Tiling and waterproofing

What we cover

Tile and grout work across bathrooms, kitchens, and laundries — single tile replacement, full regrout, resealing of silicone joints, kitchen splashback installs. Most reactive work is single-visit.

Wet-area waterproofing — the membrane work that sits beneath the tile and stops water reaching the substrate. This is the part that fails silently and is the most expensive to fix retrospectively.

Balcony waterproofing — outdoor wet areas have different standards and weather exposure. Membrane work, fall correction, drain integration.

Why waterproofing failure is the worst kind

Failed waterproofing in a bathroom shows up first as visible signs — cracked grout, mould around silicone, a tile that's loose. By the time those signs appear, water has usually been seeping below the tile for months. The subfloor is wet, the wall cavity is damp, and in apartments the ceiling below is starting to mark.

The fix at the symptom stage is regrouting and resealing — sometimes that's enough. The fix at the propagation stage is stripping back, replacing the membrane, and retiling. The cost difference between the two is often 10x.

Catching it early is the same argument as rotten timber: the visible damage is the last symptom, not the first.

AS 3740 and documentation

Wet-area waterproofing on a Victorian rental property is built to AS 3740 — the Australian Standard covering bathroom, kitchen, and laundry waterproofing. The standard sets out where the membrane goes, the falls, the drain integration, and the inspection points.

For property managers, the practical relevance is documentation: a waterproofing certificate issued by an installer competent to AS 3740 is what an owner needs when there's a later dispute or insurance claim. We provide that documentation as part of the job record.

Common scenarios

• Tenant reports a stain on the ceiling below the master ensuite. Source is the shower waterproofing — water has been seeping for months.
• Bond inspection finds cracked grout in the bathroom and mould around the silicone. Regrout and reseal before the new tenancy.
• Owners corporation wants documentation that the bathroom waterproofing meets current standards before a sale. We inspect, identify any deficiencies, and certify where compliant.
• Cracked tile in the kitchen splashback area. Replace, regrout, re-silicone — same visit.
• Pre-purchase inspection flags 'waterproofing concerns' on a 1990s home. We open up enough to assess, quote remediation, and document the existing state for the negotiation.