Your waterproofer or a licensed plumber runs the test, because we do not document our own work. We verify the set-up, watch it through, and record the result: dated, photographed, and independent of whoever installed it. Same-day report.
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 tester 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. The way through is a defined flood test, run by a plumber, recorded independently, and certified on the results.
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.
Jimmy Tran of Excelo Engineering Consultants issues the certification if the test supports it, and does not if it fails. The person who ran the test, the person who recorded it and the person who certifies are three different people. That is the structure certifiers ask for.
What it costs. Our scoping visit, the recorded test visit and the certification are quoted together, up front, before you commit. 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.
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.
Because then we would be documenting our own work. The value of the record is that it comes from someone with no stake in the outcome. Your waterproofer or a plumber conducts, we observe and record.
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 will 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 certifies on the results. 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