Balcony door leaks · Missing flashing
A lot of Melbourne balconies were built with no flashing in the cladding above the stacker doors. There is nothing to direct rainwater away, so it runs down behind the cladding, over the door head and under the floor — and it keeps happening no matter how many times the joints are resealed.
Most owners and body corporates have never heard of it, because the flashing is hidden inside the wall. The 45-second video explains the problem. We find exactly where the water is getting in, install the flashing properly, and warrant the areas we repair.
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A flashing is a thin, angled barrier that sits inside the cladding above a door or window head. Its only job is to catch the water running down inside the wall and direct it back out, away from the frame. It costs very little when the wall is first built — but once the cladding is on, nobody can see whether it is there or not.
On a lot of balconies with stacker or sliding doors, it was simply never installed. The balcony gets blamed, the waterproofing gets blamed, the joints get resealed again and again — and the water keeps coming in, because the real entry point is above the doors, hidden inside the cladding.
When it rains, water runs down the face of the wall and down the cavity behind the cladding. With no flashing above the doors, there is nothing to turn that water back out. It tracks over the door head, into the frame and under the floor inside — then shows up as damage a long way from where it entered.
If any of that sounds familiar, the wall above the doors belongs on the suspect list — even if every trade so far has only looked at the balcony floor.
We do not guess, and we do not start by demolishing anything. Where the cause is not obvious, we carry out a controlled water test and put an inspection camera through the wall — two or three five-cent-sized holes, patched the same day — so we can see exactly where the water is coming from before any repair is priced.
In most cases this is done without demolishing the balcony. That is the point of finding the entry before repairing: you fix the metre of wall that is failing, not the whole balcony.
In apartment buildings the wall above the balcony doors is often common property, which can make a missing flashing the owners corporation’s problem rather than the individual owner’s. Whether that is the case depends on the plan of subdivision — we report on the building, and the legal conclusion is for your strata manager or adviser.
Two things are worth knowing. First, if one balcony in the building was built without flashing, its neighbours usually were too — the same crew built them the same way. Our report can be used to test and check the other balconies before they cause water damage of their own. Second, we provide written inspection and defect reports for owners corporations and property managers as standard, so the committee has something concrete to act on.
Quotes for flashing installation and the repair work are free. Where the entry point needs to be proven first, the water test and report are quoted as a fixed fee before we start, and if you go ahead with the repair the report becomes the scope of works — the building is not inspected twice.
What the repair itself costs depends on access, the cladding type and how far the water has travelled — which is exactly why the investigation comes first. A flashing installed now is a fraction of the cost of replacing water-damaged flooring, plaster and framing later.
Missing flashing is one cause of a leaking balcony — and often not the only thing that needs attention once the water has been in the wall. Related services: leaking balcony repairs, balcony water testing and leak reports, cladding repairs and render crack repairs.
A flashing is a thin, angled barrier fitted inside the cladding above a door or window head. It catches the water running down inside the wall and directs it back outside, away from the door frame. Without it, rainwater runs over the door head, into the frame and under the floor inside.
Because it was never installed when the wall was built. It is a small, hidden component, and once the cladding is on nobody can see whether it is there. We see balconies across Melbourne where the joints have been resealed repeatedly while the real entry point was the unflashed door head above.
We confirm it with a controlled water test and an inspection camera through the wall. That means drilling two or three five-cent-sized holes, looking inside the cavity with a borescope, and patching the holes the same day. You get a written report with photos of what we found before any repair is priced.
Usually, yes. We open the cladding locally above the door head, fit the new flashing so it sheds water away from the frame, then reinstate the cladding, render and finish around it. We have repaired a lot of balconies without demolishing them – that is the point of finding the exact entry point first.
Often the wall and cladding above the doors are common property, which can make it an owners corporation matter rather than the individual owner’s – but it depends on the plan of subdivision. Our written report records what was found and where, so your strata manager, committee or adviser can settle responsibility. The legal conclusion is theirs; the building evidence is ours.
Yes. We provide a written workmanship warranty on the areas we repair – where we have installed the flashing and reinstated the wall, it will not leak again. Waterproofing work is carried out under certified Kerakoll systems where applicable.
Flashing installation
If your balcony leaks near the stacker doors, the flashing above them is the first thing to check. We find the entry point, install the flashing properly and warrant the areas we repair – across metropolitan Melbourne. Call 0468 800 300 or send photos through the online form.