Leak detection services
Discussion
So, annoyingly, my central heating leak is not in the boiler but in the pipework somewhere.
The house is a 5 bed/3 bath semi-detached and (to my untrained eyes) the pipework seems to be taking a long and complicated route around the house. It appears to be mainly in stud walls and under the floorboards. The ground floor is concrete and I'm hoping strongly that the pipework isnt embedded in the floor 9surely that would be stupid)?
Anyway Ive been told by my Insurance Co, that I need to get "Trace and Access" people to come and find the leak and to enable access to it, so that their Engineer can repair it. So my questions are
1. has anybody ever used any of these companies?
2. How succesful (or not) were they?
3. How much disruption / damage do they tend to cause?
4. What's the likely cost?
The house is a 5 bed/3 bath semi-detached and (to my untrained eyes) the pipework seems to be taking a long and complicated route around the house. It appears to be mainly in stud walls and under the floorboards. The ground floor is concrete and I'm hoping strongly that the pipework isnt embedded in the floor 9surely that would be stupid)?
Anyway Ive been told by my Insurance Co, that I need to get "Trace and Access" people to come and find the leak and to enable access to it, so that their Engineer can repair it. So my questions are
1. has anybody ever used any of these companies?
2. How succesful (or not) were they?
3. How much disruption / damage do they tend to cause?
4. What's the likely cost?
Countdown said:
I hadn't even thought about it to be honest. How effective are they through carpet/underlay/floorboards ?
Very. Just have a little search for some video of them in use, they’re very effective. You will probably find the leak, and would be one of the tools the leak detector people may well use.pistonheadforum said:
Old trick - fill the header tank (gravity fed) or in a pressure system tower radiator with some cheap perfume and then use your nose to find where you can smell the magic of Chunnel No 4.5 around the house.
Sounds good, except that I don't have a header tank, a towel rail or any cheap perfume 
I should clarify that I am to DIY what Bernard Manning was to dieting
Countdown said:
So, annoyingly, my central heating leak is not in the boiler but in the pipework somewhere.
The house is a 5 bed/3 bath semi-detached and (to my untrained eyes) the pipework seems to be taking a long and complicated route around the house. It appears to be mainly in stud walls and under the floorboards. The ground floor is concrete and I'm hoping strongly that the pipework isnt embedded in the floor 9surely that would be stupid)?
Anyway Ive been told by my Insurance Co, that I need to get "Trace and Access" people to come and find the leak and to enable access to it, so that their Engineer can repair it. So my questions are
1. has anybody ever used any of these companies?
2. How succesful (or not) were they?
3. How much disruption / damage do they tend to cause?
4. What's the likely cost?
Have you looked at some of the stuff on YouTube / Instagram? The house is a 5 bed/3 bath semi-detached and (to my untrained eyes) the pipework seems to be taking a long and complicated route around the house. It appears to be mainly in stud walls and under the floorboards. The ground floor is concrete and I'm hoping strongly that the pipework isnt embedded in the floor 9surely that would be stupid)?
Anyway Ive been told by my Insurance Co, that I need to get "Trace and Access" people to come and find the leak and to enable access to it, so that their Engineer can repair it. So my questions are
1. has anybody ever used any of these companies?
2. How succesful (or not) were they?
3. How much disruption / damage do they tend to cause?
4. What's the likely cost?
They seem to do a very good job and the techniques used are interesting!
CorradoTDI said:
Have you looked at some of the stuff on YouTube / Instagram?
They seem to do a very good job and the techniques used are interesting!
I watch this guy:They seem to do a very good job and the techniques used are interesting!
https://www.youtube.com/@ADILeakDetectiveMG/featur...
Who i ASSUME is these people:
https://www.adileakdetection.co.uk/
If you're 'down with the kids' and can stomach Tiktok there's a surprising amount of DIY/Trades stuff on there. A guy called ADILeakDetectiveMG seems to do a decent job of locating tricky leaks on his vids.
Of course, he's only showing the ones he finds, so who knows how successful he really is
But anyway, yours doesn't sound all that unusual or unique compared to what those sort of people go looking for.
Edit: cross post with the one above!
Of course, he's only showing the ones he finds, so who knows how successful he really is
But anyway, yours doesn't sound all that unusual or unique compared to what those sort of people go looking for.
Edit: cross post with the one above!
Funnily enough we had to use their services just last week.
We had a damp patch that we just couldn't explain. Drains checked, roof checked, the works. Normal plumbers didn't want the job.
Was in the conservatory so didn't think there'd be pipework there until...
Guy turns up with all the kit. Drills a few holes where he suspects problem and puts a camera down there and bingo! Turns out that the idiots that built the conservatory before we bought the place routed some pipes there for some inexplicable reason and one of them sprung a surprisingly big leak.
He chopped away a portion of the plasterboard that revealed the leak and fixed it in short order. They don't reinstate the wall afterwards but it's fairly wrecked now with water damage so all of that wall will need replasterboarding and skimming anyway.
They are very expensive though. Think around a grand for a visit but they stay there until the leak if found and fixed. We were originally told that they allow 6 hours for an initial visit and most are fixed within that time.
They'll also supply you with a pretty in-depth report afterwards that you can send to your insurance company if you have cover.
The guy doing it does this everyday and they seem to have a sixth sense on guessing where the leak is coming from. Was very professional and competent (and so he bloody well should be at the price!)
So is it worth it? It was seriously stressing me out in the end and the frustration of other trades letting me down had me reaching for the phone. I should have just called a leak firm earlier so I happily paid.
Now we're waiting for everything to dry out a bit...
We had a damp patch that we just couldn't explain. Drains checked, roof checked, the works. Normal plumbers didn't want the job.
