Welcome to Premium plumbing and leak detection

Heating leak detection

Heating leaks, including central heating and underfloor heating, are one of the most common and most disruptive leaks. Symptoms that customers report include:

• Boiler pressure loss

• Boiler cutting out

• Feed and expansion (F&E) tank constantly filling

• Increased water bills

• Radiators not heating up

• Signs of damp or water damage

• Mould and condensation

• Damp smell

• Banging and gurgling noise from the heating

• Warms spots on the floor

• Heating engineer confirming there is a leak

Constantly topping up your heating system with fresh water can cause damage to your boiler and heating system so it’s important the leak is found and fixed as quickly as possible. Some plumbers and heating engineers may recommend a leak sealant is added to the heating system, but this is only a temporary fix. Leak sealant can invalidate your boiler warranty and will interfere with leak detection methods. If you have had leak sealant added to your heating system, we recommend that a power flush is carried out first to remove the leak sealant before a leak detection is carried out. We can carry out power flushing as part of your leak detection, please contact us for a competitive quote.

Using a combination of methods, we can locate your heating leak accurately and without any damage to your property.

• Thermal Imaging maps buried and hidden heating pipes and identifies abnormal heat patches.

• Gas Tracing uses an inert tracer gas, which is added to the heating pipes under pressure. A sensitive probe is used to detect where the tracer is gas escaping through the floor or wall.

• Moisture Meter maps any hidden damp caused by the leak.

• Endoscopic Camera used to inspect heating pipes in floor and wall voids.

• Acoustic Microphone listens for the noise of the leak escaping from the heating pipe.

Once the heating leak has been located our engineers, all experienced plumbers, can carry out a same day repair. This includes removing floor finishes and excavating concrete floors to access the pipe. Once the leak has been repaired the system will be re-tested to ensure the repair is sound and to check for further leaks. Our engineers are only assigned to one leak detection per day so they will continue with further leak detection if required. In some cases where the leak can’t be repaired same day because of its location we can arrange a follow up visit with the necessary tradespeople.

In some instances, we find that copper heating pipe has been laid in a concrete floor without any protective lagging. Over time the concrete will react with the copper causing it to corrode and create pinhole leaks. This is especially common in 1970s and 1980s builds when low quality thin copper pipe was used. In this situation it is common to find multiple leaks.

With underfloor heating leaks we recommend customers contact the manufacturer or supplier in advance of our leak detection to purchase a repair kit to ensure we can carry out a same day repair. This will also ensure that any warranty on the underfloor heating is maintained