How to repair damaged waterproof membrane?

[joyceL]

Hi my plumber remove few part of my bathroom tile to find water leak but can’t find any water leak. He pull out the tile and damage the waterproofing membrane. Please advice how do I repair the waterproofing membrane and put up the tile. Thanks 

 

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @joyceL. It's wonderful to have you join us and many thanks for your question about shower repair.

I'd suggest that you discuss with your plumber how they intend to repair the inspection location. The repair could be relatively extensive and costly. This should have been explained to you at the time.

Unless you have tiling and waterproofing experience, I wouldn't advise you to attempt the repair yourself. Instead, get a few quotes from tiling/waterproofing professionals to assess the cost. You'll then have the quotes on hand to provide to your plumber.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell
 

[joyceL]

Hi thanks for your reply. Long story short, he won’t do anything about it. Most tiler are busy, find one can do it but won’t give guarantees on the job unless I redo the whole shower room. I can’t afford to do the whole bathroom. I have remove the broken tile by myself without damage the good tile. I need guardian to do what I can to fix my shower room. Please advice . Thanks 

[MitchellMc]

That's disappointing to hear, @joyceL.

The issue is that a shower membrane is a continuous coating applied over the base of your shower and then up the walls. Hopefully, you shouldn't need to do the whole bathroom if your shower has a hob, but I'd suggest most waterproofers will want to redo at least the shower recess to be confident in warranting their work. Simply patching this one area is not a great solution. At a minimum, I suspect you'll need to remove all the floor tiles and lower wall tiles and redo the membrane.

Let me mention one of our experienced members @Vis-á-vis to see if they have any thoughts.

Mitchell

[joyceL]

Hi thank you @MitchellMc , I like the sound of it. It give me hope. I can remove all lower wall tile. How do I remove the old membrane before put in premier then new waterproofing membrane? 

[Vis-á-vis]

Hello,

How is your shower floor constructed? Is it a pre-made base or is it tiled over a screed?

Do you have any more photos showing the whole shower from further away? Dependent on whether your tiles extend a long way beyond the shower area will affect any remedial options but generally Mitchell is correct that you would have to keep the membrane continuous and therefore it is necessary for the whole shower area as a minimum to be waterproofed and tiled. 

out of interest what is on the other side of that room? Just curious to know why the plumber removed tiles to try and find a leak as there are generally better ways.

👍

[joyceL]

 

 

 

Hi, I am too late to come here ask for help. It start the shower door can’t close. I find a guys come to fix but he think it is water damage inside and the wood swelled cause the door out of alignment. He suggested me to contact insurance company. Insurance company come in the inspector also believe water leak ask me to use a plumber to remove the tile to find the leak. Unfortunately for me there have no leak of cause the insurance company not going to pay for the repair not water damage. I can’t do anything apart from put up the tile. Tiler won’t guarantee for the patch job but still quote 2k. Or remove of the tile, waterproofing not included put back up the shower door quote 12k. 
I desperately need your help here to make sure I do everything right it won’t cause me more. Attached more photos

[MitchellMc]

Many thanks for the additional details, @joyceL. I'll be interested to see if @Vis-á-vis has anything more to add.

Here are some step-by-step guides which you'll find helpful:

• How to waterproof a shower 

• How to waterproof your bathroom floor 

• How to lay floor tiles 

• How to tile a bathroom wall.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[Vis-á-vis]

Thanks @joyceL,

Do you have a photo that shows the entire shower to the very edges. Including a door, vanity or anything like that? I’m still unsure as to whether it is just your shower that is  tiled or the entire room. 
cheers

[joyceL]

Hi attached photos. Looking forward to hearing from you .