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Wivenhoe homes and lets

Leak detection in Wivenhoe

Wivenhoe's streets slope down to the quay, and water from a buried leak follows the slope. We trace the point where the pipe has failed, which is often uphill of the wet ground.

Leaks traced uphill to the source

Visits arranged around tenants

Written report for landlords

Call 07700 102 008 Get a quote

Get a quote

Lines open 8am to 8pm, every day.

Wivenhoe is a riverside town on the Colne, south east of Colchester, its old streets running down to the quay. Students from the University of Essex, artists and commuters live side by side, so a leak may be in a family home, a student let or a cottage.

The slope matters for leak detection in Wivenhoe. Water escaping from a buried pipe often runs along the trench and surfaces lower down, by a wall or the pavement, so digging where the ground is wet can miss the leak. We find the point on the pipe first.

A narrow street of Victorian red brick terraced houses with a church tower at the end, typical of an Essex town

White weatherboarded cottages with picket fences along a village street, typical of Essex

Leaks Wivenhoe homes typically have

Thin heating pipes leaking under a student let

The property

A 1960s semi up the hill, let to students, with a solid ground floor. Its radiators run on thin copper pipes, called microbore, laid in the concrete.

The problem

The tenants kept topping up the boiler and two downstairs radiators stayed cold. The landlord's heating engineer passed the boiler and suspected the floor.

How we found it

We separated the downstairs circuit, and its gauge fell while upstairs held. After the heating had run, a thermal camera traced the thin pipes to heat by the back door. Tracer gas confirmed it.

The outcome

Marked and photographed, the point was opened and the pipe repaired on a separate quote; the landlord sent the report to the buildings insurer.

Wet pavement below a sloping front garden

The property

A 1930s semi on a road climbing from the river. Its front garden rises from the pavement meter to the door, with the supply running up the slope in blue plastic.

The problem

A letter reported constant use, and the pavement below the garden wall stayed damp. A neighbour suggested digging by the wall, where the water showed.

How we found it

The meter still turned with the stop tap shut, so the leak was outside. A ground microphone was quiet by the wall, loudest halfway up the garden, and tracer gas rose there.

The outcome

We marked and photographed the spot, well up the slope. Digging there uncovered the split, which we mended on a separate quote, and the garden wall was never touched.

Wivenhoe households we help

Landlords of student houses

Tenants report the problem, but you arrange and pay. Tell us the property is let, who will open up, and whether the boiler has needed topping up.

Owners on the hill with a leak letter

On a slope, wet ground at the bottom of the garden is not always where the pipe failed. We follow the supply pipe up from the meter to the break.

Cottage owners near the quay

Older cottages may have a pavement meter and pipes under a solid kitchen floor. The streets are narrow, so tell us where we can park when you book.

Meters in narrow streets

Your water company is the one named on your bill or leak letter. Near the quay, meters often sit under a small pavement cover you can lift to watch the dial with everything off. If it keeps turning, water is escaping, and from the meter inwards the pipe is usually yours.

From the find to the fix

Locate and double-check

We find the leak with one method and confirm it with another before marking it. The photographed spot shows a tenant or insurer exactly where it is.

A price for the repair

Repairs are quoted separately. A repair price given in advance holds only if the repair is done on the day of the detection, so you can decide there and then.

Our repair, guaranteed for 3 months

Our repairs are guaranteed for 3 months, covering the pipes and fittings we put in. Old pipe that has been tested or mended may then give way somewhere else, which would be priced as new work.

Choosing the right test in Wivenhoe

Acoustic listening

On a hillside supply, the ground microphone shows where water is leaving the pipe, however far downhill it surfaces. It needs the pipe under steady pressure.

Thermal imaging

With the heating on, warm pipes show through floors and walls. It suits thin heating pipes in concrete, but cannot see a cold supply pipe in a garden.

Tracer gas

Our second check on many jobs. A hydrogen and nitrogen mix goes into the drained pipe, leaks out at the split and is detected above ground, through soil or concrete.

Landlords, tenants and claims

When a let is damaged, the building is usually a matter for the landlord's buildings policy, while tenants claim for their own belongings. Check whether your policy includes trace and access cover before booking. Our report gives the location, methods, readings and photographs, and goes out as soon as the visit has been settled.

Up and down the Colne

Colchester is just up the river. Brightlingsea and West Mersea face each other across the mouth of the Colne, Manningtree sits on the Stour, and Clacton-on-Sea and Jaywick are on the coast.

Leak detection in Colchester Leak detection in Brightlingsea Leak detection in West Mersea Leak detection in Manningtree Leak detection in Jaywick Leak detection in Clacton-on-Sea Leak detection in Essex

Victorian bay-fronted houses on a hillside road above an estuary, typical of an Essex seaside town

Leaks we trace

Water leak detection Leaking water main Central heating leak detection Leaking underfloor heating Shower leak detection Underground water leak detection Gas pipe leak detection Thermal imaging leak detection Acoustic water leak detection Tracer gas leak detection Commercial leak detection Trace and access leak detection Leak detection for landlords Water leak repair

Useful guides

Central heating leak sealer: what it can and cannot do How to choose a leak detection company: questions worth asking How to read a water meter and use it to check for a leak Lead water pipes in UK homes: how to spot one and find a leak

Leak in a Wivenhoe home or let?

Call 07700 102 008, 8am to 8pm every day. Landlords, tell us who will let us in.