Leak detection services
Discussion
bmwmike said:
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.
If as per my linked video, they ripped up a tile and made a mess in bathroom.I'll do as said above, i've exhausted non intrusive, now its time to get a little more hands on.
It’s have been better going in via ceiling underneath… probably exactly where you’d need to be making good due to the water damage any way.
I bet you could have even heard that dripping on a quiet night time if you stood underneath it.
Letting these companies take £1,000 to find it no matter what, is also an invitation to make a real mess of your house.
I used ADI leak detection and they most certainly did not make a mess.
In my case I was notified by my water company (via the Smart meter) that I was losing quite a few litres an hour. There was not obvious leak and after a lot of looking I discovered a very large pool of water under my stairs floorboards.
This meant it was likely an underground pipe, but which one?
I called in ADI, they sent a person within 24 hours, he tested central heating pipes, ran tracer gas into cold water pies and used an array of equipment. He detected a leak under my kitchen floor. This was mighty impressive as my kitchen floor is tiled over a 100m screed with underfloor heating and 100mm of celotex before you get to the hot/cold water pipes serving my island unit.
He removed ONE 600x600 tile, without damaging any surrounding tiles, when through the screed, avoided the underfloor heating pipes and removed the celotex. found a leak exactly where he said it was and repaired a section of copper pipe and replaced. Tested it and then removed all debris.
Left it for the insurance company to issue a drying certificate and make good later.
There is no way I could have located that pipe without their specialist equipment - it was the tracer gas that worked - it can permeate even concrete and porcelain tile. 100% would use again - although I hope not to.
Also to note; my insurance company also said they wouldn't pay for the track-and-trace; as initially I had no indication of any material damage, so I instructed ADI on my own pocket, but they produce a specialist report - which I then submitted to my insurance company and they reimbursed the track-and-trace cost.
In my case I was notified by my water company (via the Smart meter) that I was losing quite a few litres an hour. There was not obvious leak and after a lot of looking I discovered a very large pool of water under my stairs floorboards.
This meant it was likely an underground pipe, but which one?
I called in ADI, they sent a person within 24 hours, he tested central heating pipes, ran tracer gas into cold water pies and used an array of equipment. He detected a leak under my kitchen floor. This was mighty impressive as my kitchen floor is tiled over a 100m screed with underfloor heating and 100mm of celotex before you get to the hot/cold water pipes serving my island unit.
He removed ONE 600x600 tile, without damaging any surrounding tiles, when through the screed, avoided the underfloor heating pipes and removed the celotex. found a leak exactly where he said it was and repaired a section of copper pipe and replaced. Tested it and then removed all debris.
Left it for the insurance company to issue a drying certificate and make good later.
There is no way I could have located that pipe without their specialist equipment - it was the tracer gas that worked - it can permeate even concrete and porcelain tile. 100% would use again - although I hope not to.
Also to note; my insurance company also said they wouldn't pay for the track-and-trace; as initially I had no indication of any material damage, so I instructed ADI on my own pocket, but they produce a specialist report - which I then submitted to my insurance company and they reimbursed the track-and-trace cost.
Edited by AnotherGuy on Tuesday 26th March 11:31
Yeah under a kitchen floor with underfloor heating, screed, insulation, there isn’t much you can do.
So is your entire floor solid like a big slab, and the water pooled across and up into the under stairs?
I’m surprised at 1l/hr the entire downstairs wasn’t flooded… unless there is a way for run-off off the slab?!
I’m always curious about burying pipes like that for kitchen islands.
My “island” is up against a wall so could easily be served from that wall (block wall through to utility near washer/drier etc) and then share soil/DHW and CW.
But nope, they went under the kitchen floor!
It seems weird there aren’t sensible designs around stuff like this to make it an easy fix.
Surely it’s in everyone’s interest to not bury pipes like that so deep/inaccessible as clearly they do fail.
So is your entire floor solid like a big slab, and the water pooled across and up into the under stairs?
I’m surprised at 1l/hr the entire downstairs wasn’t flooded… unless there is a way for run-off off the slab?!
I’m always curious about burying pipes like that for kitchen islands.
My “island” is up against a wall so could easily be served from that wall (block wall through to utility near washer/drier etc) and then share soil/DHW and CW.
But nope, they went under the kitchen floor!
It seems weird there aren’t sensible designs around stuff like this to make it an easy fix.
Surely it’s in everyone’s interest to not bury pipes like that so deep/inaccessible as clearly they do fail.
