Membrane areas measured wet area by wet area against the actual standard, with angle fillets, bond breakers, primer and penetrations all counted — not rolled into a price per bathroom.
A price per bathroom works right up until the shower is a hobless walk-in, the membrane has to go full height, or the balcony above the living room is in the same contract. Then the per-bathroom number is guesswork.
We measure each wet area against what the standard actually requires: floor area, wall height by zone, and every linear and detail item that goes with it. External above-ground work is measured separately again, because it sits under a different standard with a different build-up.
Each wet area is measured on its own. Floor area, then wall membrane by height zone — because AS 3740 sets different heights for a shower wall, the wall behind a bath and the general wet area wall, and quoting them all at one height is either over-priced or non-compliant.
The linear and detail items get counted properly: angle fillets to every wall-floor junction, bond breakers to movement joints, and penetrations at every waste, tap and outlet. These are where the labour lives on a wet area, and they are the first thing left off a per-bathroom price.
External above-ground work — balconies, planter boxes, podiums and roof decks — is measured under AS 4654 as its own package, including upturns, drainage details, protection layers and any screed or fall build-up.
Nothing here is an allowance. Each line is measured off your drawings in its own unit, so you can check it against the plan yourself.
| Item | How it is measured | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Floor membrane | Area per wet area, with falls and waste points noted | Falls affect screed volume as well as membrane detail |
| Wall membrane | Area by height zone per the standard for that location | Shower walls, bath walls and general walls have different required heights |
| Primer | Area by substrate type | Primer choice follows the substrate, and it is a real material cost |
| Angle fillets | Linear metres to every wall-floor and wall-wall junction | This is the detail that fails first and the item most often left off |
| Bond breakers | Linear metres at movement joints and junctions | A code requirement wherever movement is expected |
| Penetrations | Counted individually — wastes, taps, outlets, screw fixings | Each one is a detail and each one is a failure point |
| Screed and falls | Volume and area where falls are formed in screed | A hobless or linear-drain shower changes the screed considerably |
| Flashings and upturns | Linear metres at doors, thresholds and upturns | Door thresholds are the most common leak on a balcony |
| External membrane | Area by system to balconies, planters and podiums | AS 4654 work is a separate standard and a separate build-up |
| Standard | Applies to | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| AS 3740 | Internal domestic wet areas | Required heights and zones by location |
| AS 4654 | External above-ground work | Upturns, drainage and protection layers |
| Shower zone | Enclosed and unenclosed showers | Full-height membrane in the shower area |
| Bath and basin walls | Walls adjoining fixtures | Membrane to a set height above the fixture |
| General wet area floor | Whole room floor | Floor membrane plus junction detail |
| Hobless / level entry | Walk-in and linear-drain showers | Falls formed in screed, larger membrane extent |
Waterproofing is a trade with waiting built into it. Coats have cure times between them, and the tiler cannot start until the membrane is done and often not until it has been inspected. That is program time, not just labour time.
We note the coat count and the sequence in the estimate so the duration is visible when you are committing to a start date. It is one of the most common causes of a trade being blamed for a delay that was actually in the sequence.
The same five steps on every job, whether it is a single slab or a full tender package.
Email the architectural and structural drawings, the specification and the scope of works in whatever format you have — PDF, DWG, or photos of a marked-up set. If something is missing we will tell you before we start, not after.
Each wet area is measured on its own. Floor area, then wall membrane by height zone — because AS 3740 sets different heights for a shower wall, the wall behind a bath and the general wet area wall, and quoting them all at one height is either over-priced or non-compliant.
Every measured item gets its own colour and legend entry on the drawing. When the takeoff comes back you can see exactly what was counted and what was not, so you are never asked to trust a number you cannot trace. This is the part clients tell us they did not know they needed until they had it.
The takeoff is delivered as a working spreadsheet, not a locked PDF. Your rates sit in their own column, so you can change a supply price or a labour rate and watch the total move. Plug in your own numbers and the sheet is yours to reuse on the next job.
Quantities are re-measured independently and cross-checked against the drawing before anything leaves here. You get the marked-up plans, the priced spreadsheet and a plain-English note on anything we flagged as unclear or excluded.
The takeoff arrives as a live Excel spreadsheet with the colour-coded marked-up plans beside it. Your rates go in your own column, so you can plug in your own supply and labour numbers and reuse the sheet on the next job. Nothing is locked.
First estimate free. After that the fee is confirmed in writing as a fixed amount before any work starts. No retainer, no subscription, no lock-in contract. Full pricing detail here →
Re-waterproofing an existing wet area means strip-out, substrate repair and disposal before any membrane goes down, and the strip-out is often the larger part. It cannot be priced from a new-build rate.
Where the scope is remedial we measure the removal and the make-good as their own lines and state what we have assumed about the existing substrate, because that is the item most likely to change once the tiles are off.
Quantities are measured against the standards and the specification for your job. Where a drawing and a standard disagree, we flag it rather than quietly picking one.
| Standard | Covers | Relevance |
|---|---|---|
| AS 3740 | Waterproofing of domestic wet areas | Internal wet area membrane requirements |
| AS 4654 | Waterproofing membranes for external above-ground use | Balconies, decks and podiums |
| AS 4858 | Wet area membranes | Membrane material classification |
None of these are unusual. They are the things that get missed when a quote is put together at 9pm after a full day on the tools.
If your question is not here, email it through and you will get a straight answer, not a sales call.
Yes. Wall membrane is measured by height zone according to what the standard requires for that location — shower walls, walls adjoining a bath or basin, and general wet area walls are all measured separately rather than at one blanket height.
External above-ground work is measured under AS 4654 instead, as its own package.
Always, by linear metre. Angle fillets go to every wall-floor and wall-wall junction and bond breakers go to movement joints. They are slow work, they are code requirements, and they are the items most often missing from a per-bathroom price.
Yes, as a separate AS 4654 package including upturns, door thresholds, drainage details, protection layers and any screed used to form falls. Door thresholds get particular attention because that is where most balconies leak.
As their own line. A level-entry or linear-drain shower means falls formed in screed across a larger area and a greater membrane extent than a hobbed shower, so it is measured rather than assumed to be equivalent.
Strip-out, substrate repair and disposal are measured as separate lines from the new membrane. On remedial work the removal is frequently the bigger cost, and we state the substrate condition we assumed so you know what to check once the tiles come off.
The floor plan, the wet area details or interior elevations, and the specification with the nominated membrane system. If the system is not nominated we will note the class we priced against so you can substitute.
Most residential wet area packages come back within 24 hours of the plans arriving. Multi-level balcony and podium packages take longer, and we confirm the timing before starting.
Most jobs cross more than one trade. We can price the whole package in one spreadsheet.
Your first estimate is free. Email the drawings and the scope, and you will have a marked-up takeoff and a priced spreadsheet back within 24 hours on most residential jobs. Prefer to talk first? Reply with "KEEN" and your number.