Wollongong & the Illawarra · Licensed & Insured

Leaking Shower Repair in Wollongong

Free, no-obligation quote — we reply same day.

Well-designed modern walk-in shower with large-format grey tiles and a frameless glass screen

Leaking Shower Repair for Illawarra Homes

A leaking shower rarely stays a small problem. In the older brick and fibro homes that make up so much of Fairy Meadow, Figtree, Thirroul, Corrimal, Dapto and the surrounding Illawarra suburbs, a slow drip today can mean a rotting subfloor, spreading mould, or a stained ceiling in the room below within a few months. If your shower is dripping, pooling on the floor, or leaking through to the room underneath, the sooner it’s properly diagnosed, the less it costs to put right.

We’re Bathroom Renovations Wollongong — a licensed local team that repairs and waterproofs leaking showers across the Illawarra — with a fixed, written quote before any work starts. No call-out surprises, no “while we’re in there” upsells you didn’t ask for.

Licensed & insured · Local Illawarra crews · Upfront pricing · Real Wollongong before-and-afters

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Shower with cracked grout and peeling silicone, water pooling on the floor

Is Your Shower Doing This? Here’s What to Watch For.

If any of the below sound familiar, it’s worth getting it looked at before it becomes a bigger job:

None of these mean you need a full renovation. Most leaking showers are fixable without retiling the whole bathroom — but the right fix depends on finding the actual source, not just guessing.

  • Water pooling on the bathroom floor outside the shower recess
  • Dripping that continues for hours after the shower is turned off
  • A damp patch, stain, or musty smell in the ceiling or room below your bathroom
  • Grout that’s cracked, crumbling, or gone soft
  • Silicone that’s peeling, discoloured, or missing in patches
  • A tap or showerhead that never fully stops dripping, even off
Tradesperson checking behind a shower wall tile with a moisture meter

Why Showers Leak (And Why It’s Rarely What You’d Expect)

A leaking shower usually comes down to one of four things:

Getting the diagnosis right matters, because the fix — and the cost — is completely different depending on which of these it is.

  • Failed silicone or grout. The most common — and cheapest — cause. Silicone seals around the shower base, hob, and glass have a working life of around 5–10 years. Once they crack or shrink, water gets underneath.
  • A failed waterproofing membrane. Beneath the tiles is a waterproof membrane that’s supposed to stop water reaching the subfloor and framing. In homes built or last renovated before the 1990s, this membrane is often decades past its intended life — or was never installed to today’s standard. This is the cause behind most leaks that show up as a stain on the ceiling below, or water at the bottom of a wall well outside the shower footprint.
  • Worn tap or mixer internals. If your shower keeps dripping long after it’s switched off, the cause is almost always a worn washer, O-ring, or cartridge inside the tap or mixer — including pressure-balance style mixers such as Triton units, which are prone to this exact symptom as the internal seals age. This is a plumbing fix, not a waterproofing one, and it’s usually quick and inexpensive.
  • Screen, hinge, or hob issues — particularly on frameless or semi-frameless screens, or showers with no door at all, where water escapes over or around the glass rather than through the tiles.
Water-damaged timber subfloor near a bathroom wall

The Real Risk: A Shower Leaking Through the Floor

If water is coming through to a room below, or you can feel a soft or spongy patch on the bathroom floor, treat it as urgent. In the Illawarra’s older housing stock — much of it fibro and brick built for steelworker families through the 1950s–80s — a membrane failure left unaddressed can mean:

This isn’t meant to alarm you — most leaks, caught reasonably early, are a straightforward repair. But a leak through the floor is the one symptom where “keep an eye on it” is the wrong call. We test for moisture before we touch anything, so you know exactly what you’re dealing with before any work begins.

  • Rotting timber subfloor and framing
  • Mould growth inside wall and floor cavities
  • In some pre-1990s homes, disturbance of asbestos-containing sheeting behind old tile work if it isn’t handled properly
Tradesperson resealing a shower base with silicone

How We Diagnose and Fix It

  • Inspection and moisture testing – we identify exactly where water is entering, using moisture meters rather than guesswork.
  • Source identification – silicone/grout, membrane, or tap/mixer internals.
  • Repair or replace – re-sealing and re-grouting, partial or full re-waterproofing, or a tapware repair, depending on what we find.
  • Test and sign-off – we confirm the fix has worked before calling the job done.

Typical Timeframes

  • Reseal, re-grout, or tap/mixer fix: usually completed the same day
  • Partial waterproofing or hob repair: 1–2 days
  • Full waterproofing membrane replacement (may involve removing and relaying tiles): 3–5 days
Freshly repaired shower with clean grout and tiles

What Does It Cost to Fix a Leaking Shower? Here’s a Straight Answer.

Costs vary depending on the actual cause, and we won’t pretend a $28,000 total renovation quote and a $350 tap fix are the same conversation. As a general guide for Wollongong homes:

These are indicative ranges, not a quote — the only way to know your actual number is a proper inspection. We provide that number in writing, fixed, before any work starts. No hourly surprises.

  • Re-silicone / re-grout – $250–$600
  • Tap or mixer cartridge/washer repair – $150–$450
  • Shower screen, hinge or hob repair – $300–$900
  • Partial waterproofing repair – $800–$2,500
  • Full waterproofing membrane replacement (incl. re-tiling) – $3,500–$8,000+

Plumber, Handyman, or Bathroom Renovator? Here’s the Right Call.

