Bathroom waterproofing Cape Town covers showers, wet area floors and walls. The membrane sits under the tiles, which is why bathroom leaks almost always mean lifting the finish.
Tiles and grout are not a waterproof layer. They are a wearing surface over one. The full range of services sits under Waterproofing Cape Town.
Note where the water is showing, whether it happens only after a shower is used, and how old the bathroom is.
Get a Bathroom Waterproofing QuoteWhere Bathrooms Leak
- Shower floor. Failed or absent membrane under the tiles, with water passing through the grout.
- Wall-to-floor junction. The single most common failure point, where movement cracks the seal.
- Around the drain. Membrane not dressed into the waste, so water runs past it.
- Shower walls. Waterproofing that stops too low, letting spray reach unprotected substrate.
- Behind the bath. Splash reaching an unprotected wall junction.
- Pipe penetrations. Mixer and shower arm penetrations not sealed through the membrane.
- Perished sealant. Silicone at corners and edges reaching the end of its life.
How a Wet Area Is Waterproofed
- Strip tiles and any failed membrane back to a sound substrate.
- Repair the substrate and form falls towards the drain.
- Prime, then apply reinforcing tape at all wall-to-floor and wall-to-wall junctions.
- Seal around the waste outlet and every pipe penetration.
- Apply the membrane at the specified thickness, full height in the shower enclosure.
- Flood test the floor before tiling.
- Tile onto the cured membrane using a compatible adhesive.
The reinforcing tape at the wall-to-floor junction is the detail that decides whether the bathroom leaks. It is also the one most often left out, because nobody sees it once tiling starts.
Wet Area Systems
| System | Where it is used |
|---|---|
| Cementitious slurry | Brush or roller applied, two coats. The common choice for domestic bathrooms. |
| Liquid membrane (polyurethane or acrylic) | Flexible, seamless, good over substrates that move. |
| Sheet membrane | Bonded sheet with taped seams. Used where a very reliable barrier is needed. |
| Reinforcing tape and collars | Not optional. Used at all junctions, corners and penetrations. |
| Tanked shower systems | Board-and-membrane systems for a fully sealed enclosure. |
Bathroom Waterproofing Cape Town Prices
| Job | Indicative range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Waterproofing a full wet area | R4,500 – R12,000 | Bathroom size and system. |
| Under-tile membrane | R350 – R700 per m² | System and coat count. |
| Shower enclosure only | R3,500 – R8,000 | Floor plus full-height walls. |
| Strip existing tiles | R120 – R280 per m² | Including removal from site. |
| Screed to form falls | R250 – R600 per m² | Depth required. |
| Retiling | R350 – R750 per m² | Excluding tile supply. |
| Resealing joints and silicone | R1,200 – R3,500 | A maintenance measure, not a repair. |
| Full bathroom strip and rebuild | R18,000 – R45,000 | Waterproofing, screed and retiling. |
These are indicative market ranges, not a quotation. They are compiled from published South African waterproofing and roofing pricing to give you a starting point for budgeting. They are not the rate card of any company on this platform.
Compare quotes on the system specified, the number of coats, what preparation is included and what the guarantee covers. A rate per square metre means nothing until you know what the rate covers.
If the leak only appears when the shower is used, mention it. That separates a membrane failure from a plumbing one.
Get a Bathroom QuoteApartments and Upstairs Bathrooms
In apartment stock across the CBD, Sea Point and Green Point, a bathroom leak generally shows up in someone else's ceiling first. That makes it a body corporate matter early, and it is worth getting the cause documented before repairs are commissioned.
Older buildings frequently have bathrooms that were tiled with no membrane at all, because it was not standard practice when they were built. On those, a persistent stain below is usually not a plumbing leak, and testing the pipework repeatedly will not find anything.
Related Services
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does bathroom waterproofing cost in Cape Town?
A full wet area generally runs R4,500 to R12,000 for the waterproofing itself. Under-tile membrane is roughly R350 to R700 per square metre. Stripping and retiling is priced separately and usually costs more than the membrane.
Do bathrooms have to be waterproofed?
Any shower or wet area does, in practice. Tiles and grout are not waterproof; they slow water down. The membrane under them is what stops water reaching the slab, the walls and the room below.
Can a shower be waterproofed without removing tiles?
There are surface-applied systems that help where grout is the only problem and the membrane below is sound. Where the membrane has failed or was never there, the tiles have to come off.
How high should waterproofing go up the wall?
Full height in the shower enclosure, and typically 150 mm or more above floor level across the rest of the bathroom, with more around baths and basins. Behind a shower, stopping at chest height is a common and expensive mistake.
Why is the ceiling below my bathroom stained?
Usually a failed or missing membrane in the shower, letting water through the grout and along the screed until it finds a slab penetration. A leaking waste or trap is the other common cause and needs checking first.
How long does bathroom waterproofing take?
The waterproofing itself is one to two days including curing. The full job with stripping, screeding, waterproofing and retiling generally runs five to ten working days.
Does the shower floor need a fall?
Yes. Water must run to the drain rather than sit against the membrane and grout. A shower floor with no fall will leak eventually regardless of how well it was waterproofed.
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