Guide · wet area plasterboard

Wet areas in Queensland: what goes in your plasterboard and painting takeoff

Avo estimating team · Last checked against the sources below on 19 October 2026

Measure wet areas — bathrooms, ensuites, laundries and toilets — on their own lines, because they are usually lined in water-resistant plasterboard or fibre-cement sheet instead of standard board, and parts of them carry waterproofing requirements under the NCC. Follow the specification for the board, and leave the waterproofing system to the waterproofer and the certifier.

What the NCC treats as wet areas

The ABCB Housing Provisions (NCC 2022) Part 10.2 sets requirements for shower areas, areas outside showers, areas next to baths and spas, walls behind sinks, basins and laundry tubs, laundries and WCs, and some kitchen and bar areas. Some surfaces must be waterproof — for example, shower-area walls to 1800 mm above the floor substrate — and others water resistant, such as laundry and WC floors and wall–floor junctions.

Which board goes where

Manufacturers make boards for this. Gyprock describes Aquachek 10 mm as a lining for residential wet areas — bathrooms, laundries, ensuites and toilets — and refers to AS 3740 for additional requirements. James Hardie’s Villaboard (6 and 9 mm fibre cement) is made for wet areas and for use under tiles. The specification for your job decides which one; the takeoff just has to keep them apart.

How we measure wet areas

Bathrooms, ensuites, laundries and toilets (WCs) go on a water-resistant board line unless the specification says otherwise. That goes beyond the code minimum for a WC’s walls; it is our default, and the specification always wins.
Wet-area walls and ceilings are their own lines, by level.
Tiled walls are recorded, because they come off the paint quantities.
Curved walls are flagged: tight curves may need a thinner, flexible sheet.

What a takeoff doesn’t decide

The membrane, falls to the waste, junction details and who certifies the waterproofing are for the designer, the waterproofer and the certifier. In Queensland waterproofing is its own QBCC licence class. A takeoff should list the wet-area quantities and leave those decisions where they belong.

Why it is worth getting right

The QBCC reported that residential bathroom claims finalised under the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme in 2024–25 averaged almost $25,000 in rectification costs (published 24 February 2026). Most of that is waterproofing work rather than lining, but it shows how expensive wet areas are to fix after handover — a clear, separate wet-area scope in the takeoff is part of getting them right first time.

NCC 2025 in Queensland

Queensland has deferred the start of NCC 2025 until 1 May 2027 (HIA, 5 May 2026). Check with your certifier which edition applies to your approval before relying on any clause.