BATHROOM WATERPROOFING

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BRIGHTON

The membrane is the only part of a bathroom that has to be perfect and never be seen. Falls, junctions and penetrations are decided before the tiler arrives — not worked around afterwards.

scope

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WHAT THE MEMBRANE COVERS

Waterproofing is the one part of a bathroom renovation that has to be right the first time. Once the screed goes down and tiling starts, the membrane is sealed under the room for its whole life. In Victoria the work sits under AS 3740, which sets out how far the membrane has to reach, how junctions are treated and which parts of a room count as wet areas.

On a Brighton renovation that usually means the shower floor and walls to height, the floor of the room, the junction between floor and wall, and every penetration for wastes, mixers and rails. Timber floors, older subfloors and upstairs ensuites are treated differently again, because movement and deflection decide the type of membrane and the bond breaker detail behind it.

APPLIES TO

Shower enclosures and hobless entries

Bath surrounds and niches

Bathroom and ensuite floors

Laundry floors and tub surrounds

SUBSTRATE

SHEETING · JOINTS · DEFLECTION

Sheeting fixed and screwed off, joints sealed, floors checked for movement. A membrane can only be as flat and stable as the surface it is applied to.

FALLS

WASTE POSITION · SCREED DEPTH

The fall is set before the membrane, not after. Waste position, screed depth and thresholds are worked out with the tile format so cuts and joints land where they should.

MEMBRANE

BOND BREAKER · TWO COATS · CURE

Bond breakers at internal corners, reinforcing at junctions, penetrations collared, then coats built to the product’s stated thickness and left to cure before anything covers them.

TILE BED

FLOOD TEST · SCREED · ADHESIVE

Where the detail allows, the tanked area is water tested before tiling. Screed and adhesive are then chosen to suit the membrane, rather than the membrane being asked to suit the tile.

REV B — SHOWER ZONES

Hobless entries, linear drains, frameless glass.

THE HOBLESS SHOWER DECIDES THE ROOM

A hobless shower looks simple and is the least forgiving detail in a bathroom. The shower floor — often the whole floor — has to be set down so water runs to the drain with no lip to stop it, which means the fall, the membrane turn-ups and the glass fixings all have to agree before demolition is finished.

Linear drains help, because they move the fall into one plane, but they also change where tile cuts land. Frameless glass brings fixings through finished surfaces, so hole positions are marked while the waterproofing detail is still open. It is the same conversation we have on shower renovations and bathroom tiling: the membrane sets the limits, and the finish works inside them.

asked before

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TILING STARTS

Does the whole floor need waterproofing?

Not always. Wet areas are defined by the standard and by the room. Enclosed showers, floors over timber, upstairs rooms and compact bathrooms with no separation are usually tanked in full.

Can a new membrane go over the old one?

Only where the substrate is sound, flat and clean. Failed membranes, loose sheeting or a floor that flexes underfoot are removed rather than covered over.

How long does it hold up the job?

Application is quick; curing is not. Coats need their full cure before screeding or tiling, and rushing that stage causes most failures. Staging is covered in our renovation timelines guide.

What about a bathroom above living space?

Upstairs rooms get a more conservative detail — extra reinforcing at junctions, careful waste connections and a water test where the layout allows one.

Does underfloor heating change the build-up?

Yes. In most systems the heating sits above the membrane, so cable layout, screed depth and finished floor height are settled at the same time as the fall.

Is the laundry treated the same way?

Laundries are wet areas too, with their own tub, machine and floor waste details. See laundry renovations if the two rooms are being done together.

SETTLE THE DETAIL BEFORE DEMOLITION

Tell us the room, the shower type and whether the floor is timber or slab, and we can talk through the waterproofing detail early — when it is still cheap to change.

Related: bathroom renovations, shower renovations, bathroom tiling, small bathroom renovations, bathroom design and planning and our process. Design references are shown in projects.

ENQUIRY

Send your suburb, renovation type, timeframe and project details through the contact page and we will come back to you about the waterproofing scope. Serving Brighton and nearby Bayside suburbs.