Your waterproofer or a licensed plumber runs the flood test. We independently observe and record it. We verify the set-up and watch it through: the record is dated, photographed and independent of whoever installed it. Report usually the same or next business day once the inspection is complete.
Book a Flood Test Record or call Kevin on 0499 288 304. Greater Sydney.Flood testing is how you find out whether a membrane actually holds water before tiles go over it. But the test is usually run by the same trade whose work is being tested, with nobody independent present and no record beyond a verbal "yeah, it held".
We attend and check the set-up: wastes plugged correctly, fill level appropriate to the area, the membrane cured and ready, and the areas that need monitoring identified, including the rooms and ceilings below.
They fill it, they own it. That separation is deliberate. It keeps the record independent, and it means nobody can later argue the recorder had an interest in the result.
Dated photographs at fill, through the hold period and at drain-down. Water level recorded against a fixed reference. Any movement noted. Moisture readings below where access allows.
A written record of what was tested, how, for how long, and what was observed, referenced to AS 3740 for internal wet areas or AS 4654.2 for external areas, whichever applies.
This is a different job from a pre-tile test, and it is the one most of our calls are about right now. The builder has stopped answering. A certifier or council will not accept a visual inspection of concealed waterproofing, and has not said what they would accept. One way through is a defined flood test, run by a plumber and recorded independently, with a signed engineer's statement if the results support it.
A site visit to work out how each area can be flooded, what needs monitoring below and beside it, and what the certifier or council has actually asked for. You get a written proposed method to put in front of them before any water goes in.
Yours, or we can introduce a licensed plumber who does these regularly. Either way they work to the written method and invoice you directly. We take no fee for the introduction, in either direction.
Photographs at fill, through the hold and at drain-down. Moisture readings below. Any movement noted. The same record we produce on a new build, on a structure where it matters more.
The engineer attends the test and, if the results support it, issues a signed Engineer's Statement on Flood Test Results. It covers only what was tested, and your certifier or council decides whether to accept it. The engineer did not install the waterproofing or run the test.
What it costs. Our scoping visit, the recorded test visit, the engineer's attendance and the engineer's statement are quoted up front, before you commit. If the results don't support a statement, the quoted fees still apply, including the statement fee. The plumber's test is a separate cost, billed by them. We will tell you the likely range when we scope the job, so you know the whole number before anything is booked.
A flood test on an already-tiled wet area puts water against waterproofing whose condition is unknown. If the membrane has failed, water can escape and become visible in the rooms or ceiling below. That is what the test exists to reveal, and any damage that appears reflects the defect that was already there. It also means the test itself can make an existing problem visible in a way it was not before. We set this out in writing and ask you to acknowledge it before anything is booked, and the plumber conducting the test sees the same wording. A floor flood test also does not test the walls or upturns above the water line.
Being clear about this up front saves everyone time.
Before tiling: the membrane must be fully cured, and the test has to finish before screed or tiles go down. In practice that is a window of a few days, set by your waterproofer's finish date and your tiler's start date, not by us. Tell us as soon as you have those two dates. Most renovators book this alongside a pre-tile inspection: one visit to check the membrane itself, one to document the test.
Already tiled: there is no window to miss, but there is usually a certifier, council or buyer waiting. Send us whatever they have written and we will scope it. See how the retrospective test runs above.
For our flood-test service, we keep running and recording separate. Your waterproofer or a licensed plumber runs the test, and we observe and record. With your agreement we may run a simple tap, waste or spray test ourselves; these are different checks, not flood tests.
Whether one is mandatory depends on the building class, the approval conditions, the specification and the contract. What we can say is that a documented test is the only way to show the membrane held water before it was covered, and that a certifier who is asked later may want exactly that.
You get a written record of what failed and where, while it is still accessible and fixable. Your waterproofer rectifies, and you can book a re-test. That is a far better position than discovering it through a ceiling two years later.
Yes. It is a different job with different risks, and it has its own section on this page. In short: we scope it, a plumber runs it to a written method, we record it, and the engineer on our team attends and, if the results support it, issues a signed statement on them. The risk of putting water against waterproofing of unknown condition is set out in writing before anything is booked.
It depends on the bathroom and how far the plumber has to travel, so we do not publish a figure. We will give you the likely range when we scope the job. You can use your own plumber or take our introduction; either way they invoice you directly and we take no fee.
For whoever engages us, and independent of everyone else. Most of our work comes directly from owners and builders who want a record that does not depend on the installer's word.
Before tiling: tell us your waterproofer's finish date and your tiler's start date and we will confirm a window within one business day. Already tiled: tell us who is asking for certification and we will scope it. No payment until the visit is locked in.
Prefer to talk it through? Call Kevin on 0499 288 304