Should You Waterproof Bathroom Floor

If a shower is not enclosed as in a wet room the floor must be waterproofed to a distance of at least 1500mm from the shower head.

Should you waterproof bathroom floor. The Building Code of Australia and the Australia Standard 3740-2010 require that you waterproof the floor and shower recess at least 150mm inside shower walls 1800mm up any vertical angles in the shower and 100m or more over the step down onto the bathroom floor. If you are waterproofing a shower recess apply primer at least 6-feet up the wall. It is recommended to waterproof a bathroom floor when its concrete.

First of all you cannot assume that any flooring you install is going to be waterproof. The materials that are used in the floor of a bathroom will also play a role in whats required for waterproofing for instance while compressed fibre cement floor and concrete floors might offer water resistance themselves if the bathroom floor uses timber-based materials like plywood or particleboard instead itll need to be fully waterproofed. In the shower the whole floor must be waterproof and the shower walls should be waterproofed up to 1800mm.

To fully waterproof the room apply primer to the walls as well up to about half a foot from the floor. The walls of the shower must be water-resistant to a height of 1800mm. The walls need to be waterproofed up to 150mm.

That is an impossible standard in home construction so the solution is to PREVENT water from getting to the floor surface and also to ACCOMMODATE any that does get there. Ensure the entirety of the. Shower walls are to be waterproofed to 150mm above the shower floor substrate or 25mm above the maximum retained water level.

Requirements for waterproofing bathrooms at least 100mm over the hob or step down onto the bathroom floor should be waterproofed. The entire floor must be waterproofed and the wall fully waterproofed to 150mm above the floor level. This video from Bunnings Warehouse will show you the simple steps.

No ifs buts or maybes- it needs to be done properly. That being said you should choose a flooring material that doesnt degrade when wet. All bathrooms in Australia must comply with these standards as follows.