Swelling at the cabinet kick
Particleboard cabinetry that swells at the base is drawing water from the floor, which means water is sitting on the substrate instead of draining to the waste.
Laundry waterproofing
Laundry waterproofing for the wet area everybody forgets
Internal laundries carry a burst hose risk no other room in the house has, and upper level laundries sit directly over living space. HydroForce seals laundries across Brisbane and the Gold Coast to the same specification and the same standard we apply to a bathroom.
Overview
Why laundries need proper waterproofing
Bathrooms get the attention because they are obviously wet. Laundries get overlooked, and that is a mistake, because a laundry carries a category of risk a bathroom does not. A shower leaks slowly. A washing machine inlet hose fails all at once, under mains pressure, often while nobody is home. A single failed hose can put hundreds of litres onto a floor in an afternoon. If that floor is not waterproofed and there is no functioning floor waste, the water goes into the wall cavities, under the flooring and through to whatever is below.
Modern floor plans have made this worse rather than better. Laundries have moved off the back verandah and into the middle of the house. They are tucked behind sliding doors in hallways, built into butler's pantries, and increasingly placed upstairs next to the bedrooms so nobody has to carry a basket down a staircase. An upper level laundry sitting above a kitchen or living room is a genuine risk that deserves the same treatment as a second storey bathroom.
AS 3740 covers laundries as wet areas, and the requirements depend on the layout. The floor to wall junction needs to be sealed with a rise up the wall. Areas around the tub, and the wall behind a washing machine where splash is likely, need protection. Where the laundry sits on a timber floor or above habitable space, the waterproofed area expands considerably. Where there is a floor waste, the surrounding floor must fall to it, otherwise the waste is decorative rather than functional.
HydroForce treats the laundry as a containment problem rather than a splash problem. The question we design around is not whether the tub occasionally splashes. It is what happens on the day a hose lets go, and whether the room can hold that water and drain it without a cent of damage to the rest of the house.
Scope of works
What a HydroForce laundry job covers
Laundries are quick jobs when they are done properly, and expensive ones when they are not.
Full perimeter junction seal
The floor to wall junction is bond broken, bandaged and sealed continuously around the entire room, with the membrane carried up the wall to the height the standard requires for the layout.
Tub bay and splash zone protection
The wall behind and beside the laundry tub is waterproofed through the splash zone, including around the tap set and any wall mounted mixer body.
Washing machine bay treatment
The wall and floor area behind the machine is protected, and the hot and cold inlet penetrations are collared so a hose failure cannot track into the wall cavity.
Floor waste detailing and fall check
Where a floor waste exists we verify the surrounding floor actually falls to it, and correct the screed if it does not. A waste in a flat floor does nothing during an overflow.
Cabinetry and joinery allowance
Under bench laundries get the substrate treated before the joinery goes in, so the membrane runs continuously beneath rather than stopping at a cabinet kick.
Certification and warranty
The completed laundry is tested where the layout allows, then issued with an AS 3740 compliance certificate and the same 7 year workmanship warranty as any other wet area.
What to look for
When a laundry needs attention
Laundry problems tend to show up in the rooms around the laundry rather than in the laundry itself.
Ceiling stains below an upstairs laundry
Any discolouration underneath an upper level laundry is a warning that water has already passed the floor. Treat it as urgent.
Water ponding around the waste
If water sits after mopping or after an overflow, the fall is wrong. A floor waste only works if the floor delivers water to it.
Lifting vinyl or floating floor
Edges lifting or joints swelling in vinyl plank or laminate laid in or beside a laundry indicate ongoing moisture at floor level.
Corroded taps or fittings
Rust or mineral build up around the tub tap set often points to a slow weep behind the wall that has been running long enough to leave a trace.
Musty smell in the hallway
A laundry tucked into a hallway cupboard with a persistent damp smell usually has moisture trapped behind or beneath the joinery.
Standards
Compliance and insurance considerations
Laundries are wet areas under the National Construction Code, and the waterproofing must comply with AS 3740 the same way a bathroom does. That means the work is licensable in Queensland and a compliance certificate should be issued at completion. Many older homes have laundries that were never waterproofed at all, either because the room was originally external or because it was converted from a cupboard or a garage corner during a renovation without a certifier ever looking at it.
There is a practical insurance angle worth understanding. Home policies commonly cover sudden damage such as a burst flexible hose, but they treat gradual and consequential damage differently, and some will look closely at whether the wet area was compliant. A laundry with a documented membrane, a functioning floor waste and a certificate on file puts you in a much stronger position than one where nothing was ever recorded.
Included with every laundry
- AS 3740 compliant treatment for internal and upper level laundries
- Perimeter junction sealed continuously with the required wall rise
- Machine inlet and waste penetrations individually collared
- Floor fall to waste verified rather than assumed
- Compliance certificate and photographic record at completion
- 7 year workmanship warranty on every laundry we seal
Explore more
One of four wet area services we deliver
Bathroom Waterproofing
Certified wet area systems, flood tested and documented across South East Queensland.
View service →Shower Waterproofing
Certified wet area systems, flood tested and documented across South East Queensland.
View service →Commercial Waterproofing
Certified wet area systems, flood tested and documented across South East Queensland.
View service →Where we deliver laundry waterproofing
- Brisbane
- Gold Coast
- Sunshine Coast
- Ipswich
- Logan
- Redlands
- Moreton Bay
- Toowoomba
FAQ
Laundry waterproofing questions we are asked most
Does a laundry legally need to be waterproofed?
A laundry is classified as a wet area, so where waterproofing is required under the National Construction Code and AS 3740 it must be installed and it must comply. The extent depends on the layout, particularly whether the room is on a timber floor or above habitable space. In practice, a new build or renovation that goes through a certifier will always require the laundry to be treated.
My laundry is in a hallway cupboard. Does that still count?
Yes, and it is one of the higher risk configurations we see. A concealed laundry has poor ventilation, sits surrounded by habitable rooms and often has no floor waste at all. If a hose fails in a cupboard laundry, the water has nowhere to go except into the surrounding floor. These are the jobs where waterproofing pays for itself most clearly.
Can you waterproof a laundry without removing the cabinetry?
If the joinery is already installed we can treat the exposed floor, the perimeter junction and the splash zones, and that is worthwhile. It is not equivalent to a continuous membrane running underneath the cabinetry though, because the substrate beneath the units stays untreated. Where the laundry is being renovated anyway, we always recommend sealing before the joinery goes in.
Do I need a floor waste in my laundry?
A floor waste is the difference between a contained overflow and a house wide flood. Requirements vary with building classification and layout, and a plumber will advise on your specific case, but from a risk perspective we recommend one in every internal laundry, particularly upstairs. If you are installing one, the floor has to actually fall to it, which is the part most commonly missed.
How long does a laundry take?
Most laundries are a two visit job across two to three days, including cure time between coats. Because they are smaller than bathrooms they often get scheduled alongside a bathroom on the same property, which keeps the cost down and reduces the number of days trades are on site.
Will waterproofing raise my floor height?
The membrane itself is only a fraction of a millimetre once cured, so it makes no meaningful difference. If we need to correct a fall with a screed, that will add height, and we flag it at quote stage so door clearances and threshold transitions can be planned rather than discovered later.
Next step
Book your free laundry waterproofing quote
Call HydroForce and speak to a licensed applicator today, or request a time slot online and we will confirm your site inspection the same business day.