A balcony with nowhere for the water to go
Drains, overflows and why a blocked outlet floods the doorway.
In short: A Tallawong investigation found a balcony with no overflow and an undersized drain.
How balconies drain
A balcony is a small roof with a door at one end. Water falls to an outlet, and if that outlet blocks, an overflow lets it out before it reaches the door sill.
What was missing
A November 2025 investigation in Tallawong found no overflow on a balcony and a drain pipe smaller than AS/NZS 3500.3 requires.
The screed underneath
The bedding screed under the tiles was cracking across the balcony, which lets water sit and track toward the membrane edges.
Safety first
The balcony handrails were also not installed at the time. That is a fall hazard, recorded ahead of everything else.
Fixing it properly
An overflow and a correctly sized outlet usually mean lifting tiles near the edge. It is still far cheaper than a ceiling repair in the room below.
Written by our local inspection team from work carried out in Tallawong. Licensed building practitioners, NSW Fair Trading licence 366177C.
