Having a waterproof bathroom to Australian Standards is not only essential when it comes to a well constructed and comfortable home, it’s also the law in Australia.

Waterproofing a bathroom requires you to install a barrier around the walls and floor of your bathroom in order to protect your home from water damage that can occur over time. No one wants a leaky home! It takes particular tools, products, and knowledge to waterproof your bathroom correctly, and waterproofing your shower properly is best left to the experts to ensure the future integrity of your home.


Australia’s Waterproofing Standards for Bathrooms and Showers
Every bathroom built in Australia needs to comply with Australian National Construction code standards as well as the Building Code of Australia in order to be considered safe to inhabit.

These waterproofing rules can be complicated but with the right attention to detail, they can certainly be achieved. The rules generally state that every area using water must be properly sealed and protected. In some parts of Australia, you’re allowed to waterproof your bathroom yourself, and in others, the laws state that you must hire a professional to do the work because it’s serious business. The waterproofing bathroom Australian standards are there to protect homeowners from unnecessary damage and cost.

The standards for waterproofing are divided into three categories of rules: those for ground floor bathrooms, upper floor bathrooms, and those that apply to wet room bathrooms.

Ground Floor Bathrooms
With a ground floor bathroom, the walls around the entire bathroom need to be waterproof to 150mm, and the shower floor and shower walls are required to be waterproofed up to 1800mm. All hobs need to be waterproofed up to 100mm on the ground floor.

Upper Floor Bathrooms and Timber Flooring
Because an upper floor bathroom- as well as one built with timber flooring- can impact the integrity of your home to a great degree if it leaks, standards for these two categories require the whole floor to be waterproofed.

Wet Room Bathrooms
What’s a wet room bathroom? If you’ve ever seen a bathroom with a shower that doesn’t really have any separate walls, this is it. A wet room bathroom is one that has a frameless shower. There may be a glass door separating the sink and toilet area from that of the shower, but the floor and walls remain consistent throughout with no divisions present.

In this type of bathroom, you need to waterproof the entire floor as well as the surrounding walls up to a radius of 1500mm. Making sure a wet room bathroom is fully waterproofed is very important as water can travel further than in a traditional bathroom setup.

Meeting the minimum waterproofing standards in Australia is the law. Going beyond this is optional but always a good idea, especially for unique situations where water damage may be more likely to occur.

Signs Your Shower is Leaking
How can you tell if your shower is leaking? Aside from water stains occurring on the ceiling of your living room below, there are some other tell-tale signs to look for. These can include:

â—Ź Water dripping under the shower and seeping out around it on the floor and walls
â—Ź Termites being attracted to your home (they love damp wood)
â—Ź Damage to timber studs
â—Ź Tiles that move when you stand on them
â—Ź Mildew and mould growing on surfaces
â—Ź A musty smell

At Leaky Showers, we have decades of professional experience waterproofing and repairing showers. In fact, we’re the go-to experts for shower waterproofing! Contact us today for a free pressure and moisture test along with your quote. You can rest assured the job will be done right as our work is guaranteed for 15 years.