How do you know if your shower is leaking? If your home is about fifteen years old, it’s almost definitely happening. Right now. And if you do nothing, it could cost you BIG!

How a damp smell can result in a beautiful new bathroom.

And peace of mind.

When you search ‘bathroom renovation wollongong’ on social media you’re met with pages and pages of dreamy bathroom makeovers and resort style ensuite designs, and then you’re peppered with ads promising you that a new dream bathroom will make you a happier person…

And it probably will! Our bathroom renovation customers are always ecstatic with their newly renovated bathrooms.

But dreams of a better home life are rarely the REAL motivation for a bathroom renovation…

after all, we know deep down it’s what’s inside that counts.

And it’s what’s happening inside the walls of your home that almost always spurs on the change mindset you needed to ensure your bathroom renovation dreams do come true!

Damp. In the walls. A leaking shower can be just a small trickle of water, every time you take a shower. But multiply that with daily use, and you have a force that spreads and rots and moulds. You’ll find out about it eventually. You’ll probably call a plumber, or a tiler. You might even spend a few thousand getting your shower resealed. But by the time you know about it, the damage is already done.

And if your home is about fifteen years old, it’s almost definitely happening. Right now.

A leaking shower cause building trouble. As a result, bathrooms, ensuites and laundries require a waterproofing membrane to be applied beneath your tiles, because tiles by themselves don’t repel all the water. A waterproofing membrane is a substance that is painted on and allowed to dry before the tiler installs your tiles. It’s flexible, and resilient. That was as true fifteen years ago as it is today, but after fifteen years of daily wear and tear, slight movements in the structure of your home from seasonal weather fluctuations, or an occasional accident like a cracked tile, the odds are extremely high that the waterproofing has been compromised. Probably in a number of places.

Leaking shower repairs can reseal your shower recess. That can help for a while, but it doesn’t fix any underlying issues, it just applies a repair layer over the top of a problem.

A cosmetic renovation like you see on so many TV shows might make you feel better about it for a while.

But a small, consistent trickle of water creates an environment for mould, and mould will lead to wood rot. We see it every day, often creeping into the carpet of the room next door to the bathroom, or a damp smell in a wardrobe you just can’t get rid of. Or a strange swelling in a hallway skirting board.

By then, it isn’t only the bathroom we end up renovating.

It isn’t YOUR fault it happened. This isn’t a story about lack of maintenance leading to neglect, or poor quality workmanship from the builder. This is just a fact of home ownership. As the building gets older, parts of it will need to be replaced.

However, in the case of a bathroom you CAN be proactive about it. Replacing your fifteen year old bathroom BEFORE you get a shower leak that causes damage to other parts of your home is good sense that will almost definitely pay off in the long term.

After inspecting and renovating so many bathrooms over the years, we've put together an online assessment tool to help you check over your bathroom immediately: https://www.thebathroomrenovationco.com.au/older-bathroom-checklist

If you have any questions or would like us to come out and have a look in person, please don't hesitate to call anytime.