In short: The owners saw tiles lifting. The investigation found water had been getting into the structure for a long time.
What the owners noticed
Tiles on three timber-framed balconies at an Officer home had started lifting and the balustrades felt less solid than they used to. A steel lintel had already been put in under one balcony as temporary support. They wanted to know why, and what a proper repair would involve.
The membrane
The investigation found the balcony waterproofing had effectively stopped working. Water was passing straight through into the structure. The tiles were lifting because moisture was trapped beneath them, and the timber soffit linings below were deteriorating from the same water.
What the water had reached
Several balcony joists were badly damaged and the structural flooring showed mould on its underside, a sign it had been damp for a long period. The balustrades themselves were sound, but they were fixed into limestone masonry that had cracked and shifted, so their fixings could no longer be relied on.
Why the scope was bigger than expected
A repair that only relaid the tiles would have failed again. The report set out that the membrane, damaged joists and flooring had to be replaced, and that an adjoining system which still worked would need to come out to allow the rebuild. Knowing that up front meant the owners could get comparable quotes for the same scope.
Written by our local inspection team from work carried out in Officer. Licensed building practitioners, Building & Plumbing Commission registration CDB-U 53425.
