A buyer in South Australia was heading to auction on a 1970s double brick house. The building report found the usual minor issues, plus two concerns they wanted advice on:

1. A possible failed breecher in the bathroom, with a very high moisture reading
2. Significant mould and moisture in the shed

Andy from Swell Building Inspections explained both to host Jordan in our Pro Insights series.

Here’s the short answer: neither is a major structural problem. A leaking breecher in a double brick wall mainly damages tiles and paint, and costs around $3,000 to $10,000 to fix depending on how thoroughly the shower is redone. The shed mould is caused by soil piled against the wall, and removing it is cheap and easy. The same problem against a load-bearing house wall is far more serious.

What Is a Shower Breecher?

The breecher (or breech piece) is the copper pipe fitting set inside the wall behind your shower taps. In older homes, hot and cold pipes meet at the breecher, which feeds a single pipe up to the shower rose. In newer homes, it’s usually a single connection to a mixer tap.

In a double brick home, the breecher is mortared into a single-brick-thick internal wall, with tiles or plaster over the top.

As these homes age, the copper can corrode or a joint can fail. Leaks usually start small.

How Serious Is a Leaking Breecher?

In a brick wall, it’s not a major structural issue. The moisture doesn’t harm the bricks themselves. It damages the finishes on them.

Warning signs to look for, even without a moisture meter:

• Tiles coming loose in the shower, because moisture breaks down the tile adhesive
• Blistering paint on the other side of the wall, as moisture gets in behind the paint

Andy knows this from experience. He once lived in a 1970s house in South Australia where a small breecher leak caused blistering paint, and he has repaired the same problem in other people’s homes.

How a Breecher Leak Is Repaired

1. A licensed plumber removes the shower fixtures and cuts out the brick and mortar around the breecher, taking care not to break through the other side of the wall.
2. The breecher, and sometimes all the copper pipe up to the shower rose, is repaired or replaced.
3. The shower area is re-waterproofed to current standards, re-tiled, and the screen and tapware reinstated.
4. Wait for the brick to dry before repairing plaster and paint on the other side. Rush this, and the paint will blister again within a month.

What Does It Cost?

• A quick fix just to get the shower working again, without full modern waterproofing: around $3,000 to $6,000
• A proper repair, with new waterproofing, fixtures and possibly a new screen: up to around $10,000 for the shower area

Costs vary with the age and type of the home, and the tiles and fixtures you choose.

Brick vs Timber-Framed Walls

In a timber-framed wall, the breecher is a bit easier to reach, but you still have to partly demolish the shower. And if moisture has rotted the framing, that needs repairing too.

Double brick handles moisture well, but it has a weakness of its own. In parts of Adelaide with highly reactive clay soils, many 1970s double brick homes have significant cracking. Reactive clay also turns up in pockets of Hobart and Launceston.

Mould and Moisture in the Shed

The second issue was mould and moisture staining on the inside of a shed wall.

The cause: soil piled up against the outside cladding, perhaps 30 cm high. Moisture travels through the wall into the inside lining, causing staining and mould.

The fix:

1. Remove the soil. Dig it away so the ground is below the shed floor level. Anyone can do this, and it’s cheap.
2. Check the wall frame. If it’s timber, the bottom plate may have rotted and need replacing.
3. Repair the lining where moisture has damaged it.

If it’s only a storage shed, you might simply remove the soil and live with the staining. If the shed has been fitted out (this one had a tiled floor), you’ll probably want to repair it properly.

Indicative cost: about a day’s work for a tradesperson, around $1,000 to $1,500 including materials, for a small section, depending on how much timber is affected.

In mainland Australia especially, damp timber also attracts termites. In Tasmania the termite risk is low, but damp timber is still prone to fungal decay. Our pest inspection guide for Tasmanian buyers covers both.

The Worst Case: Soil Against a House Wall

The same problem on a load-bearing house wall is far more serious. Swell has found whole sections of rotted wall framing from the subfloor where soil was banked against the cladding. That means removing cladding, replacing the rotted framing and fixing the ground levels. Because it affects the structure, it costs a lot more.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a breecher in plumbing?

It’s the copper fitting inside the wall behind your shower taps that connects the hot and cold water and feeds the shower rose.

What are the signs of a leaking shower breecher?

Loose or drummy tiles in the shower, blistering or bubbling paint on the other side of the wall, and high moisture readings around the taps.

How much does it cost to fix a leaking breecher?

Roughly $3,000 to $6,000 for a basic repair, and up to around $10,000 to repair and re-waterproof the shower properly.

Why is there mould on my shed wall?

Often it’s because soil or garden beds are built up against the outside wall. Remove the soil so the ground sits below floor level, then repair any damaged framing or lining.

The Bottom Line

Older homes have their own weak points: ageing copper plumbing, soil built up against walls, and moisture that shows up as blistering paint or loose tiles long before anything looks serious. Andy knows how older homes were built and where they tend to fail. He checks moisture, gets into the subfloor, and explains what he finds in plain English, with repair recommendations and estimated costs.

Andy is a licensed builder with over 15 years of hands-on experience. Every Swell inspection comes with a plain-English report, usually within 24 hours, and a follow-up call to walk you through the findings.

Ready to book? Book your pre-purchase inspection or call 0483 935 688.