SHOWER REGROUTING
& RESEALING IN
CANBERRA.
Cracked grout, mouldy silicone, a shower that has started letting water through. We regrout, reseal and re-silicone wet areas across Canberra and Queanbeyan. Fixed price, quoted before we start.
Grout going black in the corners. Silicone lifting away from the shower tray. A grout line that has crumbled out altogether and left a gap you can put a fingernail into. It is the kind of job that gets looked at every morning and booked in about a year later, usually once a water stain has appeared somewhere it should not be.
Polytechnitis regrouts and reseals wet areas across Canberra and Queanbeyan: showers, bathroom floors, kitchen splashbacks and laundries. We do the surface layer properly and we are straight about where that stops, because grout is not waterproofing and a shower that leaks for a different reason will not be fixed by making it look new.
What Polytechnitis regrouts and reseals
Polytechnitis handles the full wet-area surface: old grout out, new grout in, every movement joint re-siliconed, and any loose tiles reset while the shower is already open.
- Shower recess walls and floors, full regrout
- Silicone cut out and replaced with mould-resistant wet-area sealant
- Shower screen base and frame seals
- Bath and basin edge joints resealed
- Bathroom, ensuite and laundry floor tiles
- Kitchen splashbacks and benchtop joints
- Individual cracked or drummy tiles replaced where a match exists
- Grout sealed after curing so it stains less next time
Cracked grout, failed silicone, or something worse
Polytechnitis checks 3 things before quoting a leaking shower, because only 2 of them are our work. The grout, the silicone and the waterproofing membrane fail in different ways and cost very different money to fix.
Grout, and why it goes first
Grout is cement. It is porous, it is rigid, and in a corner that moves with the building it eventually cracks. Once a grout line has opened up, water sits behind the tile instead of running off it, and the damage accelerates. Polytechnitis grinds the failed lines back to sound material rather than skimming over them, because new grout laid on top of crumbling grout lasts about a season.
Silicone, and why most reseals fail
Silicone belongs in every joint where 2 surfaces meet at an angle: wall to wall, wall to floor, tile to shower tray, tile to bath. Those joints move, and grout in them will always crack. Polytechnitis cuts the old silicone out completely, cleans and dries the joint, then runs new mould-resistant sealant. The common failure is a new bead laid straight over the old one, which looks fine for a month and then lifts in a sheet.
The membrane, which is not our job
Under the tiles is a waterproofing membrane, and when that has failed no surface work will hold the water back. Polytechnitis looks for 3 tells. A damp patch on the far side of the wall. A stain in the ceiling below. A skirting board swelling in the next room. Any of the 3 means water is getting past the tiles entirely, and we say so when we see it rather than selling you a regrout that will not fix it. For where the handyman line sits generally, our guide to handyman vs licensed tradie in Canberra sets it out job by job.
What shower regrouting costs in Canberra
A single shower regrout in Canberra typically costs between $175 and $500, with the local median around $357. Polytechnitis quotes a fixed price before starting and charges no call-out fee, so the number you are told is the number on the invoice.
The published figures range from $100 to $2,800, which looks like chaos until you notice what each one is measuring. Almost all of the difference is scope: 1 shower recess against a whole bathroom, or a regrout against a regrout plus waterproofing.
| Source | What it measures | Published figure |
|---|---|---|
| Airtasker, Canberra | Average of completed Canberra regrouting tasks | $286 to $481, median $357 |
| ServiceTasker, Australia | Shower stall, walls and floor | $250 to $700 |
| ServiceTasker, Australia | Small bathroom, whole room | $400 to $800 |
| ServiceTasker, Australia | Silicone replacement, per linear metre | $10 to $25 |
| Polytechnitis | Typical Canberra metro job, starting from | $150 to $180 including GST |
What Canberra homeowners actually paid
Airtasker’s own list of completed Canberra jobs shows the scope effect clearly. A partial shower-floor top-up in Oxley went for $175 and a shower regrout in Spence for $200, while a full recess with new silicone in Giralang was $500. Go beyond 1 room and it changes shape again: a bathroom and ensuite in Monash came in at $1,400, and 14 square metres across 2 bathrooms and a kitchen in Greenway was quoted at $2,000. The job name is nearly useless as a price signal. The area and the state of the old grout decide it.
