Leaking Showers And Termites Sydney

Leaking showers in wet areas of houses contribute to 50% of all termite infestations in houses in Sydney. To survive, termites need a constant moisture source. What is better than a leaking shower?

Leaking showers are becoming more and more commonplace in Sydney these days compared to yesteryear. The main reason for this is the quality of building practices, and the ethical standards of bathroom builders are nowhere near as good as 20 years ago.

How do you make a good shower?

The main reason for a leaking shower is movement in the walls and floors. If you have a brick shower box, make sure it's bound and use a high-quality copper shower tray. Waterproof all the walls and floors with the best quality flexible membrane twice, leaving 48 hours to cure between each coat. When putting on the tiles, use only the best tile adhesives and grouts. There is no sound reason to pinch pennies when it comes to having a bathroom that lasts seven years compared to 50 or because of the quality of the building products and procedures.

You may think why someone would want a bathroom to last 50 years other than saving money? The bathroom will be out of date. Some of the heritage buildings I carry out termite inspections on have heritage bathrooms 80 years old and are in pristine condition, and are now back in fashion.

Brick veneer houses on concrete slabs are the most commonly built today, contributing tenfold to the leaking shower problems. Again, the main reason for this is the movement in the walls compromising a cheap and poor quality waterproof membrane and grout.

The most important procedure in building a shower or bathroom in a brick veneer house is to build the studs 200 mm apart rather than 400 mm apart. The closer the studs, the stronger wall, the less movement to compromise the waterproof membrane and grout. Again use a copper tray, a good quality waterproof membrane and grout.

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