Waterproofing — The Most Important Part of Any Shower Tile Installation
Waterproofing is what sits between your tiles and your home’s structure. Without it, water finds its way through grout lines, behind walls, and into the timber framing beneath your bathroom floor. By the time you notice a problem, the damage is already done. Every shower tile installation we complete includes a fully certified waterproofing membrane system — no exceptions.
We work to AS 3740 standards on every job. That means a minimum 1800mm waterproofing height on all walls, full floor coverage, sealed corners and junctions, and a 24-hour flood test before a single tile goes down. You get certification on completion, so there’s a proper paper trail for your records.
Epoxy membranes, multiple coats, proper overlaps — these aren’t upsells, they’re the baseline for a shower that performs long-term. In Lake Macquarie’s coastal climate, cutting corners on waterproofing isn’t just a quality issue, it’s a costly one.
Shower Tile Options for Lake Macquarie Homes
Tile selection matters more in showers than anywhere else in the bathroom. You need materials that handle constant moisture, resist mould, and hold up in Lake Macquarie’s coastal humidity without deteriorating over time.
Porcelain is our top recommendation for shower walls and floors — dense, low-absorption, and built for wet areas. Ceramic works well on walls where it doesn’t take as much direct water contact. Natural stone is a beautiful option, but it needs proper sealing and ongoing maintenance to perform in coastal conditions.
Popular formats right now include 600x300mm and 900x450mm for walls, with smaller mosaic or textured tiles on floors for better grip. Large-format tiles are trending for good reason — fewer grout lines mean less mould risk and easier cleaning.
For floors specifically, we only install tiles with a P5 non-slip rating — the minimum required for wet shower areas under Australian standards. Safety isn’t negotiable.
Grout Selection: Why It Matters More Than Most People Think
Most homeowners spend weeks choosing tiles and five minutes thinking about grout. In a shower, that’s the wrong priority. Grout is a porous material that sits in constant contact with water, and in Lake Macquarie’s humid coastal climate, the wrong grout choice leads to mould, staining, and deterioration faster than you’d expect.
Epoxy grout is the best option for showers, full stop. It’s non-porous, mould-resistant, and doesn’t require sealing the way cement-based grouts do. It costs a little more upfront and takes more skill to apply correctly, but it outperforms every other option in a wet area environment.
Cement grout with a quality penetrating sealer is a solid alternative when specified correctly. Colour choice also plays a bigger role than most people realise — lighter grouts show staining more readily, while mid-tones tend to hold their appearance longer.
Minimal grout lines through large format tiles are the current preference for good reason — less grout means less maintenance, simple as that.
Common Shower Tile Problems We Fix
Leaking showers are one of the most common calls we get across Lake Macquarie — and in most cases, the root cause is the same. Failed waterproofing that was either applied incorrectly, skipped entirely, or has simply broken down over time in an older bathroom. By the time water is tracking through walls or pooling under floors, the damage behind the tiles is usually well underway.
- Leaking showers — full strip, waterproofing, and re-tile
- Water damage behind tiles — substrate repair before any new work begins
- Uneven tiles and lippage — poor installation that needs a complete redo
- Wrong drainage fall — water pooling instead of draining correctly
- Cracked tiles — impact damage or movement in the substrate beneath
- Mould through grout — wrong grout product or inadequate sealing from the start
Outdated showers are the other big one. Plenty of Lake Macquarie homes are still running the original 1980s or 1990s shower — honey-colored tiles, builder-grade fixtures, grout that’s long past saving. We strip it back completely, waterproof properly, and re-tile with a modern design that actually suits the home and holds up for the long term.
Our Shower Tile Installation Process
| Preparation | Waterproofing | Tiling & Finishing |
|---|---|---|
| We start by removing old tiles if it’s a replacement job, assessing the substrate for any damage, and repairing surfaces before anything else happens. Waste installation is confirmed at this stage, and all surfaces are levelled and primed, ready for membrane application. No shortcuts here — the prep work is what everything else sits on. | Waterproofing membrane goes on in multiple coats, with careful attention to corners, junctions, and any penetrations. Once fully cured, we flood test for a full 24 hours before touching a single tile. If it holds, we tile. If it doesn’t, we fix it. Certification is provided on completion. | Floor tiling goes down first with the correct drainage fall, followed by wall tiling with precise cuts around fixtures and niches. Grouting is done professionally, silicone is applied to all movement joints, and the whole shower gets a final clean before handover. What you’re left with is a finished shower that’s properly built from the ground up. |
Shower Tile Installation FAQs
A typical shower tile installation takes 4 to 6 days from preparation through to final clean. That includes waterproofing cure time and the mandatory 24-hour flood test. Larger or more complex showers with feature walls and niches may take a day or two longer.
Yes, always. Waterproofing membrane is applied and fully cured before a single tile goes down. We flood test for 24 hours to confirm the membrane is performing correctly. Tiling over unfinished or untested waterproofing is something we simply won’t do.
Porcelain is our top recommendation for shower walls. It’s dense, low-absorption, and handles constant moisture without deteriorating. Ceramic is a solid option for walls with less direct water exposure. Both perform well in Lake Macquarie’s coastal humidity when installed correctly.
Shower floors need tiles with a P5 non-slip rating as a minimum under Australian standards. Smaller format tiles or textured porcelain work well because more grout lines provide better grip underfoot. Large format tiles on shower floors require very precise fall work to drain correctly.
In most cases, no. Leaking showers mean failed waterproofing — and waterproofing sits behind the tiles. To fix it properly, the tiles need to come off, the substrate assessed, new membrane applied and flood tested, then re-tiled. Surface-only fixes rarely hold long term.
Ready to Get Your Shower Tiled the Right Way?
Whether you’re building a new shower, renovating an outdated one, or dealing with a leaking shower that’s causing damage behind the walls, we’re the team to call. We service homeowners right across Lake Macquarie and bring licensed waterproofing and quality tiling to every single job.
Get in touch today for a detailed quote specific to your shower. No vague ballpark figures, no surprises on the invoice. Just straightforward pricing and quality shower tile installation done properly from day one. Call us now or fill in the quote request form, and we’ll be in touch shortly.
