East Anglian Leak Detection
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Home / Hertfordshire / Buntingford

North-east Hertfordshire

Leak detection in Buntingford and nearby villages

Out in the villages around Buntingford, the meter can sit a field away from the house. We follow the buried pipe with a ground microphone and find the leak from the surface.

Long supply pipes walked and traced

Newer plastic pipework tested

Repairs guaranteed for 3 months

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Lines open 8am to 8pm, every day.

On Ermine Street, the old Roman road, Buntingford is a small market town beside the River Rib. Its centre keeps many Georgian and medieval buildings, newer homes stand on a former distribution centre site, and around it lie farms whose supply pipes may cross whole fields.

Those three kinds of home hide very different pipes. Old town buildings have pipework added piece by piece. Newer homes usually have plastic pipe and push-fit joints. Village supplies may cross a yard, a paddock or a neighbour's land before they reach the kitchen tap.

Timber-framed and brick cottages beside a village pond with a willow tree, typical of a Hertfordshire village 1930s mock Tudor semi-detached houses with hedged front gardens on a frosty morning, typical of a Hertfordshire commuter town

Typical jobs in and around Buntingford

A long supply to a farmhouse with no known route

The property

A farmhouse outside a village. Its meter is by the lane, and the supply runs under a yard and a paddock on a route nobody knew.

The problem

Affinity Water had written about high constant use. Pressure at the kitchen tap had dropped, yet the ground looked dry everywhere.

How we found it

With the house stop tap closed the meter still turned. We listened every few paces along the likely route, and the ground microphone peaked where the pipe passes under the farm track. Tracer gas rose there too.

The outcome

With the spot marked and photographed, the dig was one short trench. The report gave the owner evidence for the insurer and the water company.

Swollen skirting below a shelf on a hall wall

The property

One of the newer houses in town. The cold pipe to the first floor bathroom runs up inside a plasterboard wall in the hall, beside the stairs.

The problem

The hall skirting had swollen and the meter crept with everything off, though nothing upstairs looked wet. A shelf had been put up on that wall.

How we found it

With the stop tap off, the dial stood still, putting the leak inside the house. Moisture readings rose to one height on the wall, and tracer gas came through the plasterboard by a shelf bracket.

The outcome

We marked and photographed the spot. A small square of plasterboard came out, the pierced pipe was joined, quoted separately, and the shelf went up elsewhere.

Who we help around Buntingford

Owners with the meter out by the lane

The letter says water is passing, and your pipe crosses a field or yard. Tell us roughly how long it is and where it runs, if anyone knows.

Owners of the newer homes

No damp anywhere, yet the bill or boiler gauge says otherwise. Plastic pipe leaks quietly, so tracer gas is often what finds the exact point.

Owners of old buildings in the town

A stain below a bathroom in a building that had no bathroom when it was built. We test each fitting in turn before any old ceiling is touched.

Long supplies and who owns them

Affinity Water supplies Buntingford. Its responsibility usually finishes at your boundary or meter, and every metre onward to the house is normally yours, however long the run. If your supply crosses a neighbour's land or feeds more than one home, say so when booking, because a shared run changes the job.

From the lane to the leak

1

Questions about length and route

Roughly how long is the pipe from the meter, and does anyone know its route? Old plans, a neighbour's memory or a line of parched grass all help.

2

Walking the line

With the house stop tap shut, a moving meter puts the leak outside. We then listen along the pipe a stride at a time until the sound peaks.

3

Gas to confirm

Plastic pipe often leaks too quietly to hear clearly. A hydrogen and nitrogen mix put into it rises where it escapes, and that spot is marked.

Methods for long runs and new pipes

Acoustic listening

Escaping water makes a noise that travels up through grass, gravel or concrete. Along a long run we keep moving the ground microphone until one point is clearly loudest.

Tracer gas

Plastic carries little sound, so we fill the pipe with a hydrogen and nitrogen mix instead. Our detector finds it coming through the soil or screed above the leak.

Pressure testing

Closing off one length and raising its pressure proves whether it leaks. On an old supply that can expose other weak spots, which are quoted separately.

Cover for a buried supply pipe

Whether a home policy pays for tracing and digging up a buried supply varies, and on a long run that can matter a great deal, so check with your insurer before booking. Our report, sent after payment, gives the location, methods, readings and photographs, and the mark on the ground is where digging begins.

Common questions in Buntingford

Usually. Tell us how far the pipe runs and what it crosses. We listen along it and confirm with tracer gas. A long run takes longer to walk, so the agreed price may cover a full day rather than a half.

Only up to a point. No find, no fee on home water leaks covers one leak on a water main up to 30 m or the hot and cold supply pipes, at least half a litre a minute, where we also carry out the access and repair. Longer, shared or unmapped runs are quoted instead.

New plastic pipe is tough, but joints can fail, and a fixing can go through a hidden pipe during fitting. Because plastic is quiet, we rely on pressure tests, thermal imaging on hot pipes and tracer gas rather than sound.

Yes: Braughing, Westmill, Aspenden, Wyddial and the Hormeads, plus the farms in between. Rural homes are more likely to have a long or shared supply, so please mention that when you ring, along with any outbuildings the pipe also feeds.

We can usually book a visit within 24 to 48 hours. Lines are open 8am to 8pm, every day, so ring once you have a meter reading and a rough idea of the route. If the meter sits on a neighbour’s land, mention it.

Villages and towns near Buntingford

Braughing is just to the south, and Aspenden, Wyddial, Westmill and the Hormeads are close by. We also work in Royston up the A10, in Baldock and Letchworth Garden City, and in Ware, Stevenage and Bishop's Stortford.

Leak detection in Royston Leak detection in Baldock Leak detection in Stevenage Leak detection in Ware Leak detection in Bishop's Stortford Leak detection in Letchworth Garden City Leak detection in Hertfordshire
White rendered Arts and Crafts cottages behind hedges and wide grass verges, typical of a Hertfordshire garden city

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 Microbore pipe leaks: finding a leak in thin heating pipes No find, no fee on home water leaks: what our terms cover and what they do not

Meter out by the lane?

Call 07700 102 008 with a rough idea of how long your supply pipe is. Visits are usually booked within 24 to 48 hours.

Call 07700 102 008 Get a quote
East Anglian Leak Detection