A hidden leak usually announces itself on the water bill before it shows up on a wall. By the time there is a damp patch or a bubble in the paint, it has been running for a while.
I find leaks in Castle Hill and across the Hills District without guessing where to start cutting.
Signs there is a leak you cannot see
- A water bill that has jumped with nothing in the house changing
- The water meter still ticking over when every tap is off
- A damp patch, a musty smell, or paint bubbling on a wall
- A section of floor that is warm underfoot, which usually means a hot water line
- Water pressure that has quietly dropped off
- Mould coming back in the same corner no matter how often it is cleaned
How I find it
The meter tells us whether there is a leak at all. After that it is pressure testing to narrow down which line it is on, isolating sections until the drop points at one of them.
The point of doing it properly is that you only open up the part of the wall or slab that actually has the problem in it. The photo above is a repair inside a cavity wall: one section of brickwork out, the failed length of copper replaced, everything either side left alone. Narrowing it down first is the difference between one small repair and a wall pulled apart on a hunch.
Leak or blocked drain
Not everything wet is a leak. Water coming up through a floor waste or a shower drain is usually a blocked drain rather than a pipe letting go, and that is a different job with a different fix. The meter test tells the two apart in about two minutes.
If it is an insurance job
Insurers generally want the cause identified and documented before they will look at the damage. I can give you what you need in writing so the claim is not held up waiting on a report.
What it costs
I quote before I start, and that includes the detection work. You will know what finding it costs before I begin, separately from whatever the repair turns out to be.
Local and licensed
Based in Baulkham Hills, covering Castle Hill, Kellyville, Bella Vista, Rouse Hill, Winston Hills, Northmead, Seven Hills and nearby. Licence 397982C, fully insured, 5.0 on Google, and I answer the phone at 2am if it has turned into a flood.
