Remedial Leak Repair
A stain on the ceiling is rarely under the leak. Water tracks along the structure and shows up somewhere else, so the first job is finding where it is actually getting in. We trace the source, whether it is a failed shower membrane, a cracked balcony above, a roof penetration or a planter, then quote the honest fix: a re-seal, a make-good, or a re-membrane. Fixing the cause once is cheaper than sealing the symptom and watching it come back.
What this job includes.
- ✓Leak diagnosis, tracing the source before any fix is quoted
- ✓Shower re-seals and membrane make-goods to AS 3740 or AS 4654
- ✓Over-tile fixes where the substrate is sound and the leak is the surface
- ✓Full strip-out and re-membrane where the membrane underneath has failed
- ✓A photo with your enquiry for a faster first answer
The strata balcony job, and why the first two remedials usually fail
A failing strata balcony is one of the most common briefs we get from a body corporate, and almost always the third attempt at fixing it. The first two were surface coats, sealing the grout or running a topical liquid over the tiles without correcting the fall or detailing the upturns. They held for a wet season, then the same wall below stained again, and the unit owner went looking for someone who would name the Standard on the quote.
The reason a remedial keeps failing is that the leak source is rarely under the stain. Water tracks along the substrate, finds the slope of the slab or the cavity behind a wall, and shows up two metres away in the unit below. Sealing the spot the surveyor pointed at wastes the body corporate’s money and quietly trains everyone to distrust the next quote.
What we do on a remedial strata balcony
- Diagnose at the source, with the body corporate present. We trace where the water is actually getting in, document the falls and the cove with photos, and write a scope the strata manager and the certifier can both follow. No tear-out is quoted until the source is found.
- Decide whether tiles can stay. Where the substrate and the falls are sound and the leak is through grout and joints, an over-tile liquid membrane to AS 4654 is the honest fix. Where the falls are wrong or the buried membrane has failed, the tiles come up and the deck is re-membraned. We give the body corporate both options on the quote when both are real.
- Correct the fall, detail the junctions, re-set the drain. A screed correction where the deck ponds, the upturns to height under the door threshold, the cove detailed with bond breakers, the drain re-set if it sits proud or low, every penetration sealed in.
- Membrane to AS 4654, in the system the exposure calls for. Liquid-applied polyurethane for most balconies, in the coats the Standard names, each cured to the manufacturer’s hold-down.
- 24-hour flood test and certify. The balcony flooded and held for a full day, the membrane proven, the AS 4654 compliance certificate handed over for the building file and the insurer.
The body corporate paperwork
Every remedial we sign off carries the AS 4654 compliance certificate, the manufacturer system warranty for the membrane on the building file, the ten-year Sealline workmanship warranty in writing, and a photographic record of the prep, the cove detail, the fall correction and the flood test. That is what a strata insurer wants on the file the next time the unit changes hands.
Priced by the m², itemised line by line.
The area by the m², the Standard it meets, AS 3740 inside or AS 4654 outside, the membrane system and the product, the number of coats, the prep and any strip-out, the flood test and the certificate. Not one round number for the waterproofing.
- 1 The area, by the square metre. The price broken down by the m² and the area, not one round number for "the waterproofing". A shower recess, a bathroom and a balcony are different jobs, and the quote should show it.
- 2 The Standard it has to meet. AS 3740 inside a wet area, or AS 4654 outside on a balcony, deck or roof, named on the page. The Standard is what sets the coats and the detailing, so naming it is the honest part of the quote.
- 3 The membrane system and product. Cementitious, liquid-applied or sheet, and the actual product named, not "we will seal it". The system is chosen for the exposure and the substrate, and you should see which one you are paying for.
- 4 The number of coats. How many coats, because the most common cheap shortcut is one coat where the Standard needs two. It is invisible the moment the tiles go down, so it belongs on the quote.
- 5 Prep and any strip-out. The substrate prep, and the strip-out of failed tiles or membrane where it is needed, as their own line. Prep is a real cost before any membrane goes down, never folded into a round number.
- 6 The flood test and certificate. The flood test that proves the membrane holds water, and the compliance certificate a licensed waterproofer issues. The test is the difference between it looks done and it is proven.
- 7 The membrane warranty. The 10-year membrane workmanship warranty in writing, alongside the manufacturer system warranty. The cover a cheap operator will not put on paper, because they cannot stand behind a rushed job.
What happens, step by step.
Inspect and diagnose
We look at the job and, for a leak, trace where the water is actually getting in, because the stain is rarely under the source. We check the falls, the substrate and the detailing before we quote anything.
Strip out and prepare
Where the old membrane or tiles have failed, we strip them back. Then we grind, repair cracks, and prime the substrate, because a membrane is only as good as what it is stuck to.
Detail the junctions
Bond breakers at the wall-to-floor corners, the upturns to height, the penetrations and wastes sealed in, and the fall to the drain set right. The junctions are where a wet area moves and where it leaks.
Apply the coats
The membrane system to AS 3740 or AS 4654, the number of coats the Standard needs, each cured before the next. We name the system and the coats on the quote, and apply exactly that.
Flood test
We plug the wastes, flood the area, and leave it to confirm the membrane holds water before anything goes on top. The test is the proof, and it is a real step, not an optional extra.
Certify and hand over
We issue the compliance certificate for the work and hand over the membrane warranty in writing, so your builder, certifier and insurer have the paperwork the job needs.
The paperwork behind the price.
Public liability to $20M, and a 10-year membrane workmanship, all in writing, all on request.
We hold a QBCC licence for waterproofing in Queensland, the licence that lets us flood-test and issue the compliance certificate, and we carry public liability insurance, so you are covered on site. The guarantee is a 10-year written warranty on the membrane workmanship, the part that fails first when a job is rushed, alongside the manufacturer system warranty on the accredited membrane we install to AS 3740 or AS 4654. All in writing, with exclusions named.
Remedial Leak Repair: common questions.
Can you find the leak if I do not know where it is coming from?
Why is a small leak repair sometimes dearer per m² than a whole new bathroom?
Will I have to retile after a shower re-seal?
Get a free, itemised quote you can actually read.
Tell us what you need. We’ll book a walkthrough and send a quote with the work itemised, not just a number.