The job
Tile removal and waterproofing preparation on a residence in Sunshine Beach, on the Sunshine Coast. The residence has a tiled roof terrace with glass balustrades, a rooftop walkway finished with an old grey coating, and a garage with a block wall that needed cleaning back.
Waterstop Solutions, the waterproofer on the job, was re-waterproofing the terrace and rooftop. They brought in Perfect Concrete Care to take the tiles, bedding and old membrane off and grind the concrete back first. Our Queensland crew was on site from 30 September to 9 October 2025.
What the tile removal involved
- Drop sheets over the glass balustrades and the residence protected before any breaking out
- Breaking the terrace tiles and bedding out with jackhammers and loading the rubble into tubs
- Sending the rubble down a rubbish chute off the scaffold stair into the skip
- Removing the old blue waterproofing membrane and the grey rooftop coating
- Grinding the concrete back on the terrace and the rooftop walkway with hand grinders on vacuums
- Grinding the garage block wall back to clean blockwork
What made it hard
It is a family home. The crew worked around the home and the garden, kept everything covered and cleaned up every day, and got the rubble off the roof without carrying it through the home.
The only way down for the waste was the scaffold, so the rubbish chute and skip had to be kept moving. When the skip was late or full, the tubs stacked up on the terrace until it was changed.
It is an exposed rooftop on the coast. Rain, heat and the odd power drop all cost time, so the crew worked the covered areas and the garage when the roof was not workable.
How it was done
The terrace tiles came off first with jackhammers, then the bedding and the old membrane. The rubble went into tubs and down the chute. The rooftop coating was stripped the same way.
Once everything was off, the crew set up the grinders and vacuums and ground the terrace and walkway back to clean concrete, with hand grinders along the glass and the edges. The garage wall was ground back on a wet day.
Outcome
The roof terrace and rooftop walkway were handed to Waterstop Solutions as bare, clean concrete on 9 October 2025, ready for the new waterproofing, with the garage wall ground back as well.
Lessons learned on this job
Every job teaches the crew something. These are the ones we took from Sunshine Beach.
What worked
- Covering the balustrades and the residence before breaking out a single tile
- Using the scaffold chute for the rubble, so nothing went through the home
- Keeping indoor work like the garage wall for days the roof could not be worked
What was difficult
- A family home, with the home and garden to protect every day
- All the waste going down one chute to one skip
- An exposed coastal rooftop where rain and heat change the day
If you have something similar
Waterproofers and builders re-doing a roof terrace or balcony on the Sunshine Coast need the tiles and old membrane off cleanly before they start. Have a look at our waterproofing membrane removal Sunshine Coast, concrete grinding Sunshine Coast and coating and membrane removal pages, see a similar rooftop tile removal job in Windsor, or get in touch.
Need this done on your building?
Perfect Concrete Care acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Traditional Custodians of the country on which we live and work. We pay our respects to the Traditional Custodians and Elders past, present and future, and honour their connection to the land and ongoing contribution to society.