Our published range of $150 to $180 including GST is a typical Canberra metro job and a starting point rather than a cap. Where yours lands depends on the project and its scope, so send photos and we will come back with a real figure instead of a range. For what other handyman work costs around town, our handyman prices in Canberra page sets out the market data job by job.
Regrout or retile, with the numbers
Regrouting costs roughly a third of retiling the same area, so Polytechnitis regrouts wherever the tiles themselves are sound. Published Australian rates put regrouting at $25 to $60 per square metre against $80 to $200 or more per square metre to retile, and the retile figure still excludes the days the room is out of use.
Retiling genuinely wins in 3 cases. The tiles are cracked or drummy across most of the wall rather than in 1 or 2 spots. The waterproofing membrane has failed and has to be replaced anyway, which means the tiles are coming off regardless. Or you want a different bathroom, which is a renovation decision rather than a repair one.
Everything short of that is a regrout. Tiles in good condition with tired grout look genuinely new afterwards for a fraction of the money, which is why it is one of the most common jobs booked before a sale or a rental inspection. If a cracked tile is what started you looking, our post on the small handyman jobs in Canberra worth fixing covers why that one tile matters more than it looks.
Landlords, agents and end-of-lease work
Polytechnitis regrouts a lot of Canberra rentals, because mouldy shower silicone is one of the most reliable things to appear on a condition report. It photographs badly, tenants raise it, and it is cheap to fix relative to what it signals to an inspector.
Where a property needs the shower resealed plus the usual list of other items, it is normally booked as 1 property maintenance visit rather than a separate call-out. Any mould staining left on the ceiling or wall afterwards is repainted under painting and wall repairs. 1 team, 1 invoice, across every suburb on our locations we service page.
What we don’t do
4 wet-area jobs sit outside what Polytechnitis takes on. They are listed here rather than discovered halfway through a quote.
- Waterproofing membranes, which sit under the tiles and belong to a bathroom rebuild
- Plumbing behind the wall, including shower mixers, outlets and leaking pipework
- Full bathroom re-tiling and renovations
- Shower screen glass replacement, which is a glazier’s job
We will still look at the job and tell you which of those you actually have. Being told the real problem early is worth more than a cheap quote for the wrong work.
Fixed price. Quoted before we start. What you are quoted is what you pay.
Where these numbers came from
Polytechnitis publishes the source behind every figure on this page rather than asking you to take a range on trust. Both sources were read on their own live pages on 1 September 2026 rather than lifted from a search result. Published rates on this topic go stale in the search snippet long before they change on the page itself.
- Canberra marketplace average and completed local jobs, Airtasker regrouting, Canberra, page updated 8 August 2026
- Australian per-room, per-square-metre and silicone rates, ServiceTasker regrouting cost guide, updated 28 March 2026
What our customers say
Real jobs across Canberra and Queanbeyan, wet areas included.
"I had my doors broken and kitchen drawers malfunctioning. From start to finish, the service was professional, reliable, and genuinely friendly. He was on time, understood exactly what needed to be done, and completed the job with great attention to detail."
"The handyman (Steve) knows very well his job and can do it in no time, he saved me a lot of money, his my number one call if i need anything to fix"
"I can't say enough about the outstanding service from Steve, he did a great job with the wall patching all the holes and painting it."
"I was impressed with the quick and efficient service provided by Polytechnitis, Steve the handyman was very good and completed the job to a high standard and I would highly recommend his services, good price as well and on time."
