How to fix water ingress issues?

[Wai2021]

Hi

I’d like to ask for some advice or suggestions on how I could go about getting some waterproofing repair/redone and water related damages repaired (eg. water damaged drywall/ceiling panels).

I want to know if there’s any recourse I can take up with the original builder, any home insurance claim against today’s Sydney freak weather or anything else I can do without just simply going 100% out of pocket now for everything?

It's tough pill to swallow and it's very emotionally draining.

The background:

• Bought newly built (by someone else) home with balcony that leaked into ceiling space downstairs in 2017.
• Builder had “contractors” come do bandaid fixes (silicone, angles, poorly done partial waterproofing under sliding door etc) under new build warranty through 2018-2020.
• Waterproofing issues significantly reduced but never 100% resolved - Got told an excuse about water ingress due to strong sideways rain, getting through minor gaps etc
• Never really clearly accepted rectification in full and messaged a couple of times about water still getting through but nothing was agreed or done
• Left it a few years, bandaid fixes appeared to hold and didn’t think much about it.
• Now it’s 2025, past the new built statutory warranty period, a couple of significant rain events later and also just yesterday's major rain dump leaks are just as bad as original

Have had a few people come assess already and all similar approach needing to rip out all existing tiling and waterproofing and basically complete redo. Fine, I understand and accept that has to be done for a proper fix. Just tough to swallow given the background...

Appreciate any advice!

ps. Not dwelling on hindsight, had a new born at the time, had to vacate the master bedroom, left the wife at home to be at work, had contractors and builders rock up at random days and times to do “work” when I wasn’t always available, communication/coordination was touch and go obviously.

[EricL]

Hello @Wai2021, 

I'm sorry to hear that you've had water ingress issues for an extended period of time. Moving forward, I propose getting a very detailed repair quote from a registered builder. Make sure that they can show you proof of previous work and that they can provide references.

Once you have your quote, I suggest speaking to your insurance agent in regards to this extensive repair. They will be asking many questions and will be assessing your insurance at the same time to see if your insurance actually covers this type of claim. If the discussions are successful, the agent will approve your claim.

I strongly suggest going for a full repair rather than going for half measures and patch jobs. These types of repairs are not long-lasting and will cost even more in the long run. 

Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1 and @Nailbag for their advice in regards to the repair.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[Dave-1]

Good Evening @Wai2021 

I would also suggest the route of engaging a registed builder (check out their licence with the department of fair trading for complaints against them) Also check their social media pages or examples of their work plus talk to the people who have had work done by them before agreeing to the work.

Make it detailed, explain why you want it detailed to the new builder. 

Doing repairs on something that has ongoing issues I think will be loss plus you wont be repairing an underlying issue of the tiles above leaking. 

The department of Fair Trading would also be on my list, to see if anything can be sorted out from the past rectification orders.

Dave