Water stops and shower exits at a Berwick handover
Small angles at doorways that decide whether a bathroom floods the hallway.
In short: Water stops are a few millimetres of metal or PVC. Missing or short, they let water escape the wet area.
What a water stop is
An angle at the edge of a wet area that holds water in and keeps the membrane continuous.
Short of the perimeter
On one Berwick home the water stop angle did not reach the full perimeter it should have covered.
Showers near the door
Where a shower sits within 200mm of the bathroom exit, a vertical water stop is needed. We have recorded it missing.
Checking without demolition
We look at the visible angle, falls, grout and sealant, and use a moisture meter where useful.
Getting it right
Once tiled, a short water stop usually means lifting tiles. Raising it at handover is cheaper than raising it after a leak.
Written by our local inspection team from work carried out in Berwick. Licensed building practitioners, Building & Plumbing Commission registration CDB-U 53425.
