The Mag — On site

Kitchen & bathroom: get the wet rooms right, so you never redo them.

They are the most technical rooms in the house: water forgives no approximation, and everything is decided before the tiling. Here is the sequence of operations that makes the difference, the mistakes that doom a wet room, and the PontBat reflex: proof of the invisible stages, before they are covered up.

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General information article: designing and building wet rooms is a job for qualified professionals.

The article at a glanceOn site

The principleWater does not forgive

The sequenceNetworks → waterproofing → tiling → fittings

The decisive testWater test BEFORE the tiling

ControlPhotos at the milestone, before covering

The sequence of operations

Five stages, in this order — and no other

In a wet room, most of the work disappears behind the tiles. What protects your kitchen and bathroom is not the beauty of the final result: it is the rigour of the sequence, and the proof that every invisible stage was actually done — and tested — before being covered up.

Stage 1

Design the water layout from the house plans

The position of every water point, the direction of the slopes, the routing of the drains, the heights of supplies and fixtures: all of this is decided on the drawings, not on site. Moving a drain afterwards means breaking what has just been built. The PontBat reflex: a layout plan approved and archived in the project file before the first pipe.

Stage 2

Install the plumbing and electrical networks — then test them

Supplies, drains and the electrical circuits of the wet rooms are installed exposed, while everything is still accessible. That is the moment to check the routing, the protections and the separation between water and electricity — not after the walls are closed. The PontBat reflex: photos of the still-visible networks, filed at the milestone before anything is covered.

Stage 3

Waterproofing: the invisible stage that decides everything

Shower trays, floors, upstands at the base of the walls: waterproofing is the layer nobody will ever see — and it decides whether your bathroom ages well or leaks into the neighbour's. Once tiled, it can no longer be inspected. The PontBat reflex: the installed waterproofing is photographed over its entire surface, upstands included, before the tiler enters the room.

Stage 4

Water test and trials BEFORE tiling — never the other way round

This is the decisive test: the networks are put under pressure, everything is filled, left to stand, and the slightest trace of moisture is hunted down — while everything is still visible and cheap to fix. Tiling first and testing after means accepting demolition if there is a leak. The PontBat reflex: the trials are documented at the milestone, and tiling is not authorised until they are conclusive.

Stage 5

Tiling, seals, fittings — acceptance room by room

Finally comes what shows: tiles, seals, furniture, taps, appliances. Each wet room is accepted one by one, with tests to back it up: run the water, check the flow to the drains, examine the seals, check the fixings. The PontBat reflex: one acceptance per room, backed by the milestone's evidence — not a global “it's done” from the doorway.

The fatal mistakes

What dooms a wet room

Almost every wet room that gets redone was lost at the same moment: before the tiling. Four mistakes come up again and again.

1Tiling before testing: once the tiles are laid, a leak is found with a hammer and chisel. The test comes first — always.
2Skimping on the waterproofing: it is the layer nobody sees, so the first one sacrificed when the budget is squeezed. It is also the only one protecting everything else.
3Letting water and electricity coexist without a qualified professional: in a wet room, improvisation does not produce defects, it produces dangers.
4Installing fittings without warranty or manual: an appliance with no papers is one recourse fewer the day it fails — and nobody left to answer for it.

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Photos at the right moment

On PontBat, the invisible stages — networks, waterproofing — are photographed through the app BEFORE they are covered: timestamped images, filed in the milestone's record. The proof exists forever, even once the tiles have hidden everything.

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Vetted tradespeople

Plumbers and electricians are admitted to the platform after a 5-step vetting — identity, qualifications, insurance, references, interview — and display their Bronze, Silver or Gold badge. In a wet room, you do not entrust the invisible to just anyone.

Your requirements

What to demand, from the first drawing to acceptance

Four simple requirements, set from the start: they cost nothing to ask for, and everything to forget.

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A layout plan approved before the first pipe

Water points, drains, heights, direction of the slopes: everything is fixed on the drawings and approved in writing before the plumbing starts. Whatever is not drawn will be decided in a rush — and paid for.

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Documented waterproofing and water tests

Not a reassuring word: real trials, done before the tiling, with timestamped photos filed at the milestone. If the tests left no trace, consider that they never happened.

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Slopes and seals checked at acceptance

At the acceptance of each room, run the water: it must flow to the drains, never stand still or creep towards the walls. The seals are checked at the same time, line by line.

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Warranties and manuals of the fittings handed over

Water heater, taps, appliances: every fitting comes with its warranty and manual, archived in the project documents. That file is what will speak for you the day something fails.