Waiheke tiling and waterproofing, done in one planned crossing
Empty holiday homes, rainwater tanks, salt air and a ferry between you and the nearest specialist. Island bathrooms fail differently, so we plan island jobs differently: one crew, one load of materials, one uninterrupted visit.
How we run an island job
One planned crossing, not six day trips. There are no tile shops on the island, so the order has to be right first time. Tiles, membrane, primer, screed and grout all cross in one load on the vehicle ferry, and freight sits on your quote as its own line, not hidden in the square metre rate.
One crew for the whole wet area. Waterproofing, screeding, tiling and the PS3 are handled by the same team on the same visit. When the membrane and the tiling are split between two contractors, nobody owns the result.
The rules are not looser out here. Auckland Council is still the consent authority for the Hauraki Gulf islands. We are registered PS3 authors, so we issue the Producer Statement ourselves, with no third party to chase.
You do not need to be on the island. Waiheke work is scheduled as a single uninterrupted run, with the crew, the materials and the certification arriving together. We coordinate access with your property manager, send progress photos at the end of each day, and hand the house back clean.
Done once, backed for 10 years. Redoing an island bathroom costs far more than a mainland one, because everything and everyone crosses the water twice. Our work is covered by a 10-year workmanship warranty in writing.
Waterproofing and tiling across Waiheke
Most Waiheke properties run on rainwater tanks and on-site wastewater, and plenty of houses sit empty for weeks at a time. A slow leak here is tank water disappearing into your subfloor with nobody there to notice, which is why wet areas on the island have to be done properly the first time.
- Bathroom waterproofing - certified membranes on showers, floors and wet-area walls, with correct upstands, sealed penetrations and full cure time before any tile goes down. PS3 issued where the job needs one.
- Bathroom tiling and renovations - floors, walls, walk-in showers, niches, benches and vanity surrounds in porcelain, ceramic, marble and stone. Large-format tiles need a level substrate, so we check and sort that first. Full strip-out to handover if you want the room done properly.
- Under-tile deck and balcony waterproofing - half the good houses on this island are built for the view, which means tiled decks and balconies sitting over living space, exposed to sun, wind and salt. We install membranes under the tiles with proper falls, so water runs away from the house, finished with slip-rated tiles suited to exposed island conditions.
- Pool and outdoor tiling - pool interiors, waterlines, coping and surrounds, plus slip-rated tiling for terraces and entertaining areas, using systems built for salt air and constant sun.
On Builders Crack our customers have rated us 4.9 stars across 118 reviews, alongside a 5.0 rating from 21 Google reviews.
What does waterproofing and tiling cost on Waiheke?
A little more than the same job on the mainland, and we would rather show you why than hide it in the square metre rate. Two things add to an island quote and nothing else does: freight for the materials and travel time for the crew. Everything crosses on the vehicle ferry in one load, and the bigger the job, the smaller that premium looks as a share of the total. That is why doing every wet area in one visit is almost always cheaper than doing them one at a time.
As a general guide, a full bathroom renovation, meaning complete strip-out, certified waterproofing with PS3, full floor and wall tiling, new fixtures and updated plumbing and electrical, typically lands between $24,000 and $40,000 with freight and travel included as their own lines. Multiple wet areas done in one planned visit, such as two or three bathrooms plus a deck membrane, typically run $45,000 to $90,000 or more depending on layout changes, stone and underfloor heating.
One more tip: insist on a clear, itemised quote with freight and travel shown as separate lines, and the strip-out, waterproofing product, tiling rate and fixtures each on their own line. Vague quotes are where hidden costs hide, and on an island there are more places for them to hide.
Suburbs we cover
Before you book
Do I need a building consent and a PS3 for a bathroom on Waiheke?
If the job involves a new tiled shower, a change to the waterproofing, or moving plumbing, then usually yes. Auckland Council is the building consent authority for the Hauraki Gulf islands, so the same rules apply here as in Remuera. Once consented wet-area work is involved, the council wants a PS3 Producer Statement from a registered author before it issues the Code Compliance Certificate, and we issue that document ourselves. Like-for-like work, such as swapping a vanity in the same position, generally does not need consent.
What happens if we run short of tiles halfway through?
On the mainland someone drives to the supplier. Here it costs a day and a ferry crossing, so we do not let it happen. We measure, order with an allowance for cuts and breakage, and confirm the exact tile and batch before anything is loaded, because dye lots vary and a top-up order months later rarely matches. The adhesive, membrane, primer, screed, trims and grout all come across in the same load. If you have already bought your tiles, tell us what you have and we will check the quantity before we book the crossing.
I am not on the island most of the time. How does the job run without me?
That is normal for Waiheke. We coordinate access with your property manager, schedule the work as one uninterrupted block, send progress photos at the end of each day, and hand the house back clean. You see the job move without crossing the water once.
Ready to renovate your bathroom?
Tell us about your project and which bay the house is in, and we will come back with a free, itemised quote with freight and travel shown as their own lines. Call 021 818 013.