Leak before the stop tap, under the kitchen
The property
A later twentieth-century house in Ware on a concrete floor. The supply pipe enters beneath it and rises to a stop tap under the sink.
The problem
Affinity Water's letter mentioned a constant flow. The owners assumed the leak was out in the front garden, and their insurer wanted it located before any digging.
How we found it
With the stop tap shut the dial still crept, so the leak sat before it. The hiss was loudest on the kitchen floor, and tracer gas rose through a tile joint by the sink.
The outcome
The garden was left alone; a small square of kitchen floor came up at the mark instead. Our report accompanied the claim, with the repair costed on its own.