Benefit Of A Former

What are the benefits of using a former as opposed to creating the falls myself?

There are many advantages of using a former rather than creating your own falls (gradient). Concealed formers are available in a mixed range of sizes ranging from 800mm x 800mm up to 1800mm x 1800mm.

One of the main reasons for contractors creating their own falls is cost, so it is important for the client to ask questions about how the wet room is going to be constructed and which wet room products are being installed in the bathroom. Home-produced gradients have been created by contractors for many years however since the first former was brought to the bathroom market in the year 2000 this has made a big impact on the ease of creating a wet room. When creating your own fall normally the slopping area will be constructed in four sections as shown below; these seams and joins in the shower area are risky because once tanked if the membrane (tanking) is not installed correctly water can seep through joints and create problems. With a former, the gradients are incorporated within a whole piece of material- so there are no joints to leak.

A plus side of creating your own falls is that the waste outlet can be positioned to miss any joists or under floor obstructions. Bear in mind however that OTL specialist manufacturer now provide a bespoke service to over come this problem.

The best solution is always to use a former that has been specially designed to make a better job of a wet room installation. Also contacting a wet room specialist just for advice is a very good way of making sure that you are aware of what has to be done in order to achieve the ideal wet room.

Be Careful

Some installers may try and steer you away from having a wet room. The fact is that if you suggest a wet room and the contractor assures you it’s a bad idea then he/she is unlikely to have any experience in installing one. However there are installers that are very clear on how wet rooms work, how to install them and are extremely confident in using the products they will have used on previous bathrooms.

What about a concrete floor?
It is also a good idea to use a former on concrete floors as the falls are already incorporated within the former. The standard fall from the perimeter edge of the former to the outlet is around 17mm, which is a textbook fall - enough for the water to drain quickly. The other alternative when incorporating a wet room into a concrete floor is to screed the fall. However the contractor must be experienced in order to achieve this, as the gradient can be lost in the screed if not troweled correctly and the water will not drain away adequately.

Using a former in a screed also speeds up installation as the drying times for the sand and cement is 1mm per day. This can delay completion. What are the benefits of using a former as opposed to creating the falls myself?There are many advantages of using a former rather than creating your own falls (gradient).

Concealed formers are available in a mixed range of sizes ranging from 800mm x 800mm up to 1800mm x 1800mm.One of the main reasons for contractors creating their own falls is cost, so it is important for the client to ask questions about how the wet room is going to be constructed and which wet room products are being installed in the bathroom. Home-produced gradients have been created by contractors for many years however since the first former was brought to the bathroom market in the year 2000 this has made a big impact on the ease of creating a wet room. When creating your own fall normally the slopping area will be constructed in four sections as shown below; these seams and joins in the shower area are risky because once tanked if the membrane (tanking) is not installed correctly water can seep through joints and create problems.

With a former, the gradients are incorporated within a whole piece of material- so there are no joints to leak. A plus side of creating your own falls is that the waste outlet can be positioned to miss any joists or under floor obstructions. Bear in mind however that OTL specialist manufacturer now provide a bespoke service to over come this problem. The best solution is always to use a former that has been specially designed to make a better job of a wet room installation. Also contacting a wet room specialist just for advice is a very good way of making sure that you are aware of what has to be done in order to achieve the ideal wet room.

Be CarefulSome installers may try and steer you away from having a wet room. The fact is that if you suggest a wet room and the contractor assures you it’s a bad idea then he/she is unlikely to have any experience in installing one. However there are installers that are very clear on how wet rooms work, how to install them and are extremely confident in using the products they will have used on previous bathrooms.What about a concrete floor?It is also a good idea to use a former on concrete floors as the falls are already incorporated within the former.

The standard fall from the perimeter edge of the former to the outlet is around 17mm, which is a textbook fall - enough for the water to drain quickly. The other alternative when incorporating a wet room into a concrete floor is to screed the fall. However the contractor must be experienced in order to achieve this, as the gradient can be lost in the screed if not troweled correctly and the water will not drain away adequately.Using a former in a screed also speeds up installation as the drying times for the sand and cement is 1mm per day. This can delay completion.