Balcony leak repair at a Dee Why beachfront restaurant
The tiled balcony of a beachfront restaurant in Dee Why was leaking into the cafe underneath. We regrouted and sealed the whole balcony in about 4 hours, without removing the tiles. The commercial property manager signed off the repair after it went back into use with no further leaks.
The job at a glance
- Location: Dee Why, NSW 2099, on the beachfront
- Property: commercial building with a restaurant balcony above a cafe
- Problem: balcony leaking into the cafe below
- Work: degrouted and regrouted the whole balcony, resiliconed the edges and sealed the full surface
- Time on site: about 4 hours
- Back in use: after 24 hours of curing
- Tiles removed: none
- Sign-off: commercial property manager, after no further leaks
- Completed: August 2026
The problem
Water from the restaurant's balcony was getting through to the cafe on the floor below. For a commercial building, that means damage to a tenant's ceiling and fit-out, and pressure to fix it quickly without closing the balcony for long.
What we found
The waterproofing under the tiles was no longer keeping water out. The grout lines across the balcony had failed, and so had the joints around the perimeter, where the tiles meet the walls, the balustrade upstand and the doors. Water was soaking in through the joints, reaching the slab and finding its way into the cafe below.
The terrazzo tiles were still well bonded, so replacing the whole balcony and its membrane wasn't necessary.
What we did
- Raked out the failed grout from every joint across the balcony.
- Regrouted the whole balcony.
- Cut out and replaced the silicone around the perimeter and at the doors and upstands.
- Sealed the complete balcony surface and left it to cure.
The work took about 4 hours. The balcony was back in use after 24 hours of curing, so the restaurant lost very little trading time on it.
The result
No leaks have come through to the cafe since the balcony went back into use, and the commercial property manager signed off the repair.
Commercial or strata balcony leaking?
Replacing a balcony membrane usually means lifting every tile, weeks of disruption and a much bigger bill. If the tiles are still sound, regrouting and sealing can often stop the leak in a day. We'll inspect first and tell you honestly if the balcony needs more than that. We can also issue a compliance certificate for our waterproofing work. See our leaking balcony repairs
Every balcony is different. A non-invasive repair isn't right for every leak, and we'll tell you at the inspection if yours needs something else.
Leaking shower or balcony?
We'll inspect it and quote for free, anywhere in Sydney. If the tiles are sound, we can usually stop the leak without lifting them. The sealing product we use carries a manufacturer's product warranty of up to 25 years, under the manufacturer's terms.