Leak detection across the South West of England
Leak detection across the South West of England finds hidden water leaks on the pipes inside a home, on its central heating and on the buried supply pipe outside, and traces leaks for insurance claims, marking each leak's position so the repair can start in the right place. West Country Leak Detection does this for homes and small businesses from Bristol and Swindon to Cornwall.
What kinds of hidden leak can be traced in a South West home?
Four kinds of hidden leak can be traced in a South West home: one on the hot or cold water pipework indoors, one on the central heating, one on the buried supply pipe that runs from the boundary to the house, and one an insurer wants traced for an escape of water claim.
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A hidden leak on the household water pipes
Brown stains or damp patches on walls and ceilings are usually the first signs of a leak you will see, Aviva says, and the hot or cold pipe behind them may be buried in plaster, laid under the floor or carried through a ceiling void.
Water leak detection for pipes in walls and floors
- Pipe
- Hot and cold water pipework and fittings inside the property
- What points to it
- Damp patches or stains, peeling paint or bubbling wallpaper, a musty smell, running water with every tap off
- Methods
- Acoustic listening, thermal imaging on hot pipes, moisture mapping, pressure testing and tracer gas
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A leak on the central heating
A boiler gauge that keeps falling below 1 bar shows a sealed heating system short of water, and Vaillant UK says the leaks behind it most often occur at radiator valves and other system components.
Central heating leak detection
- Pipe
- The sealed heating circuit: radiators and their valves, flow and return pipes, underfloor heating loops
- What points to it
- A boiler gauge that keeps falling below 1 bar, damp spots or rust marks around radiators, a wet patch around underfloor heating
- Methods
- Pressure testing, loop by loop for underfloor heating, then thermal imaging or tracer gas
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A leak on the buried supply pipe
When the meter dial keeps turning after the internal stop tap is closed, Wessex Water says a leak outside the property is most likely, somewhere along the buried supply pipe that is the owner's to repair.
Underground water leak detection
- Pipe
- The supply pipe buried between the property boundary and the house
- What points to it
- A meter dial still moving with the internal stop tap closed, an unexplained rise in a metered bill, wet ground or lush grass outside
- Methods
- Acoustic listening along the pipe's route, and tracer gas where the leak is quiet
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A leak behind an escape of water claim
An insurer handling an escape of water claim may want the source of the water found first, on whichever pipe it started from: the water pipes, the central heating or the buried supply pipe.
Trace and access for an escape of water claim
- Pipe
- Water pipes, the central heating or the buried supply pipe, wherever the escaping water starts
- What points to it
- A home insurer asking for the leak's source to be traced before the claim proceeds
- Methods
- The method that suits the pipe, with the leak's position, the access needed, photographs and the cause where known recorded
Which signs point to a hidden water leak at home?
The signs that point to a hidden water leak at home are damp patches or stains on a wall or ceiling, mould or a musty smell, running water you can hear with every tap turned off, lower water pressure, a boiler that keeps losing pressure, wet ground over the supply pipe, an unexplained rise in a metered bill and a meter dial that moves while no water is used.
- Brown stains or damp patches on a wall or ceiling, which Aviva says are usually the first signs of a leak you will see. Most often points to: a pipe indoors, or the central heating.
- A musty smell, or mould growing on internal walls or ceilings, which Aviva says a hidden pipe leak may be behind. Most often points to: a hidden pipe indoors.
- Running water or dripping you can hear with every tap turned off, a sign both Aviva and the NRLA list. Most often points to: any water pipe; the stop tap test tells inside from outside.
- Lower water pressure, which WaterSafe lists at the kitchen tap among the signs of a leaking supply pipe. Most often points to: the supply pipe.
- A boiler that keeps losing pressure, where Vaillant UK puts leaks first among the causes. Most often points to: the central heating.
- Damp ground, lush patches in the garden or a waterlogged front garden, listed by Wessex Water and WaterSafe. Most often points to: the supply pipe.
- An unexplained rise in a metered water bill, a sign Wessex Water, Aviva, the NRLA and WaterSafe all list. Most often points to: the supply pipe, or any leak after the meter.
- A meter dial still turning while no water is used, which Wessex Water says means there is most likely a leak. Most often points to: any leak after the meter.
With a meter fitted, Wessex Water's check is to stop using water and watch the dial, then shut the internal stop tap: a dial that keeps moving points most likely to a leak outside the property, and one that stops points to a leak inside.
