Technical Q&A

Q. I have received a building report from a client stating that waterproofing to his house does not comply with AS 4654. Building approval was given in 2008 and I completed the building work for the client in 2010.  Could you advise if I should have provided waterproofing in accordance with this Australian Standard?

A. The reference of AS 4654 in the building report is the Australian Standard for Waterproofing membranes for external above-ground use. 

This Australian Standard consists of two parts.  

• AS 4654, Part 1 2012 –œ ‘’Materials” This standard sets out the requirements for materials forming part of a waterproofing system on the surface of building materials, to prevent the ingress of water. 

• AS 4654, Part 2 2012- ‘’Design and Installation” This standard sets out the requirements for the design and installation of above-ground external waterproofing membranes for use in buildings and structures (for example roofs and balconies).

The National Construction Code – Building Code of Australia (NCC) contains the technical provisions for design and construction of buildings and other structures.

The NCC provides the minimum necessary standards of construction relevant to safety (including structural safety and safety from fire), health, amenity, accessibility and sustainability objectives for buildings and other structures.

To meet the performance requirements of the NCC, Part 1.4 of this code provides standards and documents adopted by reference.

The standard AS 4654 was first referenced in the 2013 version of NCC.

You mentioned that building approval was given in 2008 and that the building work was completed in 2010.

As building approval was granted in 2008, construction should have met with the requirements of the day. That being the requirements set down under the NCC 2008 version. 

As I have mentioned AS4654 was not a referenced standard until 2013, which is well after building approval for that building work had been granted in 2008 and as such you would not have be required to comply with that standard.

If you have any technical questions you can contact Master Builders ACT on (02) 6175 5900.