AKW Tuff Form Wet Room Floor Former – Choice of Size & Waste

The AKW Tuff Form Wet Room Floor Former is the UK's most widely installed level-access wet room base, with over a million fitted. At just 22mm deep, it creates a genuinely step-free showering area on either timber or solid floors — no lip, no threshold, no trip hazard.

Moulded from compressed SMC-GRP (sheet moulding compound – glass reinforced plastic), it is rated to 381kg (60 stone), which is enough for a wheelchair user and a carer together. Available in 10 sizes with a full choice of gravity, dry and pumped wastes.

Key features & benefits

• 22mm deep — sized to suit an 18mm UK floorboard plus 4mm ply, so no packing or adjustment is normally needed.
• Offset waste position designed to miss joists and existing pipework, which is what makes it far quicker to fit than a centre-waste former.
• Trimmable to within 150mm of the waste on any side, so a non-standard opening can be worked around without a bespoke order.
• Four pre-formed gradient planes for efficient fall to the waste.
• Ribbed underside stops the former slipping or floating during installation.
• Pre-formed fixing holes around the edge.
• 381kg / 60 stone load rating — suitable for multi-user and assisted showering.
• Finish in vinyl safety flooring or tiles (tiling requires a tanking kit and a stainless steel waste, both ordered separately).
• 100% recyclable, and carbon footprint assessed to PAS 2050 and verified by the Carbon Trust.
• Lifetime guarantee from AKW (exclusions apply).

Choosing your waste

This is the decision most people get wrong, and it comes down to two questions: what is your floor finish, and how much depth do you have below the former?

If you are tiling over the former

You must use a stainless steel waste. The plastic vinyl-clamping wastes cannot form a reliable seal under tile.

• SS-TF75 1 Part Gravity Waste (LB00101) — the standard tiled-floor choice, 75mm water seal.
• SFWA Stainless Steel Dot Grate, 50mm (21318) or 19mm (21319) — stainless dot-grate finish; pick 19mm where depth below the floor is tight.
• DW90 Low Depth Dry Waste, tiled adaptor (25418-UK) and GW90-2 Low Depth, tiled adaptor (25498-UK) — for shallow build-ups where a full trap will not fit.

If you are laying vinyl safety flooring

• TF75 1 Part Gravity Waste (25106) — 75mm water seal, 125mm deep below the former, opens for cleaning and rodding. The usual first choice.
• TFWA Waste Adaptor with GW50 (25124) or GW19 (25129) — the adaptor ring lets a standard top-clearing waste sit in the former. GW50 gives a 50mm seal at 124mm depth; GW19 a 19mm seal at 93mm depth for tight joists.
• DW90 (25419-UK) and GW90-2 (25499-UK) low-depth options with vinyl floor adaptors.

If you have no gravity fall

• Silentflow+ PGTF 22mm Pumped Waste (25414) — AKW's quieter pumped gulley, for vinyl floor wet rooms where the waste has to be pumped away.

Select No Waste if you are supplying your own or already have one.

Available sizes & product codes

Technical specification

Frequently asked questions

Can I tile over the Tuff Form? Yes, but you need a tanking kit and a stainless steel waste option. Using a plastic vinyl waste under tiles will not seal reliably.

Can the former be cut to size? Yes — it can be trimmed to within 150mm of the waste without losing strength or water integrity. Keep a cut edge away from the shower entrance.

Will it fit my joists? The waste is offset rather than central specifically to avoid joists and pipework. If you need a rotatable waste position, look at the Tuff Form8, which offers 15 waste positions including a central one.

Is it suitable for a wheelchair user? Yes. The 22mm profile gives a fully level access shower with no step, and the 381kg rating covers a chair user plus a carer.

Does it work with underfloor heating? Yes, when installed to AKW's instructions.

Downloads

AKW Tuff Form installation instructions (PDF)
AKW Tuff Form specification sheet (PDF)