Cranfield homes and lets

Leak detection in Cranfield

If you look after a Cranfield house you do not live in, or a home far from its meter, we trace the leak and send the report to whoever is paying.

Access through your tenant or agent

Long supply runs walked and traced

Report sent once paid in full

Get a quote

Lines open 8am to 8pm, every day.

With a university and an airfield on its doorstep, Cranfield sees plenty of people arrive for study and work. Some homes are let and some stand empty between tenants, so leak detection in Cranfield often starts with two questions: who will be at the house, and who is paying?

Beyond the village, farms and houses along the lanes can sit a long way from their meter, with the pipe crossing a field or yard. In the village itself, a falling boiler gauge points to the heating, and a turning meter to the supply pipe.

New-build red brick homes with solar panels and young trees, typical of a new Bedfordshire estate Limestone and thatched cottages along a curving village street with a church spire, typical of north Bedfordshire

What a Cranfield job often looks like

Stain on a let house's lounge ceiling

The property

A newer let house in the village, with the bedroom heating pipes running between the joists above the lounge. The landlord lives out of the area.

The problem

The tenant reported a brown stain spreading on the lounge ceiling and a boiler needing frequent top-ups. The agent arranged access with the tenant.

How we found it

Moisture readings mapped the stain. The upstairs circuit, closed off, lost pressure, and with the radiators warm, thermal imaging traced a warm spread from one joint above the stain.

The outcome

A small square of ceiling came down at the mark. The repair was quoted to the landlord separately, and the report followed payment.

Boggy hollow in a paddock on a long supply

The property

A farmhouse outside Cranfield with its meter at the lane. The supply pipe crosses a sloping paddock, and nobody had seen it since it was laid.

The problem

One hollow in the paddock stayed boggy when the rest of the field was firm. The owner took it for a wet corner until the water bill climbed.

How we found it

The meter kept turning after the farmhouse's stop tap was shut. In the soft ground listening gave only a faint sound, so tracer gas went in, rising through the turf uphill of the hollow.

The outcome

The leak was a few metres uphill of the wet patch, which was only where the water gathered. Opening up meant one hole there, not a trench, and the repair had its own quote.

How we trace a long supply pipe

1

Length and route first

Our engineer Charlie asks how far it is from the meter to the house, and whether you know where the pipe runs. That tells us how long to allow.

2

Walking the line

With every tap off, we follow the pipe's likely course with a ground microphone, stopping to listen every few paces. The hiss of escaping water grows as we close in.

3

Confirming with tracer gas

The pipe is drained and filled with a hydrogen and nitrogen mix. Where it surfaces should match the loudest point, and only when the two agree is the spot marked and photographed.

People we help in and around Cranfield

Landlords and letting agents

A tenant reports falling pressure or a ceiling stain. Mention the tenancy when booking; the tenant or agent can let us in, and the report follows payment.

Owners of a house standing empty

Nobody is using water, yet the meter moves. An empty house makes a clean test: any movement with every tap off is a leak, inside or out.

Farms and homes along the lanes

The meter stands by the road and the pipe crosses land nobody has dug for years. We walk its line and confirm the point with tracer gas.

Why these tests suit Cranfield jobs

Acoustic listening

An empty house or a quiet farmyard is ideal: no taps running, so the hiss of a leak is easy to pick out. Outdoors, the reading peaks over the fault.

Tracer gas

On a long plastic run, the sound can fade before it reaches the surface. The gas does not: it rises through soil, gravel or a yard to the detector.

Thermal imaging

In a let house with a falling boiler gauge, warm water escaping from a heating pipe shows on the camera through a ceiling or floor once the heating runs.

Long supply pipes and the meter at the road

Look at your bill to see which company supplies you; its responsibility usually ends at the boundary or meter. For farms and houses outside Cranfield, that can leave a long pipe across your own land. Act quickly on a continuous-flow letter, because a buried leak can run unseen for a long time.

When the report reaches you

The written report goes out when the bill is settled in full, so if a landlord or agent is paying, prompt payment brings it sooner. It gives the location, methods, readings and photographs. Ask your insurer about trace and access cover first; whether a claim is paid is their call.

Also near Cranfield

Marston Moretaine and Wootton are close neighbours, with Ampthill and Kempston a little further on. Over the Buckinghamshire border, Woburn Sands and Newport Pagnell are both within easy reach as well.

Rows of red brick terraced houses with slate roofs and chimneys climbing a hillside, typical of a Bedfordshire town

Common questions in Cranfield

Yes. When booking, tell us the agent has the keys and that you do not live there. When the person paying will be elsewhere on the day, we may want payment up front, before confirming. Card or bank transfer both work.

Usually a good time, as long as the water is still on and the stop tap and valves work. Arrange for someone with keys to let us in and lock up, and tell us if the heating has been drained, because some tests need it running.

Not for finding the leak. Give us an idea of the pipe’s length and where it enters the house, so we know how much time to book. Runs over 30 m, or with no known route, fall outside no find, no fee on home water leaks; full conditions are on our terms page.

Either half a day or a full day on site, priced before you book according to what you tell us about the property. A quick find does not lower that price, and materials, parking or tolls are added at cost.

We do. Woburn Sands and Newport Pagnell are just over the county line, and our leak detection in Bedfordshire takes in Marston Moretaine and Wootton too. Ring with the address and the problem, and we will explain what we need from you.

Looking after a Cranfield house from afar?

Call 07700 102 008 or email hello@eastanglianleakdetection.co.uk with the address and who holds the keys.