Leak Detection Guides & Advice
Practical guides from MCR Leak Detection: finding hidden water leaks, trace and access insurance, boiler pressure problems, and what Scottish homeowners, landlords and businesses need to know. New guides are added regularly.
Condensation, Damp or a Leak? How to Tell the Difference
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.
Musty Smell in the House? It Might Be a Hidden Leak
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 Water Pressure: When It Means a Leak (and When It Doesn’t)
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.
Toilet Keeps Running? What It Wastes and How to Stop It
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.
Central Heating Leak Sealer: Does It Actually Work?
Leak sealer can quiet the tiniest heating weeps, and it can also clog air vents, sludge radiators and hide the leak from the equipment sent to find it. The honest verdict from engineers who meet the aftermath weekly.
Central Heating Inhibitor: Cheap Insurance Against Corrosion Leaks
Corrosion quietly causes many of the pinhole leaks we trace under Scottish floors, and a bottle of inhibitor is the cheapest defence a heating system has. What it does, how to check yours, and what to do if the black water has already arrived.
Signs of an Underfloor Heating Leak (and What to Do Next)
Cold zones in the floor, a gauge that keeps falling and damp skirtings are the classic signs of an underfloor heating leak. How to confirm it at the manifold, and how the loop gets traced without breaking out the screed.
Leaking Radiator Valve? Causes, Quick Fixes and When to Worry
Most radiator valve leaks are a quarter-turn fix on the gland nut. Some are the visible tip of system-wide corrosion. How to tell which you have, the safe quick fixes, and the signs that mean it is time to look deeper.
Who Pays When There’s a Water Leak? Owner, Neighbour or Scottish Water
Whether Scottish Water, you, a neighbour or your insurer pays for a water leak comes down to one question: where is the leaking pipe? Here is the full liability map for Scotland, from street main to tenement ceiling.
Scottish Water Says You Have a Leak? What Happens Next
A card or letter from Scottish Water means they believe a leak sits on your supply pipe, which owners are legally obliged to repair. Your bill will not rise, but ignoring it invites a formal notice. Here is the process, the help available and the fastest route to fixed.
Leak Allowances in Scotland: The Rules for Homes and Businesses
Most Scottish homes are unmetered and pay for water through council tax, so the English-style household leak allowance does not exist here. Metered businesses can claim a Burst Allowance through their Licensed Provider. Here are both sets of rules and the evidence a claim needs.
Shared Supply Pipes in Scottish Flats and Terraces: Who’s Responsible?
Flats and older or terraced homes in Scotland usually share one supply pipe, and responsibility for the shared section is joint. Here is how to tell if yours is shared, what the law requires, and how neighbours split detection and repair costs.