East Anglian Leak Detection
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Chesham homes, old and extended

Leak detection in Chesham

Chesham homes that have grown bring their own leaks: a kitchen extension with underfloor heating, a new drive over an old supply pipe. For water leak detection in Chesham, our engineer Charlie finds and marks the leak.

Underfloor heating loops tested

Leaks under drives and paths

Trace and access reports written

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Lines open 8am to 8pm, every day.

Chesham grew steadily from the early 20th century and is now a commuter town at the end of the Metropolitan line, where the River Chess rises. Many older houses have since been extended at the back, with open kitchens on solid floors and underfloor heating joined to the original boiler.

The join between old and new pipework can be where trouble starts. So can the supply pipe under a newer block paved drive. A leak there often shows first as a letter about water use, because nothing in the house or the garden looks wet.

Cream rendered thatched cottages behind an old garden wall on a misty autumn morning, typical of a Buckinghamshire village Brick estate houses beside a tree-lined red cycle path, typical of Milton Keynes

Two typical Chesham jobs

Falling pressure after a kitchen extension

The property

An Edwardian terraced house with a kitchen extension at the back, heated by underfloor loops in a screed floor from a manifold in a cupboard.

The problem

The boiler pressure dropped every couple of days. There was no damp, and no warm patch could be felt through the large porcelain tiles.

How we found it

Each loop was pressure tested alone at the manifold, and one dropped. With the floor left running warm for longer, thermal images showed heat spreading near the back doors; tracer gas confirmed the point.

The outcome

One tile was lifted over the marked spot. We replaced the damaged length of loop during the visit; the repair had its own price, separate from the detection.

Supply leak under a block paved drive

The property

An interwar semi with a block paved drive across the front garden. The supply pipe leaves a meter set in the pavement, passes beneath the drive and enters at the kitchen.

The problem

A letter said the meter showed water passing all night. Nothing looked wet, the taps and toilets were fine, and the owners wanted the drive left intact.

How we found it

The meter kept moving after the inside stop tap was shut, which put the leak outside. Listening across the blocks found the loudest point, and tracer gas confirmed it near the pavement end.

The outcome

Six blocks were lifted where we had marked, and the pipe was repaired, quoted separately. The owners kept the report and photographs for the water company.

Who we help in Chesham

Owners of extensions with underfloor heating

Pressure falling with no damp can point to the underfloor loops. Each is tested from the manifold and the leaking one traced, so little floor needs lifting.

Households with a leak outside

External leak detection in Chesham usually means tracing the supply pipe beneath a front garden, path or drive from the surface, so it is opened in one place.

People claiming on their insurance

If your insurer has asked for a trace and access report, ours sets down the location, methods, readings and photographs. Ring the insurer before booking: some like to approve the work themselves.

When the water company writes

The bill tells you which company supplies your water. A letter about high or continuous use means its readings show water flowing when it should not, so something is escaping after the meter. Its pipes end at your boundary or meter; from there into the house, the supply pipe usually belongs to you.

Readings first, then the search

1

Take the readings

The water meter is read with every tap off, the boiler gauge is checked, and anything damp gets a moisture reading. Together they say whether to search the supply, the heating or both.

2

Narrow the area

Closing the stop tap, then isolating loops or radiators, splits the house into sections. Only the section that keeps losing water gets traced after that.

3

Confirm, mark, photograph

Nothing is marked until two different methods point to the same place. The spot is then photographed, and the readings go into the written report.

What we use in Chesham homes

Thermal imaging

Once the heating is warm, a leaking loop or pipe shows as a warmer patch. Thick tiles and rugs slow that down, so the floor is given time to heat.

Tracer gas

Once the failing loop is known, it is filled with a hydrogen and nitrogen mix. The gas escapes at the damaged point and a sensor picks it up at the surface.

Acoustic listening

Buried under paving, tarmac or lawn, a supply pipe that leaks gives off noise. The ground microphone is moved along the pipe's line until that noise is loudest.

What an insurer wants to see

For trace and access in Chesham, start by asking your insurer what the report must contain and whether they approve the work first. Ours gives the location, methods, readings and photographs. We mark where opening up should begin, though a leak is only proven when the pipe is exposed. Paying the claim is the insurer's decision.

Common questions in Chesham

Not for the search. Each loop is tested from the manifold, and the leaking one is traced with thermal imaging and tracer gas. Lifting happens later, at the one marked spot, when the repair is carried out, and not before.

No. No find, no fee on home water leaks does not cover central heating, which includes underfloor loops. Heating visits are priced before booking, for up to a half or a full day of searching. Full conditions are on our terms page.

No. Listening and testing all happen from the surface, and the leak is marked before anyone lifts a thing. Only that patch is opened for the repair, which on a block paved drive can mean lifting just a handful of blocks.

Please be there at the start to let us in and point out the meter, stop tap and boiler. Staying nearby afterwards helps, because some of the tests need the water or heating switched off and back on again during the visit.

It comes once the visit is paid; we take card or bank transfer when the work is finished. It records the location, methods, readings and photographs, ready for you to pass straight to your own insurer or the water company.

Around Chesham

For leak detection in Buckinghamshire beyond Chesham, Amersham Old Town is just south, with Chalfont St Giles beyond. Over the Hertfordshire border we cover Bovingdon to the east, Berkhamsted and Tring to the north, and Chorleywood.

Leak detection in Amersham Old Town Leak detection in Bovingdon Leak detection in Berkhamsted Leak detection in Chorleywood Leak detection in Chalfont St Giles Leak detection in Tring Leak detection in Buckinghamshire
Detached brick homes on a hillside road with autumn beech woods behind, typical of the Chilterns in Buckinghamshire

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

Pressure dropping in a Chesham extension?

Call 07700 102 008. We can usually book a visit within 24 to 48 hours.

Call 07700 102 008 Get a quote
East Anglian Leak Detection