How to seal a leaking outdoor balcony?

[joelt]

Hi there

First time posting here.

So I have an outdoor tiled balcony that is not covered with a roof, and it is leaking through to the ceiling of the bedroom below. A lot of the grout above the leak is cracked, missing or has shrunk. I have been quoted $50,000-60,000 to completely renovate which is way out of my affordability. It’s about 15sqm in area. I’m reasonably handy around the house but have never done tiling, nor regrouting.

i assume if I want to try and fix the grout, removing the grout and regrouting with epoxy grout might be the way to go to get waterpoof seal. 
Any thoughts? Really trying to avoid the full reno cost but also don’t just want to delay fixing the leak.

Cheers.

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @joelt. It's terrific to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about sealing a leaking balcony.

The quote likely includes the removal of the tiles and re-establishing the waterproofing membrane, as that's what has failed. You could employ various methods, such as using epoxy grout, to try and seal the tiles from leaking, but the underlying issue is that the membrane is leaking. The membrane captures all the water that seeps through your cement-based grout and/or tiles and redirects it off the roof. The grout and tiles are not by nature designed to be waterproof.
 

You might have success replacing the existing grout with epoxy, but you'll still be left with a compromised membrane, and any leaks that get past your new re-grouting will continue to leak downstairs.

You could consider removing the tiles yourself, having a professional re-waterproof the area and then re-tiling yourself. There would be a bit of work involved, but that would leave you with a leak-free roof and cost substantially less than having a professional complete the project entirely.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell