How can you organise for a leaking shower repair in Sydney?
- Not all leaking showers are plumbing problems
- Failed waterproofing inspections
- wall or room building movements
- broken taps, mixers or shower heads replaced
The first thing to consider is that if you have a leaking shower the actual cause of the leak may not specifically be plumbing related. Most of the time a plumber can change the mixer tap, replace the shower head or add some silicon along the shower base although that may not solve the water leaking long term. Your shower leak could be caused by other factors like failed waterproofing, aged or damaged grout joints in your tiling, wall or floor separation, silicon peeling or even building movement.
That’s why for home owners it makes much more sense to call a bathroom plumber in Sydney because we can assess the room’s plumbing but also look at the other aspects that might be causing the leak. Our team of bathroom plumbers and renovators can then come up with a list of possible repair solutions for you to choose from.
How can you tell if your shower recess is leaking
The most common leaking shower repair we get asked to repair in Sydney is the shower recess area. So many homes have very cheap pre-fabricated metal or plastic shower recesses that over time will age. They begin to move on their footings, rust or the grout or silicon gets worn which creates gaps between the glass frame and the floor tiles. You will notice water on the bathroom floor of course but what you won’t be able to see is if water is leaking under the recess into the floor tiles or adjoining walls.
Shower leaks have several causes with the main factor being building movement or a base that moves when stepped on. If the shower recess has not been sealed correctly or that seal fails, then water will seep right through. Over time sealants and grouts can degrade and come loose which creates water pathways, thus a leaking shower.
It is important to remember that a leaking shower repair needs to be done properly, what does properly mean?
In every situation we handle this means looking at waterproofing, tiling, grouting and sealing that we will recommend should be done from scratch. It does not always mean the whole bathroom needs to be renovated or repaired. It is possible to repair the shower area on its own which is a cost effective and efficient way to combat a leaking shower issue. Although cosmetically this isn’t always the best as it is nearly impossible to match old with new 100%.
Our team of bathroom plumbers can inspect your shower recess to work out where it is leaking and what repairs are required. You might think that it is just the recess that needs to be repaired or replaced, but beware, a quick fix like this might not be the solution. A handyman or general plumber might just put some new silicon along the edge of the frame & declare it ‘repaired’.
What if water has already leaked into the floor or walls though?
You will have to carry out further repairs later. That is why it makes more sense to choose a bathroom plumber to repair your leaking shower recess because we will assess other areas of the bathroom to detect other underlying issues if they are present.
Our qualified staff will then use our range of tools or water leak detection techniques to identify where and how the water is escaping from the shower area.
How do you repair a shower base that is leaking?
If your shower base is leaking then there will be different ways to repair it depending on the type of base it is, how it was installed and how bad the leak is. Again – a word of caution – you might decide to replace the base of your shower but if it is on a second storey of a house or even in the corner of the bathroom there could be damage to the ceiling below, timber floor boards, the concrete slab or even the adjoining walls.
If you leave existing water damage to the structural elements of your property these can get worse over time, because they are not visible e.g under the floor or inside a wall cavity, you may not even realise. That is why a general handyman or common plumber shouldn’t be contracted for these types of water leak repair problems in Sydney.
The team at Nu-Trend have been building, repairing and renovating bathroom plumbing or wet areas in homes for many years. Our team live, breath and sleep wet area rectification whether that is something simple like a shower screen replacement or a shower renovation. Everything we do is to Australian Standards and the best way to repair a shower base or recess is to;
- Remove the shower screen or base.
- Inspect the floor area, walls and plumbing for visible damage
- Remove the wall tiles from the bottom few rows
- Remove the floor tiles to inspect the flooring surface for damage
- Determine what repairs are required & provide a scope of work
- Carry out the repairs which are either a partial or full renovation of the shower area
Can a shower leak in the bathroom cause paint to bubble on the walls?
If any of the walls on the opposing side of your bathroom or the floor below are starting to display signs of pain bubbling then you know immediately you have a shower water leak, leaking pipe or failed waterproofing. It’s that simple.
The main cause for paint bubbling on a wall is moisture in the cavity itself whether that is brick or gyprock, the moisture build up reacts with the paint which then begins to bubble and peel away from the surface. If you get a handyman or a painter that says they can repair this – run quickly.
You can sand the wall back and paint it again, but you are not dealing with the underlying water leak that needs to be repaired. It could be water leaking from your shower base, the shower recess or even the pipes that lead to the tap mixers. You need to engage with a bathroom plumber like Nu-Trend to detect the source of the water leak plus the extent of the damage.
If you stop the leak, but don’t fix the rest of the damage then that is only half the solution. Your timber framework, floor boards or wall frame may continue to rot because moisture is still present to some extent.
Can you repair a shower leaking under the floor or in the wall?
Choosing the right shower repair company in Sydney is not only important but critical when it comes to making sure you don’t spend more money later on getting even more repairs done. There is a big reason why quotes might vary so much from a handyman, plumber, bathroom plumber and bathroom renovation contractor.
