Last edited 14 Jan 2021

Level access shower

The building regulations set out legal requirements for specific aspects of building design and construction. A series of approved documents provide general guidance about how different aspects of building design and construction can comply with the building regulations.

Approved document M provides guidance for satisfying Part M of the building regulations: Access to and use of buildings, which requires the inclusive provision of ease of access to, and circulation within, buildings, together with requirements for facilities for people with disabilities.

Approved document M, Volume 1: Dwellings (2015 edition incorporating 2016 amendments) defines an installed level access shower as a:

Step-free area with no lips or upstands, suitable for showering, with a floor laid to shallow falls towards a floor gulley connected to the drainage system.

Depending on the type of dwelling and number of bedspaces, the approved document may require an installed level access shower to be provided, and rooms that contain installed level access showers may be required to be constructed as a wet room, and may need to have the potential for a bath to be installed above it.

Where a wet room is a:

WC or bathroom compartment with tanking and drainage laid to a fall to a connected gulley capable of draining the floor area when used as a shower.

A potential level access shower is a:

Space capable of providing a level access shower without the need to move walls, remove screed or other solid flooring. It should include a capped-off floor gulley, set at an appropriate level and connected to the drainage system. (Usually provided within a wet room).