A stain is not always directly over its leak. In decision DRN-4125471 of the Financial Ombudsman Service, a stain on a kitchen ceiling turned out to come from the shower supply pipe in the bathroom above.
Which methods pinpoint a leak before plaster or paving is broken?
Five methods pinpoint a leak before plaster or paving is broken: pressure testing, acoustic listening, tracer gas, thermal imaging and moisture mapping, each suited to a different pipe and a different kind of leak.
Pressure testing comes first, because it shows whether a whole system, or one section of it, is losing water; the other four then find the point along that pipe. All five work through the pipe itself or at the surface, and each has its own limit, set out beside it below.
| Method | What it detects | Where it suits | Its limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure testing | Whether a system, or one part of it, is losing water. | Sealed heating systems and water pipework, underfloor heating, where each loop can be tested on its own, and confirming there really is a leak before plaster or paving is broken. | A gauge can fall without a leak, because plastic pipe stretches under pressure and air trapped in the system has to be bled out first. |
| Acoustic listening | The sound of escaping water on a pipe that holds pressure. | Buried supply pipes, house connections and indoor pipework while they carry mains or system pressure; for heating and sanitary installations Sewerin makes a compact receiver. | With no pressure in the pipe, or no sound from the leak, there is nothing to hear, and Sewerin's advice in that case is tracer gas. |
| Thermal imaging | Warm or cool areas on a surface caused by leaking hot water, heating water or damp. | Hot water and heating pipework, underfloor heating, pipes laid under tiles or concrete, and following how damp has spread over a wall or floor. | The camera sees surfaces only, so it cannot read through a wall, floor or slab, and without a temperature difference it shows nothing; any patch it picks up is checked another way, because a draught can also make a cold patch, and Fluke notes it narrows the search area, so some plaster or paving may still have to be broken. |
| Tracer gas | Hydrogen rising out of the leak through a floor, a drive or the ground. | The pipes Sewerin lists (boilers, central heating, underfloor heating and supply pipes) and the cases where INFICON says it works best: small or hard-to-find leaks, non-metallic pipes and service pipes. | How quickly the gas surfaces depends a great deal on the ground above the pipe, INFICON says, so no time is ever promised. |
| Moisture mapping | Which parts of a wall, floor or ceiling hold more moisture than the rest. | Plaster, masonry, floors and ceilings that a leak has wetted, including surfaces under tiles or floor coverings, which Protimeter's meter reads in its non-invasive search mode. | Its readings compare one spot with another: meters set up for timber cannot measure stone, brick or plaster reliably, salts and metal near the surface affect them, and a map shows the wetter areas without giving a true moisture content. |
What does a leak investigation involve, from first check to marked leak?
A leak investigation runs from simple checks such as the meter and stop tap test, through narrowing the leak to one pipe or circuit, to pinpointing it with those methods and marking the spot where the repair can begin.
Check the water meter and the internal stop tap
With no water in use, a meter dial that keeps moving or a hiss at the internal stop tap shows water is still escaping. Closing that stop tap then tells a leak inside the home from one outside it.
Narrow the leak to one pipe or heating circuit
The suspect system, or one part of it, is closed off, brought up to pressure and watched on a gauge, because a part that cannot hold pressure normally has a leak. Underfloor heating may need each loop tested in turn.
Pinpoint the leak with the method that suits the pipe
The leak is pinpointed by listening for the loudest point along a pressurised pipe, reading the surface temperature over hot water or heating pipes, sweeping a hydrogen detector over a pipe filled with tracer gas, or mapping moisture across a wetted wall, floor or ceiling.
Record where the leak is and what reaching it needs
The findings record where the leak is, what access work reaching it will take, photographs, and the cause if it can be established, which insurer and comparison guides say a specialist reports. Whoever repairs the pipe, owns the home, lets it or insures it can work from them, and the search itself may be paid for where a policy carries trace and access cover.
Which water company supplies your home?
The water company that supplies your home depends on where it is: South West Water in Devon and Cornwall, Bristol Water in and around Bristol, Bournemouth Water in Bournemouth and Christchurch, Wessex Water across most of Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire, Severn Trent in the Gloucestershire towns checked, and Thames Water in Swindon and Cirencester.