Djtemeka said:
Just had a look at FLIR cameras. Crikey! They’re pricey. £1000 -£15k
£299+vat, and you can see cheaper ones direct from china for £100https://www.test-meter.co.uk/flir-tg165-x-thermal-...
Mr Whippy said:
Yeah under a kitchen floor with underfloor heating, screed, insulation, there isn’t much you can do.
So is your entire floor solid like a big slab, and the water pooled across and up into the under stairs?
I’m surprised at 1l/hr the entire downstairs wasn’t flooded… unless there is a way for run-off off the slab?!
I’m always curious about burying pipes like that for kitchen islands.
My “island” is up against a wall so could easily be served from that wall (block wall through to utility near washer/drier etc) and then share soil/DHW and CW.
But nope, they went under the kitchen floor!
It seems weird there aren’t sensible designs around stuff like this to make it an easy fix.
Surely it’s in everyone’s interest to not bury pipes like that so deep/inaccessible as clearly they do fail.
You don’t run underfloor heating under units, islands etc. you map the pipework around them.So is your entire floor solid like a big slab, and the water pooled across and up into the under stairs?
I’m surprised at 1l/hr the entire downstairs wasn’t flooded… unless there is a way for run-off off the slab?!
I’m always curious about burying pipes like that for kitchen islands.
My “island” is up against a wall so could easily be served from that wall (block wall through to utility near washer/drier etc) and then share soil/DHW and CW.
But nope, they went under the kitchen floor!
It seems weird there aren’t sensible designs around stuff like this to make it an easy fix.
Surely it’s in everyone’s interest to not bury pipes like that so deep/inaccessible as clearly they do fail.
I mean the hot and cold water running to the island, and I assume soil back out.
Burying it under tiles, then screed, then UFH, then concrete, then insulation, for example, is surely asking for trouble?
I’m surprised insurers don’t ask about this kind of stuff, as leaks do happen and the cost to fix vs older design kitchens must be much higher?
Burying it under tiles, then screed, then UFH, then concrete, then insulation, for example, is surely asking for trouble?
I’m surprised insurers don’t ask about this kind of stuff, as leaks do happen and the cost to fix vs older design kitchens must be much higher?
Update (in case anybody's interested)
In an attempt to try and locate the leak i employed the services of a Leak Detection Company - £800
Plus another £300 to access and repair . The bloke came round and used microphones to try and pin down the leak. using the microphones he narrowed it down to the ground floor and said it was likely to be between the hallway and the dining room. He then drained down all the system and filled with tracer gas at 2bar. No joy! The gas refused to leak out, even when he upped the pressure to 3 bar 
Unfortunately he said that was all they could do and left.
I contacted a bloke who used to do a lot of work for my dad but had since retired and told him what we'd found so far. A proper old school plumber/joiner and arranged for him to come round. My main concern was the laminate flooring and floorboards would be damaged whilst he dug it all up but, fair play to him, so far he's done a fantastic job. He's taken up the flooring (laminate on top of floorboard) located the leak, sent me a video of the leak and he's now gone to locate the parts to repair it.
The main positive has been the minimal disruption to the flooring 9which I had assumed would be wrecked). By going down one side he's really minimised it so it's one less headache. Anyway hopefully he'll be back tomorrow to finish off
In an attempt to try and locate the leak i employed the services of a Leak Detection Company - £800
Plus another £300 to access and repair . The bloke came round and used microphones to try and pin down the leak. using the microphones he narrowed it down to the ground floor and said it was likely to be between the hallway and the dining room. He then drained down all the system and filled with tracer gas at 2bar. No joy! The gas refused to leak out, even when he upped the pressure to 3 bar Unfortunately he said that was all they could do and left.I contacted a bloke who used to do a lot of work for my dad but had since retired and told him what we'd found so far. A proper old school plumber/joiner and arranged for him to come round. My main concern was the laminate flooring and floorboards would be damaged whilst he dug it all up but, fair play to him, so far he's done a fantastic job. He's taken up the flooring (laminate on top of floorboard) located the leak, sent me a video of the leak and he's now gone to locate the parts to repair it.
The main positive has been the minimal disruption to the flooring 9which I had assumed would be wrecked). By going down one side he's really minimised it so it's one less headache. Anyway hopefully he'll be back tomorrow to finish off
DoubleSix said:
Did the leak detection company still want paying?
Yep If the leak is outside then they offer a No Find No Fee service. If it's inside the NFNF doesn't apply.
Although I was fairly pissed off at the time to be fair to them they DID narrow it down to a relatively small area (probably about 8m x 4m) and that has kept the damage to a minimum.
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