A Fresh Renovation That Raised Immediate Red Flags

This job started as a pre-purchase waterproofing inspection in Miriam Vale. The potential buyers wanted peace of mind before committing to the property, particularly around the bathroom wet area.

On the surface, the bathroom looked recently renovated. But almost straight away, I could tell something was not right. I could still smell fresh paint in the room, and while that might sound minor, the overall finish told a bigger story. The workmanship was rough, the detailing was poor, and the whole renovation had the feel of something done quickly to improve presentation rather than something built properly to last.

The silicone joints were oversized and messy, some around 12mm wide. The floor tiles had been painted blue, and that paint was already beginning to peel. A shower base had been installed, but there was still a visible gap where it appeared to have been fixed down with liquid nails, which is not how a shower base should be installed to a proper standard. Wet wall panels had also been installed over the top of the existing tiles, and there were visible gaps of around 5mm where water could enter behind the panels.

Before any testing even began, the bathroom already had several warning signs.

What We Found When We Tested the Shower

Once we ran the shower, the failures started showing up exactly where I expected they would.

Water was leaking behind the wet wall panels, tracking down behind the shower base, and becoming trapped within the assembly. That alone was enough to show the wet area had not been detailed correctly.

We then went underneath the building to inspect the subfloor area beneath the bathroom, and that is where the bigger issue became obvious. Moisture was already making its way through the floor around the shower waste, and the surrounding materials were beginning to break down. The bathroom floor was asbestos sheeting, and the adjacent floor joist was already showing signs of deterioration from ongoing moisture exposure.

What looked upstairs like a cosmetic bathroom renovation was, underneath, a leaking wet area with real structural consequences starting to develop.

Why This Was a Major Defect

This defect was not just about a leaking shower waste. It was a broader waterproofing failure.

The ongoing moisture was affecting the floor structure beneath the bathroom, which meant the issue had already moved beyond surface damage and into the building fabric. That creates a real risk to the integrity of the subfloor if left unresolved.

There was also a compliance issue. Based on what we observed, the waterproofing system did not comply with AS 3740 requirements for domestic wet areas. Water was clearly escaping the intended wet area and entering concealed building elements, which should not occur in a compliant bathroom.

There was also a serious health and safety concern. The bathroom flooring was asbestos sheeting, which meant any demolition or rectification works would need to be managed appropriately and in accordance with asbestos handling requirements.

Why the Bathroom Needed More Than a Patch Repair

By the time we had completed the inspection, it was clear this was not a bathroom that could be saved with a tube of silicone or a minor patch-up.

The shower base detail was wrong. The wet wall installation was wrong. Water was already tracking behind finishes and into the subfloor. The waterproofing system had failed, and the room had been renovated in a way that appeared to cover over old work rather than remove and rebuild the wet area properly.

Because of the extent of the failures, and because the bathroom would need to be brought back into line with current wet area requirements, the repair path was a full strip-out back to framework.

That meant removing the wet area floor and wall linings, arranging appropriate asbestos removal procedures, rebuilding the substrate with suitable new sheet flooring and wall linings, and installing a complete new waterproofing membrane in accordance with AS 3740:2021. From there, the bathroom would need to be finished again properly, whether with tiling or another suitable wall finish such as VJ board outside the designated wet area.

In simple terms, what looked like a recently renovated bathroom was actually heading toward a full bathroom renovation.

The Recommended Rectification Scope

Our recommendation was that the buyers treat the bathroom as a full remediation job rather than a simple maintenance item.

The defective wet area finishes needed to be removed. The waterproofing needed to be redone as one continuous compliant system. The wall and floor linings needed to be replaced with suitable materials. The subfloor damage needed to be addressed. The asbestos floor sheeting needed to be removed safely as part of the demolition and rectification process. Only after that could the bathroom be rebuilt properly.

We provided the potential buyers with a full itemised quote for the required works so they could understand the true cost of bringing the bathroom up to a safe and compliant standard.

The Outcome

In the end, the buyers chose to walk away from the purchase.

That decision made sense. They had not factored a full wet area rebuild and asbestos-related demolition costs into the purchase, and the inspection gave them a clear picture of what they would have been taking on.

Sometimes the value of an inspection is not that it leads straight into repair work. Sometimes the value is that it protects a buyer from inheriting someone else’s rushed renovation and a much bigger bill than they expected.

Why This Matters

Bathrooms can be made to look fresh very quickly. Paint, new fittings, wet wall panels, and surface-level cosmetic work can make a room look modern, but none of that means the waterproofing underneath is sound.

This Miriam Vale inspection was a good example of why pre-purchase bathroom and waterproofing inspections matter. What looked new on the surface was hiding leaking components, failed waterproofing, subfloor moisture damage, structural deterioration, and asbestos sheeting beneath the floor.

At Big Bass Building Solutions, we carry out bathroom inspections, waterproofing inspections, renovation advice, and remedial building work across Miriam Vale, Agnes Water, 1770, and the wider Discovery Coast