their main or second bathroom.
Underfloor heating and lighting installed by Moreheat’s professional heating engineers
We have qualified heating engineers, both at our Torquay and Exeter offices and by Day 9, the local team were ready to undertake the next stage of sorting the heating and lighting for the new wet room. Underfloor heating coils were put in place and covered by a latex screed to protect it.
New wiring was installed for the underfloor heating and adjustments made to the overall wiring for light fittings and fixtures. This part of the work was completed in 2 days.
Wet room plastering and tiling
These are both labour-intensive tasks and require skilled tradesmen to ensure smooth walls and the fixing of floor and wall tiling that won’t allow any water seepage that would ultimately damage the walls and flooring.
Following 2 days of plastering, there were 3 days of tiling, complete with grout and silicone sealing as required.
Completing a new wet room
The final 3 days involved Moreheat’s bathroom fitters, whereby the new sanitary ware and units were installed (known as the ‘2nd fix’), together with the mirror and other bathroom accessories, followed by careful checks and snagging before handing the wet room over to our delighted customer.
The whole task, including clearing out the old bathroom, laying in pipework, adjusting the floor, adding and adapting wiring and installing the new wet room took 18 days in total and will be a fantastic facility for years to come.
At Moreheat we provide a whole range of plumbing and heating services. Our customer service is second to none and we are also SAFE Contractor-approved as well as being registered with Gas Safe and OFTEC.
You can find out more about our expertise on the About Us page on our website.
For advice or just a general discussion on how Moreheat’s fully qualified, reliable bathroom fitters in Torquay and Exeter can help you to install a fantastic new wet room – or assist you with any of your heating or plumbing requirements – please get in touch with us on 01803 605509 in Torbay or at our new Exeter premises on 01392 927761 (Mon-Fri 8am to 5pm).
You can also reach us via our Contact Us page or on 07792 722232 (out of hours and for emergencies).
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