Should my new bathroom be a wet room?

Last updated: March 2026

A wet room is one of those design ideas that gets a lot of attention online and generates questions from homeowners planning a bathroom remodel. The concept sounds appealing: a fully waterproofed bathroom with an open shower, clean lines, no shower doors to clean, and a spa-like feel. But a wet room is also a significant commitment that isn't right for every home or every household. Here is a look at what a wet room actually involves and how to think through whether it makes sense for you.

What a Wet Room Actually Is

A wet room is a bathroom where the shower is not contained in a traditional enclosure. There is no shower pan with a raised lip, no full glass door or curtain, and often no walls enclosing the shower at all. The entire shower zone, and sometimes the entire bathroom floor, is waterproofed and tiled, and water drains through a floor drain rather than a contained shower base.

Some wet rooms treat the entire bathroom floor as a wet zone. Others create a more defined wet area with a subtle floor slope and a linear drain, with the toilet and vanity remaining in a drier part of the room. A glass partition is sometimes used to define the shower zone without fully enclosing it. How far you take the concept depends on your space, your budget, and how you want the room to feel.

The Appeal

The reasons homeowners are drawn to wet rooms come down to a few things that are genuinely compelling.

The open shower format makes a small bathroom feel larger. Without a shower enclosure eating up visual space, even a modest bathroom reads as more open and generous. This is particularly relevant in older Ann Arbor homes where bathrooms tend to be smaller than what homeowners would choose today.

Cleaning is simpler in a well-designed wet room. No shower door tracks, no curtain to launder, no caulk seams to maintain. You rinse down the tile and you are done. For homeowners who want a low-maintenance bathroom, this matters.

Accessibility is another strong argument. A curbless floor with no threshold to step over is significantly safer for older homeowners or anyone with mobility considerations. Grab bars integrate naturally into the design. If you are planning to stay in your home long-term, designing for accessibility from the start is worth thinking about.

The Drawbacks

A wet room done properly costs more than a standard shower remodel. The entire wet zone needs to be waterproofed correctly, which is not a shortcut-friendly process. The waterproofing membrane, the floor slope, the drain placement, and the tile installation all need to be executed with precision. A wet room done by someone who underestimates the waterproofing requirements can develop leaks into the subfloor or the ceiling of the room below, which is an expensive problem.

The open format also means that steam and water spread more widely than in an enclosed shower. Ventilation needs to be adequate. A good exhaust fan is not optional in a wet room. Without it, moisture accumulates on every surface in the room and creates mold problems over time.

Warmth is worth thinking through as well. An open shower without walls loses heat quickly. A heat lamp or a combination fan and heater helps, and a heated tile floor, which we recommend in almost every primary bathroom remodel anyway, makes the room considerably more comfortable year-round in a Michigan climate.

Finally, not every bathroom is a good candidate. Wet rooms work best in spaces that were designed or significantly reconfigured for the format. Retrofitting a standard bathroom into a true wet room, particularly on an upper floor or with an older subfloor, involves more structural work than most homeowners anticipate at the outset.

What We See Working Well in Ann Arbor Homes

The projects that tend to turn out best are not always full wet rooms in the strictest sense. A curbless shower with large-format tile, a linear drain, and a single glass panel or no enclosure at all achieves most of what homeowners love about a wet room without requiring the entire bathroom floor to be a wet zone. It is a cleaner, more accessible, more visually open shower without the full cost and complexity of waterproofing every square foot.

If you are doing a full primary bathroom remodel and the space is large enough, a true wet room with a defined wet zone can be a beautiful result. If you are working with a tighter space or a tighter budget, a curbless open shower accomplishes most of the same goals.

The tub versus shower question is closely related. Most homeowners we work with who are considering a wet room have already decided they do not want a tub in the primary bathroom. We wrote about that decision in more detail in our primary bathroom tub guide.

How Much Does a Wet Room Cost?

A wet room adds cost compared to a standard shower remodel primarily because of the waterproofing work and the additional tile involved. It is difficult to give a number without knowing the specific space, but expect it to sit toward the upper end of a full bathroom remodel budget. Our bathroom remodel cost guide covers the full range of what bathroom projects cost in this area in 2026.(Note for Dave: update this link once the bathroom cost post is live.)

Ready to Talk Through Your Bathroom?

If a wet room or an open curbless shower is something you are considering for a remodel in Ann Arbor, Dexter, South Lyon, Brighton, or the surrounding area, we are glad to walk through what would actually work in your space. Reach out here to start the conversation.