Was in the conservatory so didn't think there'd be pipework there until...
Guy turns up with all the kit. Drills a few holes where he suspects problem and puts a camera down there and bingo! Turns out that the idiots that built the conservatory before we bought the place routed some pipes there for some inexplicable reason and one of them sprung a surprisingly big leak.
He chopped away a portion of the plasterboard that revealed the leak and fixed it in short order. They don't reinstate the wall afterwards but it's fairly wrecked now with water damage so all of that wall will need replasterboarding and skimming anyway.
They are very expensive though. Think around a grand for a visit but they stay there until the leak if found and fixed. We were originally told that they allow 6 hours for an initial visit and most are fixed within that time.
They'll also supply you with a pretty in-depth report afterwards that you can send to your insurance company if you have cover.
The guy doing it does this everyday and they seem to have a sixth sense on guessing where the leak is coming from. Was very professional and competent (and so he bloody well should be at the price!)
So is it worth it? It was seriously stressing me out in the end and the frustration of other trades letting me down had me reaching for the phone. I should have just called a leak firm earlier so I happily paid.
Now we're waiting for everything to dry out a bit...
Lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULCufrL_IIE
£1,000 seems a bit steep.
I assume they’re using something equivalent to those plug-in Flir for iPhones, which are about £400.
I’d be going DIY.
Will dangling plastic pipes not near the surface still be reasonably traceable with IR?
That video looks like a renovation and new boiler too. Wonder why that connection is now leaking?
Unless it’s a new connection, and if so shirley you’d have plumber back in to fix their work?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULCufrL_IIE
£1,000 seems a bit steep.
I assume they’re using something equivalent to those plug-in Flir for iPhones, which are about £400.
I’d be going DIY.
Will dangling plastic pipes not near the surface still be reasonably traceable with IR?
That video looks like a renovation and new boiler too. Wonder why that connection is now leaking?
Unless it’s a new connection, and if so shirley you’d have plumber back in to fix their work?
I've been trying to trace a leak beneath a shower tray for months. Its not the shower. I contacted one of these firms and can confirm the price was £750+VAT for the initial consultation and a reply that he was pretty sure he could find the leak which is beneath my shower.
Yeah. I think at that price, and considering i've exhausted the thermal camera, cavity/endo cams, and resealed everything to infinity and beyond, I may as well rip it out and start again.
Yeah. I think at that price, and considering i've exhausted the thermal camera, cavity/endo cams, and resealed everything to infinity and beyond, I may as well rip it out and start again.
Countdown said:
What kind of worries me is paying £750 - £1000 and them still not being able to find it 
Yeah. I was more concerned that they'd find it, and its the shower base leaking all along, but not enough to cause the leak i've been seeing, as i'm convinced thats something else. So two sources basically.I'm convinced there is a pipe embedded in the wall but it makes no rhyme or reason as to why there would be one there.
The other issue is redecorating if they start going in at multiple places, especially under shower trays or tiles etc.
For £1,000 + making good could be another £250-£500.
Could be worth just using common sense and getting new XYZ where you think the issue is, and have new stuff rather than just fixed old stuff and holes in your walls/floors.
For £1,000 + making good could be another £250-£500.
Could be worth just using common sense and getting new XYZ where you think the issue is, and have new stuff rather than just fixed old stuff and holes in your walls/floors.
Currently got an issue where the drain valve on the hot water tank is leaking. It's currently filling up a small sauce pan every week. Need to get round to fixing it, but struggling to find the time to drain the system down.
Had a problem in the previous house where the sump had a hairline crack on a ideal Logic and water was pooling in the boiler and evapourating. Known issue for them to crack.
Have you 100% checked all valves around the house? taken the front off the boiler and monitored it?
Had a problem in the previous house where the sump had a hairline crack on a ideal Logic and water was pooling in the boiler and evapourating. Known issue for them to crack.
Have you 100% checked all valves around the house? taken the front off the boiler and monitored it?
Had a company round last week. Smart meter has been showing a leak. They really seemed to know what they were talking about. One guy was trying to work out where the pipe might run and looking for places the dig a trench. Other guy was inspecting the meter. Said its not acting like a normal leak. Took the smart meter off and put his analogue one on. No leak. The smart meter is either faulty or its leaking.
No idea on cost as it was via landlords insurance.
That was a company called Auger.
No idea on cost as it was via landlords insurance.
That was a company called Auger.
Don’t the insurance pay for trace and access?
If not, it’ll be like drain companies where they take the piss on pricing because they know you’re in a fix.
I’d start with a FLIR camera. Two options
Buy from CEX then sell it back to them (£50ish)
Or if you have an Android phone you can rent for a week for £50 from https://www.stuartdalby.co.uk/thermalimagingcamera...
Then if you find it, you’ve got to access it, fix it and make good, but at least you can evaluate diy’ing, take your time or get quotes to fix
If not, it’ll be like drain companies where they take the piss on pricing because they know you’re in a fix.
I’d start with a FLIR camera. Two options
Buy from CEX then sell it back to them (£50ish)
Or if you have an Android phone you can rent for a week for £50 from https://www.stuartdalby.co.uk/thermalimagingcamera...
Then if you find it, you’ve got to access it, fix it and make good, but at least you can evaluate diy’ing, take your time or get quotes to fix
Mine didn't want to pay for the trace, but said they'd pay for damage caused by looking for the leak. When i suggested i'd need the bathroom completely re tiled, that was not an option, just the immediate area, regardless of whether the matching tiles are available.
I'll do as said above, i've exhausted non intrusive, now its time to get a little more hands on.
I'll do as said above, i've exhausted non intrusive, now its time to get a little more hands on.
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