Leaky Shower Repairs

Your shower that matches the rest of your bathroom looks good, but you have noticed moisture, mould, or water damage because your waterproofing membrane has failed, sound familiar? It does to us, we hear these stories multiple times a day.

Things you should know – over 90 percent of leaks occur due to movement.

What you need to know about your options:

Megasealed™ or Epoxy re-grouts

Scratch Out and remove your grout with epoxy. Epoxy was created to stop bacterial transfer in kitchens; it comes with an up to 25-year warranty, however, that warranty  does not cover movement or leaks; therefore the warranty  does not cover  leaky showers needing repair. Movement is usually the cause of water damage, and when movement  reoccurs, your shower cracks and then you find you’re not covered under warranty as it’s a known aspect that movement will crack  epoxy.

Megasealed™ or Epoxy grout should not be used on timber frame substrates as ongoing movement is expected. But can be ideal for rising damp situations where water is entereing from below.

Shower Plug or Sealers

Sealers have been created to make a porous surface non-porous. These sealers can be purchased at any hardware, and numerous people who repair showers, use these sealers.. The problem is that a sealer requires the substrate to be in perfect condition to be able to work and often needs to be reapplied every 6 months to keep the area waterproofed. Sealers are not warranted for movement, so when movement occurs you have no warranty cover and a shower that leaks.

Sealers should not be used on timber frame substrates where ongoing movement is expected.

Clear Waterproofing Membrane – Topical Waterproofing Membrane

Clear Waterproofing Membrane, is installed over the top of tiles to make the area that is leaking water tight without the need to remove the tiles or change the look. Remedial Membranes offers DIY options with installation and video guides, as well as help desk support and our trained installers are ready to do the work for you if you are not up to the task.

Clear Waterproofing Membrane Applications differ depending on your substrate; these applications are warranted for movement.

Rip out and  Redo

This action or method used to be what everyone did before alternative repair options became available. If you have spare tiles and a couple of thousand dollars, this method may be something to consider. However, there are some draw backs to consider before commencing.

Tile Matching

If you don’t have spare tiles, an exact replacement will not be found unless you happen to find tiles from the same batch number. Locating the same tile from a different batch will have a slight colour variation and will not look the same. So, keep this in mind if you rip up the tiles and redo the shower, it will look like a patch from a leak which is why many people end up renovating their entire bathroom..
Tile Matching will not prevent future movement from reoccurring, your waterproofing sealant is still located under the tile and is inaccessible for repair.