Leak Detection Guides & Advice

The free checks that prove whether a leak exists, the point where DIY stops being useful, and why opening the building in the wrong place costs more than a professional survey ever does.

A tour of the leak detection van: acoustic ground microphones, correlators, thermal cameras, tracer gas kits, moisture meters and borescopes, with an honest look at what each tool finds and what it misses.

Pinpointing a hidden leak before anything is opened up beats exploratory demolition every time. What non-destructive leak detection involves, what it saves, and how trace and access cover fits in.

Tracer gas fills a drained pipe with a safe hydrogen and nitrogen mix, then a surface probe pinpoints where the gas escapes. Here is how the method works, why it is safe, and when it beats acoustic listening.

Warm spots underfoot, cupping boards, damp skirtings and a falling boiler gauge all point to a leak under the floor. How to confirm it, which pipe it is likely to be, and how it gets located without lifting a board.

Condensation follows cold surfaces, outside damp follows rain, and a leak stays put and grows. How to read the pattern, timing and tide marks, plus the simple tests that settle the question.

Smell is usually the earliest warning a hidden leak gives, arriving weeks before any stain. Here is what the musty smell actually is, how to hunt the source room by room, and when to bring in moisture mapping.

Low pressure at one tap is rarely a leak. Low pressure across the whole house can be. Four simple checks tell you whether the cause is your supply pipe, your fittings or the Scottish Water network.

A leaking toilet wastes between 215 and 400 litres of clean water a day, and most people never notice. Here is the 20-minute dye test, the parts that usually fail, and how to stop the waste.