Balcony Repairs – Builders Melbourne

For Quick Navigation Use Links Below

Leaking Balconies & Structural Repairs

Balcony Design & Australian Standards

Balcony Waterproofing Products

Waterproofing Products for Leaking Balconies

Benefits of using Liquid Applied Membranes

Repairs to Leaking Balconies

Waterproofing a Balcony over Existing Tiles

Leaking Balconies & Structural Repairs

Balconies and rooftop terraces are often created above living areas such as apartments, offices, retail & general living areas. Water ingress into occupied spaces can lead to not only interior damage but also structural damage to the building envelope.

Water ingress from balcony above

Balcony Design & Australian Standards

The current design trend is for residential & commercial balconies to be constructed with minimal falls; this particularly evidenced in multi-level apartments.

Balcony design has a significant effect on the waterproofing method used and selecting the correct waterproofing product is critical.

Balcony structures designed with no or very little fall, require a waterproof membrane that is able to withstand "ponding water".

Balcony Articles - Australian Standards & Technical Drawings

Article : Balcony Waterproofing Membranes - Why do they Fail

Master Builders Association (MBAV) - Balcony Technical Drawings

Australian Institute of Waterproofing (AIW) AS4654.2

Waterproofing membranes for external above-ground use. Design and installation.

What is "ponding" water?

It is the unwanted pooling of water on a flat roof or balcony.

Ponding water accelerates the deterioration of many materials.
This includes deterioration of membranes with seams & adhesives used on overlaps & joins and also steel equipment supports etc.

With minimal fall and low-slope balconies and roofs with old bituman/asphalt surfaces, ponding water allows the oil solvent components of the asphalt to leach out and evaporate.

This leaves the waterproof membrane brittle and susceptible to cracking and leaking in the ponding location.

Ponding Water

There are several critical issues unique to keeping a balcony water tight that are not always taken into consideration when designing balcony waterproofing systems.

Recent article below highlights issues involved within commercial construction and leaking balconies.

"Melbourne’s high-rise nightmares taking a tall toll on residents and investors"

Summary of the Article key points:

Residential multi-story, multi-dwelling, apartment buildings are experiencing an alarming frequency of building defects, most commonly caused through waterproofing failure.

Developers were identified as partly responsible for the condition of the building, with a call to be financially responsible.

Balconies were identified as a major cause of waterproofing problems, with the assumption that“proper waterproofing membranes have not been installed”.

Faulty windows and installation process causes considerable water leaks into walls and ceilings.Pressure issues identified as causes were nominated as; a failure to pick up defects through the building surveyors inspection process; plus the cost pressures to use cheap (inferior) materials to save money.

The market has inconsistencies in Insurance cover, both from building trade cover and the residential owners cover. Resulting in the building owner necessitating to self -fund the corrections to the building.

The Victorian Government is making new laws to protect consumers whilst also recognising the‘overwhelming majority of builders’ do the right thing.

Article from The Age Melbourne 25th September 2016: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/-gri6l4.html

Why Balconies Leak

Images below - due to the membrane lacking flexibility and drying out over time with cracks appearing.

The waterproof system may not have the necessary thermal expansion & contraction capabilities.

Balcony membranes need to move with normal thermal cycle of the balcony materials and adjacent building envelope.

Poor waterproofing membrane transition between different surfaces, penetrations and interfaces - i.e vertical walls, balustrades etc - leaving areas of weakness for potential water ingress.

Membranes must adhere, create a bond and seal around all surfaces and still maintain long term flexibility.

Don't underestimate the power of wind driven rain to penetrate the building envelope if flashings etc are not water tight.

Membrane dried & cracked

Sheet membrane overlap

VIDEO - Case Study

Even small amounts of pooling water will cause moisture to seep down through the grout lines and sit between the membrane and tile.

Many waterproofing products used on balconies deteriorate over time with moisture continuously sitting between the tile and membrane.

Moisture seeps through tile grout

Moisture seeps through tile grout

Balcony Waterproofing Products

VIDEO - About Liquid Rubber

Best Waterproofing System for Balconies

Tiling by the way, is not an effective or acceptable waterproofing product on its own.

The correct approach, obviously, is the installation of an appropriate and robust waterproofing membrane system that "works and lasts".

A basic principle of construction is movement of the building envelope will occur.

Therefore a waterproof membrane must be able flexible to accommodate structural movement.

Balcony systems must permanently seal all wall/floor joints, drains, balustrade, water exit points, hobs, sheet joints and movement joints.

Penetration of water through the balcony surfaces and/or the exposed balcony edges of both reinforced concrete and timber framed balconies can lead to structural deterioration.

For concrete structures this leads to significant construction defects, such as concrete spalling.

Selecting quality waterproofing products, using meticulous balcony preparation and implementing correct membrane application methods are all critical components of successful balcony repairs.

Joins "detailed"prior to waterproofing

Detailing balcony balustrade

Balcony preparation requires meticulous detailing prior to applying the waterproof membrane.

Waterproofing Products to Fix Leaking Balconies

We recommend Liquid Applied Membranes for the Australian climate as the most practical and economical waterproofing product for balcony repair projects.

Spray Applied Liquid Membranes are capable of resisting UV rays, withstand "ponding" water and coping with structural movement and deformation.

Liquid waterproof systems are seamless and spray applied - no joins, overlaps or seams to come apart.

These systems can be used on the most complex of details, which are often found, for instance, around handrail supports, thresholds, rainwater outlets and downspouts.