Two small exceptions sit in the SP area: Veolia looks after the water mains and service pipes at Tidworth and Perham Down under an inset appointment, and Cholderton and District Water has supplied Cholderton parish, postcodes beginning SP4 0, as a private supply since 1 May 2018.
| Postcode area | Towns checked | Water supplier | Sewerage |
|---|---|---|---|
| BS | Bristol (BS1, BS10, BS13), Weston-super-Mare (BS23) | Bristol Water | Wessex Water |
| BA | Bath (BA1, BA2), Trowbridge (BA14), Yeovil (BA20, BA21) | Wessex Water | Wessex Water |
| GL | Gloucester (GL1), Cheltenham (GL50, GL51, GL53), Stroud (GL5), Tewkesbury (GL20), Cinderford (GL14), Lydney (GL15), Coleford (GL16) | Severn Trent | Severn Trent, where the checker has data |
| GL | Cirencester (GL7) | Thames Water | Thames Water |
| SN | Swindon (SN1, SN3), Marlborough (SN8) | Thames Water | Thames Water |
| SN | Chippenham (SN15), Devizes (SN10) | Wessex Water | Wessex Water |
| SP | Salisbury (SP1, SP2), Shaftesbury (SP7) | Wessex Water | Wessex Water |
| SP | Cholderton parish (postcodes beginning SP4 0) | Cholderton and District Water, a private supply | Not stated |
| SP | Tidworth and Perham Down | Veolia, under an inset appointment | Veolia |
| TA | Taunton (TA1), Bridgwater (TA6) | Wessex Water | Wessex Water |
| DT | Dorchester (DT1), Weymouth (DT4) | Wessex Water | Wessex Water |
| BH | Bournemouth (BH2, BH7), Christchurch (BH23) | Bournemouth Water | No data in the checker |
| BH | Poole | Split: Wessex Water at the central postcodes BH15 2RU and BH15 2JB, Bournemouth Water at BH12 5BB | Wessex Water at BH15 |
| EX, PL, TQ, TR | Exeter (EX1, EX2), Plymouth (PL1, PL6), Torquay (TQ1, TQ2), Truro (TR1) | South West Water | South West Water |
Bristol Water and Bournemouth Water both belong to South West Water Limited: Bristol Water is a name the company trades under, and Bournemouth Water is a subsidiary that runs as a separate business. So three of the six names a South West household may meet on a bill belong to one company.
A town check is a sample, never a boundary. Poole and the SN, GL, BA and SP areas are split between companies, so a postcode check settles a particular address: South West Water and Bournemouth Water each have a postcode box on their hard water pages (South West Water's hard water page, Bournemouth Water's hard water page), and Wessex Water's Find your water supplier page points to Water UK's postcode checker.
Where does the water company's pipe end and the homeowner's begin?
The water company's pipe normally ends at the boundary of the property, where a company stop tap may be fitted, and the homeowner's supply pipe runs from that boundary to the first stop tap inside the home, as Ofwat describes it.
| Water company | The company's pipe | The owner's pipe |
|---|---|---|
| South West Water and Bournemouth Water | The communication pipe from the main to the boundary of the street the main is laid in (in most cases the same as the property boundary), together with the external stop tap | The supply pipe from that boundary to the internal stop tap, usually found under the kitchen sink |
| Bristol Water | Its pipework up to the property boundary | Everything inside the property boundary, which the owner or landlord locates and repairs a leak on |
| Wessex Water | Generally the mains, the pipes to the boundary of the street and the property, external stop taps and meters | The private supply pipe from the communication pipe to the house, even where it crosses land the owner does not own |
| Severn Trent | Normally the service pipe up to the edge of the highway, with the underground stop tap most properties have there | The customer service pipe from that stop tap into the house, which may reach past the boundary when the stop tap or meter sits away from it |
| Thames Water | The water mains and the communication pipe joining each supply pipe to them | The supply pipe from the property boundary into the home, usually under a garden or drive; where the meter sits does not decide who owns it |
A supply pipe shared by several homes is the joint responsibility of every owner connected to it, the Consumer Council for Water says. Length makes no difference either: where a house sits back from the street, South West Water holds the owner responsible for the whole supply pipe, even where it passes through other people's property, and Wessex Water says the same of land the owner does not own.
Tenants are covered by section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, which requires a landlord on a short residential lease to keep the installations for water, gas, electricity and sanitation in repair, and Wessex Water tells tenants to let the landlord know about a leak as soon as possible.
Finding a leak on that buried stretch is underground water leak detection on your supply pipe, marked on the surface so the owner knows where to dig.
What help do water companies and insurers give with a leak?
