Waterproofing & Repair
A bathroom is the room in the house where a small undiagnosed problem becomes a structural one fastest. A failed bead of caulk at the shower-pan corner lets a teaspoon of water through every shower for two years, and one Saturday the homeowner steps on the bathroom floor in front of the toilet and feels it flex. A hairline crack in a single floor tile lets daily mop water reach the OSB underneath, and twelve months later the bullnose at the tub apron is moving when you press it. The exhaust fan that has been undersized since 1998 keeps the room at 75 percent humidity through every Pacific Northwest winter, and every joint in every wet zone mildews on the same calendar. Waterproofing and repair is the trade for catching that progression — before the failed bead becomes a failed subfloor, before the cracked tile becomes a rotted bottom plate, before the moldy grout becomes a wall-and-floor demo. Four service families, every one with an honest scope and an honest licensed-trade handoff when the source is an in-wall supply or drain line. From $900 for a small drywall patch behind a tile to $12,000 for a whole-home re-caulk across three or four bathrooms with heavy mildew remediation.
Services
Waterproofing & Repair Pricing
Final pricing depends on the affected area, how deep the moisture has traveled, the substrate condition, and whether a licensed plumber needs to be in the loop for an active in-wall supply or drain leak. Each child page lists detailed pricing for that service family. Licensed-plumber sub fees pass through transparently with the line item named. Request a free estimate for an accurate quote.
Send us photos of the wet spot — we will tell you whether it is a caulk fix, a tile fix, or a plumber call.
Why Seattle Homeowners Book Handis for Waterproofing & Repair
Most bathroom moisture problems we see are eight to fifteen years in the making. A 2010-vintage tile shower whose builder used cement board as if it were waterproofing (it is not — cement board is dimensionally stable in moisture but porous to water), a 1998 acrylic surround whose caulk bead at the pan-to-wall corner was last redone by the previous owner, an alcove tub whose toilet base bead crumbled three years ago and nobody noticed because the floor is tile. The path from a failed bead to a structural problem runs through the substrate — drywall paper, cement board, OSB, the rim joist below. Catching the failure at the caulk stage is a $2,500 visit. Catching it at the substrate stage is a $6,000 visit. Catching it at the joist stage is a structural job with a permit. Handis is honest on arrival about which stage the bathroom is actually in.
Estimate
Tell us the bathroom (master, guest, hall, powder), where the wet spot is (shower pan, toilet base, tub apron, ceiling below), how long it has been there, and any moisture meter readings or visible mold you have already documented. Send phone photos if you can. We will tell you on the response whether it is a Handis-only visit or needs a licensed plumber sub in the loop, and we will quote both portions line by line.
What Our Customers Say
Recent waterproofing and repair reviews from verified Seattle-area customers.
Soft floor at the front of the toilet that had been ignored for two years. Handis pulled the toilet, opened the OSB, found two square feet of rotten subfloor and a corroded brass flange. They replaced the OSB, the tech set the new flange and wax ring, re-tiled the affected area to match the existing pattern, and re-set the toilet. No plumber needed because the leak source was the failed wax seal, not the in-wall drain. One day on site.
Mildew bloom behind the master shower wall in the adjacent closet. Tech opened the shower corner, found the original cement board had never been membraned and the drywall behind it was wet and moldy two feet up. They cut out the wet drywall, treated the studs with a quaternary cleaner, replaced with KERDI-Board, did fresh Schluter membrane, re-tiled. Six months later the closet wall is bone dry.
Whole-home re-caulk across three bathrooms in a 1995 build. Every joint in every wet zone, plus the toilet base beads we had forgotten about. Tech worked through the bathrooms in order so the cure timing did not stack. Three water tests at the end, one in each bathroom. The whole house feels like the bathrooms got a service-life reset.
Cracked floor tile in front of the tub and three hollow-sounding tiles on the shower wall. Handis removed the failed tiles without breaking any of the neighbors, set replacements from our attic stock, regrouted the affected areas with the original sanded grout color, and sealed everything. The repair is invisible. We could not pick the patched area out of the floor if we tried.
Active leak inside the wall behind the guest-bath shower valve. Handis was honest on arrival — said it was a licensed plumber call, not theirs. They named a Washington L&I plumber, the plumber came in for the supply line repair, then Handis returned to rebuild the substrate with new KERDI-Board, a fresh Schluter membrane, and a re-tile that matched the original. Two contractors, one coordinated project, no surprises.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Handis bathroom waterproofing and repair — pricing, scope, plumber handoff, scheduling, and what fits each service.