They are taking different approaches to solving a problem. So for example a general plumber in Sydney might just change the tap mixer and consider that ‘job done’ whereas a company like Nu-Trend can do that, but we will also figure out what other damage was caused and did something else create the problem in the first place.
Your shower could be leaking at the mixer tap but water is then flowing inside the wall and then leaking under the floor. You might see the leak via the tap connection but not realise your floor is getting damaged. This might appear a few months later and be an even more expensive repair if it isn’t dealt with the first time.
Nu-Trend’s team of bathroom plumbers will be able to check your mixer taps, pipes and inspect other parts of your bathroom to try and locate any other issues. This is the best way to make sure you can eliminate water leaking under the floor. If the home is built on timber floor boards there might be enough crawl space for us to look under the house. If it is on a concrete slab this can be more difficult but we can use thermal imaging or other tools to try and achieve a similar outcome.
Can a shower tile leak damage the ceiling
If you live in a unit, apartment, townhouse or home that has a bathroom on the second or third storey then it is even more important to get shower leak repairs addressed quickly. There is a very real risk that water leaking through the shower tiles, the recess or the base can make it’s way into the floor area of the second storey, as it pools it can then create marks, mould or even complete failures of the roof material.
This is especially true for homes that have Gyprock ceilings on timber bearers, the water just gets absorbed by the wood and into the soft Gyprock sheeting. Sometimes it may dry, but if there is enough water pooling it will create long term damage before you realise it. You might not see the leak in the bathroom because it is going under the tiles, through the waterproofing and into the roofing materials, doing it slowly over time.
You have to select a shower leak repair company very carefully because if they take shortcuts or offer quick fix repairs, it can lead to further structural issues down the track where the roof is weakened and collapses.
What if the pipes under the shower are leaking?
Leaking pipes may not be obvious at first glance because they are under the house, in a concrete slab or inside a wall. The tricky thing with leaking pipes is that the leak may be in one location but the water then runs to another area. This can fool a handyman or your average plumber in Sydney into thinking they have repaired the right area.
The reality is they may have missed the real cause of the leak completely. This is yet another reason why you should choose a bathroom plumbing company to do your repairs. We combine the expertise of a plumber with that of a bathroom renovator so we know what to look for, where and how.
Our staff can quickly assess, diagnose and repair any time of leaking pipe or water leak for a shower.
How do you repair a leaking shower?
Unfortunately there is not a simple answer to repairing a leaking shower in Sydney.
Our city has so many different building types, structures that are a few years old or others that are hundreds of years old. People have showers that are plastic cubicles, basic shower bases or a walk in with a simple wall niche. Then consider the thousands of types of taps, shower heads or mixers available.
This means there are billions of combinations in terms of type of shower, how it was installed, the type of building structure & then the fittings or tiling over the top of all of that.
So the only way to repair a leaking shower is to do the following;
- Engage a shower repair company in Sydney to provide an on-site assessment
- Get two or three opinions to make sure your issue is being diagnosed correctly
- Consider the scope of work being suggested, is it a short term fix or long term repair solution
- Consider whether a partial or complete shower repair might make more sense
- Do your own research to better understand the possible causes of the leak
- Where possible, choose to remove an old shower base or cheap recess frame to avoid long term problems
- How quickly does it need to be done
- How bad is the damage currently
- What is the exact scope of work required
- Is it for a modern property or heritage style type of home
- What tiling, fittings or fixtures need to be used or replaced
- How difficult is access to the property or the room itself
- Is other remedial work required to floors, walls or ceilings to repair other damage caused by the leak
Here are some of our recent bathroom renovations in Sydney that Nu-Trend has completed. The majority of the projects we are contracted for are complete bathroom renovations where the room is completely stripped so that the flooring, walls, tiling and waterproofing is installed brand new.
Local, licensed & insured
Plumber | Renovator | Drainer | Gas fitter
Nu-Trend is a company in Sydney that has provided plumber and bathroom renovation services since 2009. The Directors Rob and Rick are hands-on, providing a personal service.
Sydney Water
PLUMBER
We work closely with Sydney Water for all plumbing requirements.
STANDARDS AUSTRALIA AS/NZS3500:2018 Compliant
A renovation business that builds new bathrooms to meet Australian Standards.
Experience & a written commitment.
Rick and Rob are the hands-on directors for Nu-Trend. Rather than hire sub-contractors and manage their business from a distant office, they are on the tools, at your site & working towards delivering your bathroom renovation or plumbing service. It means you are talking directly to the owners of the business, the guys who are accountable and responsible rather than via email or through customer service teams.
It is why they are able to provide a written guarantee that demonstrates their confidence in standing by the quality of their workmanship and the service they deliver to every single client.
They have a very single minded commitment to deliver a high level of professionalism and quality, they’ve been doing renovation contracting in Sydney since 2009.