Water companies in the South West offer free leak detection time, repair contributions, free repairs in some cases and leak allowances on metered bills, and a home insurance policy with trace and access cover can pay to find and reach a leak; each sets its own conditions.
| Water company | Leak detection | Repair help | Allowance: repair within | Repair after a notice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South West Water | South West Water gives up to half an hour of free leak detection on underground pipes, with advice on the next steps | A contribution once the repair is confirmed and a subsidy towards replacing the leaking supply pipe within 30 days, for homeowners only | 30 days | 10 to 30 days, set by its notice |
| Bournemouth Water | Bournemouth Water gives up to half an hour of free leak detection, with advice on the next steps | Contributions towards a repair or replacement, on terms that differ across its own pages | Its own pages disagree, so check its leak allowance page | Usually 28 days, in its code of practice |
| Bristol Water | Bristol Water gives up to half an hour of free leak detection on underground pipes, with advice on the next steps | A subsidy once a repair is confirmed, and a larger one for replacing the leaking supply pipe within 21 days; receipts or invoices are needed | 21 days | Not given on the pages read |
| Wessex Water | Confirms where a leak outside the property is if you are unsure, and advises on next steps | Guidance through the leak allowance process, and a recommendation to use a member of an Approved Contractors' Scheme such as the WaterSafe Register | 28 days, under a Private Leakage Notification | 28 days from a Private Leakage Notification |
| Severn Trent | Its Customer Leakage Support team talks owners through the options | A leak Severn Trent finds while installing a meter can be repaired under its free repair scheme, subject to the scheme's terms | Its 28-day period, once only, for supply pipe leaks | A 28-day period |
| Thames Water | Not described on the pages read | Thames Water may be able to fix a supply pipe leak for free where no insurance or home emergency cover applies and you cannot pay privately, at its discretion | Four weeks | Four weeks once the leak is confirmed |
If you have a water meter and a leak that has since been repaired pushed your bill up, you may be able to claim an allowance for the water lost, Ofwat says. Each scheme is described on the company's own pages, so what your water company offers on the supply pipe is worth reading before the repair is booked.
Insurance works alongside the water companies. Admiral describes trace and access cover as paying for the search for a hidden leak's source, including taking out and refitting parts of the building to reach it, but not for fixing the leaking pipe itself. Ageas wants to agree any work before it begins, and policy limits and exclusions always apply, so read your policy on trace and access for escape of water claims and speak to your insurer first.
Which towns and postcode districts does West Country Leak Detection cover?
West Country Leak Detection covers 271 mainland postcode districts in 12 postcode areas across Bristol, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, with pages for Bristol, Plymouth, Bournemouth, Exeter, Swindon, Cornwall and Devon.
- Leak detection in Bristol
- Leak detection in Plymouth
- Leak detection in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch
- Leak detection in Exeter
- Leak detection in Swindon
- Leak detection across Cornwall
- Leak detection across Devon
Other covered post towns include Gloucester, Cheltenham, Poole, Salisbury, Bath, Taunton, Weston-super-Mare, Newton Abbot, Bridgwater and Torquay. The full list of every postcode district covered sets out each area's district codes and post towns.
Who should hear about a leak first: the water company, the insurer or a specialist?
The water company should hear about a leak first when water is escaping in the road or pavement, the home insurer when escaping water has damaged the home, and a leak detection specialist when the leak is hidden on your own pipes.
| Who | When | How |
|---|---|---|
| The water company | Water is escaping in the road or pavement, which Wessex Water says is most likely on its own pipework | Report it on South West Water's Leaks page, Bristol Water's online leak reporting tool, Bournemouth Water's Leaks page, Wessex Water's Report a problem page, Severn Trent's Check my area page or Thames Water's Report a problem page, whichever company supplies your street. |
| Your home insurer | Escaping water has damaged the home; Thames Water says the first thing to do with any leak at home is to check your buildings insurance | Check whether the policy carries trace and access cover, and agree the next step with the insurer before plaster or paving is broken. |
| A leak detection specialist | The leak is on your own pipes and hidden: Thames Water says a specialist is needed for a leak on your property but outside the home, or indoors where it can be neither seen nor heard | West Country Leak Detection traces these leaks across the South West, and the four kinds of hidden leak at the top of this page lead to each investigation. |
A leak right outside the property is most likely on the private supply pipe, Wessex Water adds, and a leak inside the home most likely on the internal plumbing.