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
What Waterproofing & Repair Covers
Waterproofing and repair is the bathroom trade that sits between everyday maintenance and a full remodel — the work that catches a failing caulk bead before the subfloor rots, replaces a cracked field tile before the substrate moves, opens a wall behind a moldy shower corner before the studs are involved, and dries and rebuilds a soft floor before the rim joist below has to be sistered. Four service families, each with its own scope and price floor. Handis self-performs the demo, carpentry, tile, thinset, grout, waterproofing membrane (Schluter KERDI sheet, KERDI-Board, or RedGard liquid), and substrate rebuild. Any active in-wall plumbing supply or drain leak routes to a licensed Washington L&I plumber FIRST as the responsible licensed party — Handis returns to rebuild the substrate, waterproofing, tile, and finish after the licensed trade closes their portion. We are honest on the booking call about which scope is a Handis-only visit and which needs the plumber in the loop.
Re-Caulk & Seal Package
The whole-bathroom wet-zone reset — every horizontal and vertical caulk bead in the shower, tub, vanity backsplash, vanity side joints, toilet base, tile floor-to-wall transitions, and any window apron in the wet zone — stripped, mildew-treated with a quaternary ammonium cleaner, re-bedded in fresh 100% silicone, dry-tooled, and water-tested before we leave. The 5-to-10-year service interval that resets the seal life of every wet surface in the bathroom at once. From $2,500 for a single bathroom up to $12,000 for a whole-home re-caulk across three or four bathrooms with heavy mildew remediation.
Re-Caulk & Seal Package — every joint in the bathroom, fresh silicone, water test
Tile & Grout Repair
Cracked field tile, hollow-sounding tiles, missing or broken bullnose at the tub apron, blown-out corner grout in the shower, missing grout along pan-to-wall seams, and floor tiles that pop when you walk over them. We remove the failed tile without breaking the neighbors, clean the substrate, set the replacement tile in fresh thinset (Mapei Ultraflex 2 or Custom Versabond depending on the location), regrout the affected area with sanded or unsanded grout matched to the joint width, and seal the new grout. From $2,500 for a small spot repair up to $12,000 for a full shower-wall re-grout and multi-tile replacement on a 1990s-era tile install that has gone past its service life.
Tile & Grout Repair — tile replacement, regrout, sealing, substrate inspection
Subfloor Moisture Repair
Soft floor at the toilet base, soft spot at the tub apron, the OSB you can see is dark when the tile cracks away, water staining on the ceiling in the room directly below the bathroom, or a moisture meter reading above 15 percent on the subfloor. Handis pulls the toilet, opens the floor, dries the subfloor with a heat-assist dehumidifier, replaces wet or rotten OSB or plywood subfloor panels, sets a new flange and wax ring, and re-tiles or re-vinyls the floor. Active in-wall plumbing leaks route to a licensed Washington L&I plumber FIRST — Handis handles the carpentry and finish rebuild after the licensed trade closes the leak. From $1,500 for a single soft spot up to $6,000 for a multi-fixture subfloor rebuild.
Subfloor Moisture Repair — wet OSB or plywood replacement, new flange, re-tile
Wall Repair Behind Tile
The wall behind a tiled shower or tub surround that has gone soft, moldy, or delaminated — usually from a caulk bead that has been failing for years and letting water through joint by joint, sometimes from an active in-wall valve leak that needs the plumber sub first. We open the failed tile section, inspect the substrate (greenboard, cement backer board, or Schluter KERDI-Board), cut out the wet material, treat visible mold with a quaternary ammonium cleaner, replace the substrate with cement board or KERDI-Board, install a real waterproofing membrane (Schluter KERDI sheet bonded with KERDI-Fix, or RedGard liquid membrane brushed on), and prep for tile. Active in-wall supply or drain leaks route to a licensed Washington L&I plumber FIRST. From $900 for a small drywall patch behind a single tile up to $3,500 for a full backer-board and membrane rebuild behind a shower wall.
Wall Repair Behind Tile — wet drywall removal, KERDI-Board substrate, real membrane
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.
Diagnostic walk before the demo — we tell you the stage on arrival
Every waterproofing and repair visit starts with a diagnostic walk. Moisture meter reading on the subfloor at the toilet and tub. Tap test on every tile in the wet zone to identify hollows. Visual inspection of every caulk bead. Press-test of the wall behind the shower at every corner where we can reach the substrate from the back. We tell you on arrival whether the bathroom is a $2,500 caulk job, a $6,000 substrate job, or needs a plumber sub first — before any tool comes off the truck. The diagnostic walk takes 30 to 45 minutes and is included in the estimate.
Real waterproofing — Schluter KERDI, KERDI-Board, or RedGard, not cement board
Cement board is not waterproof. It is dimensionally stable under moisture exposure (it does not swell or crumble the way drywall does), but water passes straight through it. Every Handis shower or tub-surround rebuild gets a real waterproofing system bonded to the substrate — Schluter KERDI sheet membrane bonded with thinset and seamed with KERDI-Band, Schluter KERDI-Board waterproof panel installed directly with KERDI-Fix sealant, or RedGard liquid waterproofing membrane brushed on in two coats with corner reinforcement fabric. The waterproofing inspection happens before the tile goes back on the wall. You see it. You sign off on it.
Honest plumber handoff when the source is in-wall
An active in-wall plumbing supply line drip behind the shower valve, a hairline pinhole in a copper line above the bathroom ceiling, a slow drain leak at the trap inside the wall — any of these means a licensed Washington L&I plumber is the responsible licensed party for the leak fix. Handis routes to a vetted plumber on the same call, schedules the licensed-sub site visit, and returns for the carpentry and tile rebuild after their portion is signed off. We do not do in-wall plumbing supply or drain repairs. We name the plumber and their portion on the quote so you see exactly who is touching what.
Mildew remediation with quaternary ammonium, not bleach
Visible mildew on the substrate under a failed bead or behind a wet tile does not die when you scrape it off. It lives in the porous substrate (drywall paper, cement board pores, OSB grain) and grows back through the new finish inside six months if not treated. We use a quaternary ammonium cleaner (Spartan NABC, Diversey Virex, or hospital-grade equivalent) on the full ten-minute label dwell, rinse, and dry until a moisture meter confirms substrate-dry. Bleach fades the stain but does not kill the organism in porous substrate.
Insured, background-checked, written warranty
Handis carries general liability and workers' compensation; every technician has cleared a background screening before the first job. Caulk and seal work carries a 30-day workmanship guarantee. Tile, grout, and waterproofing rebuild work carries a one-year project warranty. The licensed-sub portion (any plumbing work) carries its own Washington L&I-trade warranty, named on the quote so you know whom to call for what.
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.