Building movement
The most common cause of “leakage” is building movement. Building movement occurs firstly as a dwelling settles into It’s foundations and secondly as your property moves with hot and cold weather. The clay beneath the dwelling expands and contracts naturally.
This creates stress in wet areas
This movement is more noticeable to the eye when cracks start to appear within walls or floors of a property. However you can imagine the stress even mild movement would cause to areas that are exposed to water. This movement can result in a weakening or cracking of grout, tile and floor / wall junctions, within the shower or bathroom. This eventually allows water to penetrate beneath the tiles.
Existing waterproofing ultimately fails
Beneath the tiles their should be a waterproofing membrane designed to catch / stop water penetrating to surrounding areas. (much like a bucket under the tiles) Unfortunately these membranes are also vulnerable to building movement, sub-standard installation and breakdown over time. Once the membrane is broken, water is free to travel to surrounding areas. This is when you usually start to see some kind of damage.
How can I stop the leaking?
There are 3 main options to stop leaking showers or bathrooms, of which only 2, in our opinion, can be seen as long term solutions.
Fix it yourself / or handy man : (NOT RECOMENDED)
It is understandable that many people would try to fix a leaking shower themselves to save money. In our experience this option will always end up costing you more in the long run regardless of how well you apply the over the counter waterproofing products. These products generally only tend to target one specific area of the shower or bathroom.This combined with the fact that most of these products are silicone based means that it is only a matter of time before they go mouldy and eventually peel, crack or lift from the surface of your shower or bathroom.
Traditional tile removal / membrane replacement
This is an effective system if performed correctly! This style of service involves the removal of tiles in part or all of the shower or bathroom area, replacing the waterproofing membrane beneath the tiles, then retiling the area.This is a service that we can perform, however you should be aware of the time and costs involved compared to our state of the art Ultra Bond Technology option. – Tiles will need to be removed from part or all the area
– Service will take up to six days to complete
– Cost is generally 3 times (plus) that of Ultra Bond Technology tmWe repair the leak using our exclusive Ultra Bond Technology and provide you with our Shower Sealed Guarantee.
– No need to remove or replace tiles
– Service only takes between 2-4 hours
– Area usable next day
– Average cost only $495 to $895 incl/gst