A licensed plumber can absolutely fix a dripping tap or mixer — that’s a plumbing job, plain and simple. But once the leak involves grout, silicone, tiling, or the waterproofing membrane itself, you’re better served by a licensed bathroom renovator who can assess and repair the waterproofing and coordinate any plumbing or tiling the fix requires — rather than getting a plumber in, then a tiler, then discovering the waterproofer is a separate call altogether.

We handle the full picture under one roof: diagnosis, waterproofing compliance, tiling, and tapware — one point of accountability, not three trades passing the job between them.

Leaking Shower With No Door? Here’s What’s Really Happening.

Open showers and walk-in designs without a door or full screen are a common source of “leaking” that isn’t actually a membrane failure at all — it’s water escaping over a hob that’s too low, a floor fall (slope) that isn’t directing water back to the drain, or a screen that doesn’t extend far enough. The fix here is often about drainage falls, hob height, or screen positioning rather than re-waterproofing the whole recess. We’ll tell you honestly which one it is before recommending any work.

Does Home Insurance Cover a Leaking Shower? Here’s the Honest Answer.

Generally, no — general wear and tear, ageing silicone, or a waterproofing membrane that’s simply reached the end of its life is considered maintenance, not an insurable event. Where insurance can come into play is if a leak has caused sudden, unexpected damage (for example, a burst fitting) or resulting damage like a ceiling collapse. It’s worth checking your specific policy wording and speaking with your insurer directly — we’re happy to provide a written report of our findings if you need documentation for a claim.

Wollongong & Illawarra Suburbs We Service

Figtree · Keiraville · Fairy Meadow · Thirroul · Corrimal · Woonona · Bulli · Mount Ousley · Dapto · Unanderra · Port Kembla · Warrawong · Shellharbour · Kiama

We bring real project photos from these suburbs, not stock imagery — because if you’re anything like most of our customers, you’ve already learned to be skeptical of the ones that don’t.

Questions, Answered

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get my shower to stop dripping?

Most constant dripping comes from a worn washer, O-ring, or cartridge inside the tap or mixer. Turning off the isolation valve and replacing the worn part usually solves it — if the drip continues even with the water fully isolated, the issue may be within the wall plumbing itself and needs a licensed plumber to inspect.

What is the average cost to fix a leaking shower?

For a straightforward cause like a silicone reseal or tap repair, expect somewhere between $150 and $600. If the waterproofing membrane has failed and tiles need to come up, costs typically run from $3,500 to $8,000+, depending on the size of the area affected.

Can a plumber fix a leaking shower?

Yes, if the cause is the tap, mixer, or shower plumbing itself. If the leak is coming from the waterproofing membrane, grout, or silicone, that’s a waterproofing and tiling repair — a licensed bathroom renovator or waterproofer is the right trade for that part of the job.

Why is my shower leaking from underneath?

This usually points to a failed waterproofing membrane beneath the tiles, or silicone that’s failed at the base of the shower. Water is getting past the tiled surface and pooling or escaping below floor level, which is why it needs checking before it spreads to the subfloor.

What to do if a shower is leaking through the floor?

Stop using the shower where practical, and get it inspected as soon as you can — this usually indicates a waterproofing membrane failure that’s now affecting the subfloor or the ceiling below. The longer it’s left, the more likely it is to involve rot or mould remediation on top of the original repair.

Why is my Triton shower dripping even when the shower is off?

Pressure-balance mixer valves, including Triton units, rely on internal seals and cartridges that wear over time. A continued drip with the shower switched off is a classic sign the internal cartridge or seals need replacing — it’s a straightforward plumbing repair rather than a waterproofing issue.

How do I stop water from coming out of the bottom of my shower?

This is typically a silicone seal failure at the shower base or hob, or in some cases a drainage fall that isn’t directing water properly to the waste. Re-sealing fixes it in most cases; if water keeps escaping after resealing, the floor fall or waterproofing may need attention.

Does home insurance cover a leaking shower?

Usually not, if the cause is general wear and tear or an ageing waterproofing membrane — insurers treat that as maintenance. Sudden, accidental damage is more likely to be covered. Check your specific policy or ask your insurer directly.

Why does my shower head drip in the middle of the night?

Temperature changes in the pipework can cause a worn valve to drip intermittently, often more noticeable at night when the house is quiet. It points to the same cause as constant dripping — a worn washer or cartridge inside the tap or mixer.

What are the common causes of a leaky shower faucet?

Most commonly a worn washer, O-ring, or cartridge inside the tap body. Corroded valve seats and loose or worn-out fittings are also common, particularly in older homes where the tapware hasn’t been serviced in many years.

Why does my shower head drip hours after I turn it off?

This is a sign the internal seal or cartridge in the mixer isn’t fully shutting off water flow, even though the tap appears closed. It’s a wear issue rather than a fault with the showerhead itself, and it’s fixed by replacing the internal parts of the tap or mixer.

How to stop water from coming out of a shower with no door?

Check the hob height and the floor fall first — in open or doorless showers, water escaping the recess is often a drainage or hob-height issue rather than a waterproofing fault. Extending the screen, raising the hob, or correcting the floor fall are the usual fixes.

Get a Fixed-Price Quote Today

A leaking shower doesn’t get better on its own. Book an inspection and we’ll tell you exactly what’s causing it, exactly what it costs to fix, and how long it’ll take — in writing, before any work begins.

Done properly. On time. No surprises.

CALL (02) 4003 6408 NOW

Ready to start your bathroom renovation?

Talk to the Bathroom Renovations Wollongong team today — free, no-obligation advice.

CALL (02) 4003 6408 NOW
Call (02) 4003 6408