"Steve flattened my yard and placed pavers on top he also gave me a recommendation for good and affordable electricians"
"My roof was leaking Steve fixed the leak in no time and he didnt charge much"
Common questions
How much does it cost to regrout a shower in Canberra?
Published Canberra figures put a single shower regrout between $175 and $500, with the median around $357. Polytechnitis quotes a fixed price in that territory before any work starts, and there is no call-out fee. Where a job lands depends on the project and its scope. A shower recess is a different job to a full bathroom floor, so send photos of the shower and the grout lines with your address and we will come back with a real number.
Is it cheaper to regrout or retile a shower?
Regrouting is cheaper by roughly 3 to 1 on the same area. Published Australian rates put regrouting at $25 to $60 per square metre against $80 to $200 or more per square metre to retile, and retiling also means removing the tiles, redoing the waterproofing and losing the room for days. Polytechnitis regrouts wherever the tiles themselves are sound, which is most of the time.
Will regrouting fix my leaking shower?
Sometimes, and Polytechnitis will tell you honestly which case yours is before quoting. If water is escaping through cracked grout lines or perished silicone at the joints, regrouting and resealing fixes it. If the waterproofing membrane under the tiles has failed, or the leak is coming from a pipe, no amount of grout will hold it and you need a licensed trade. The tell is usually where the damage shows: a damp patch on the other side of the wall or in the ceiling below points past the grout.
Why does shower grout keep cracking?
Grout cracks for 3 common reasons. The building moves and the rigid grout in a corner joint cannot flex with it, which is exactly why corners should carry silicone rather than grout. The grout was mixed too wet or applied too thin when the bathroom was built. Or water has been getting behind it for long enough to break down the bond. Polytechnitis puts silicone in the movement joints and grout in the flat runs, which is what stops it coming back.
Do you replace the silicone as well as the grout?
Yes, and on most jobs it is the more important half. Polytechnitis cuts out the old silicone completely rather than laying new over the top, cleans and dries the joint, then runs mould-resistant wet-area silicone into the internal corners, the base of the screen and around the shower tray. Silicone laid over old silicone lifts within months, which is the single most common reason a reseal fails.
How long does a shower regrout take?
Most single showers are a same-day job for Polytechnitis. Removing the old grout is the slow part, and it is the part that decides how good the finish is. Larger bathrooms, floor tiles and multiple wet areas run longer, and we will tell you the timeframe with the quote rather than after we start.
How long before I can use the shower again?
Allow 24 hours before running water on new grout and silicone, and Polytechnitis will confirm the exact time on the day because it depends on the product used and the weather. Canberra winters slow curing down. Using the shower early is what causes new silicone to peel away from the tray edge, so it is worth the wait.
Do you regrout kitchen splashbacks and floor tiles too?
Yes. Polytechnitis regrouts kitchen splashbacks, benchtop joints, laundry and bathroom floors, and tiled entryways, not just showers. Splashbacks and floors are usually quicker than a shower because there is less vertical work and fewer movement joints. If you have several tiled areas needing attention, they are cheaper done in 1 visit than booked separately.
Can you replace a few cracked tiles at the same time?
Yes, where matching tiles are available. Polytechnitis replaces individual cracked or drummy tiles as part of a regrout, which is the sensible time to do it. The catch is always the match: tiles from a 1990s bathroom are often out of production, so if you have spares in the garage, dig them out before we quote. A full re-tile is a licensed tiler and waterproofer job, not ours.
Do you do the waterproofing under the tiles?
No. Waterproofing membrane work sits under the tiles and is replaced as part of a bathroom rebuild, not a regrout, so Polytechnitis does not take it on. What we do is the surface layer: grout, silicone, seals and individual tiles. If we open up a shower and find the membrane has gone, we stop and tell you rather than grouting over a problem that will come back.
GROUT GONE BLACK OR SILICONE LIFTING?
Send photos of the shower and the grout lines with your address and we’ll come back with a fixed price.
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