In brief
- A wet area membrane only works if the tile layer starts after the membrane has been inspected and flood tested.
- Weak supervision of wet area membranes in Garowe lets leaks into the blockwork below, and the repair involves breaking out tiles and screed.
- Fix the gap with written hold points, dated photos at each stage, and a 24 to 48 hour flood test before tiling.
Contents
Bathroom leakage in Garowe usually starts before the tiles go down. A wet area membrane only holds if the tiling team starts after someone has checked the sheet, the laps and the falls, and after a flood test has been witnessed. When supervision of wet area membranes in Garowe is thin, that check is skipped and the leak shows up months later on the floor below.
What does weak supervision miss before tiling starts?
It misses the stages that get buried. A wet area membrane sits under screed and tiles, so nobody sees it again once the tiler starts. Supervision gaps can appear as no inspection record, no photo of the sheet before covering, and no signed hold point between the waterproofing trade and the tiling trade.
The client or project manager can check this directly. Ask for dated photographs of the substrate, the membrane, and the wall-to-floor junction inside the shower zone. Ask who inspected the work and on what date. Walk a recent site in Garowe and ask the supervisor to show the hold point sheet for bathrooms. If the answer is a verbal assurance rather than a record, the membrane was probably covered without inspection. As general practice, membrane laps and junctions are checked before any screed or tile is laid, and you should confirm the exact sequence against the project's specification or engineer.
Why does the finished bathroom still leak after tiling?
Because the water finds the path the membrane was meant to block. Common leak paths are laps laid the wrong way, a junction at the wall-floor line that was bridged with cement instead of a bonded membrane detail, and falls that hold water against a joint instead of running to the outlet. Water does not have to cross the sheet to reach the room below; it can track along the screed to a gap at the door threshold or a pipe penetration.
A flood test is the practical way to catch this. Plug the outlet, pond the floor to a shallow depth, mark the level, and leave it, generally for 24 to 48 hours as general practice, then check the ceiling below for damp patches and the level mark for drop. Confirm the duration and depth against the project's specification or engineer. A short test that is cut off after an hour proves little. Ask the laboratory or the contractor for the test record with times and the level readings.
Tiling over damp screed can trap moisture that later lifts tiles and softens the bond. Ask the supervisor or engineer whether the screed was checked for moisture before tiling, and what method or reading was used.
How do you close the supervision gap on the next job?
Write the hold points into the contract and the site programme, then staff them. Three checkpoints cover most of the risk: substrate and falls before the membrane, membrane laps, corners and penetrations before screed, and the flood test before tiling. Each one needs a named person, a date and a photograph.
- Put the membrane inspection and flood test in the site programme as tasks with duration, not as notes.
- Require dated photos of the sheet, the junctions and the pipe collars before covering.
- Keep the flood test record with level readings and the check of the room below.
- Ask the supplier for written quotations for the membrane and the bonded corner details before ordering, and get a separate quotation for any repair work from the contractor so you can compare the two, then confirm the requirement against the project's specification.
Ask the municipal engineer's office what inspection requirements apply to the plot type. There is no information here on what records that office keeps on wet area failures. Check what your contract allows before you release the next stage payment, and put the hold points in writing before work resumes.
What to do next
Pick one bathroom on your current Garowe job and ask the site supervisor for the membrane photographs and the flood test record with times and level readings. If those do not exist, stop tiling in that wet area and arrange an inspection of the exposed membrane or a flood test before further covering. Then add the three hold points to the programme for every remaining wet area.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a flood test last in Garowe?
General practice is to pond the floor and leave it for 24 to 48 hours, then check the level mark and the ceiling below. Confirm the exact duration and water depth with the project's engineer or specification before you test.
Can you inspect a wet area membrane after tiling?
No. Once screed and tiles cover the sheet, the membrane cannot be checked. The flood test is the remaining check, so insist on photographs and an inspection record before tiling starts.
Who should sign off the membrane before tiling?
The contract should name the person responsible, often the site supervisor with the engineer or client representative. Ask for the signed hold point sheet and dated photographs for each bathroom.
Local reporting: this article is written for building work in Garowe and Puntland. Ground conditions, prices and rules differ between places; confirm the details for your own site.