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Repairs after detection

Water leak repair once the leak is found

Once a leak is traced and marked, we can usually mend the pipework too. The repair is costed separately, and the pipe and fittings we install are guaranteed for 3 months.

Repair priced before work starts

Guaranteed for 3 months

Supply and heating pipework

Opening starts at the mark

Get a quote

Lines open 8am to 8pm, every day.

Finding a leak and fixing it are two jobs, and each has its own price. The detection price is agreed before you book. The repair price follows once the leak is marked, and it only holds if the repair is carried out on the day of the detection.

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. It waives only the detection charge. It does not cover central heating, shared mains, businesses or leaks that come and go. Full conditions are on our terms page.

A hand turning a brass stop tap on a copper water pipe inside a kitchen cupboard A pressure test gauge connected by a hose to a radiator valve to check a central heating system

What a water leak repair involves

Because the leak was traced from the surface and then checked by a second method, the opening for a water leak repair usually starts in one spot, such as a few slabs, a square of turf or a patch of screed. For an underground water leak repair, we dig at the mark, cut out the failed length or joint and join in new pipe.

Pipe that is already thin or corroded can give way somewhere else once it is tested or mended. If that happens, we show you where it has failed, and the extra work is quoted separately. Our 3 month guarantee covers only what we fit ourselves, so on a very old run it is worth asking about replacing the whole length instead.

Typical repairs once the leak is marked

A fence post through the supply pipe

The property

A 1960s bungalow in a village near Biggleswade, with the meter at the front gate and a newer blue plastic supply running beneath the lawn to the kitchen.

The problem

The water company wrote about continuous use soon after a new fence went up along the lawn. Nothing looked wet, and nobody knew where the pipe ran.

How we found it

With the stop tap closed, the dial still inched round, and the outside length failed a pressure test. The plastic pipe made little sound, so tracer gas went into it and surfaced beside one fence post.

The outcome

A post had been driven straight through the pipe. The repair was quoted before we started and carried out that day, so the quoted price stood.

Two weak points in an old iron supply

The property

An Edwardian house in Cromer, its original iron supply running from the pavement meter beneath a long front path and up into the kitchen.

The problem

The kitchen tap and the shower had both weakened over a few weeks. Checked with everything turned off, the meter was still going round.

How we found it

With the stop tap closed the dial kept moving. Iron carries sound well, and the ground microphone peaked halfway down the path, where a pressure test showed that length losing water.

The outcome

After that repair, the pipe lost water again under pressure, and listening found a second weak point nearer the house. It was quoted separately, and the owner chose a new supply pipe.

A heating pipe under a dining room floor

The property

A 1970s detached house in Brentwood, built on a solid ground floor, with the downstairs radiator pipes buried in the screed under carpet and tiles.

The problem

The owners were refilling the boiler pressure twice a week. Their boiler engineer had passed the boiler itself, and nobody had added leak sealer.

How we found it

Isolating the radiator circuits showed the downstairs one losing pressure. With the heating warm, thermal imaging found heat spreading from one point under the dining room, and tracer gas rose there.

The outcome

The repair was quoted separately and went in through an opening at the mark, replacing a corroded section. The new pipe and fittings carry our 3 month guarantee.

When a leak should not be left

The meter never rests

With every tap off, a moving dial means water is escaping day and night, soaking the ground or floor and adding to the bill.

A wet strip that keeps returning

Grass that stays green or soft along one line, or a path that never dries in one place, often sits over a split supply pipe.

Topping up the boiler every few days

Pressure in a sealed heating system should stay steady. Every refill adds fresh water and the oxygen in it, which can speed up rust inside radiators and pipes.

Flow weaker at every tap

When the supply loses water before reaching the house, the kitchen tap and the shower weaken together, and a widening split soon makes it worse.

How a found leak gets fixed

1

Find and confirm

Charlie, our engineer, traces the leak from the surface and marks it only once a second, different test agrees. The marked spot is photographed, and the repair begins there.

2

Agree the repair figure

Charlie explains what has failed, how big the opening needs to be and what the repair will cost. Leave the repair for another day and that price no longer applies.

3

Repair and pressure check

The damaged length or joint is replaced, and the pipe is put back under pressure to check it holds. The pipework and fittings we install are guaranteed for 3 months.

Tests that set up a good repair

Pressure testing

Before the repair, a gauge proves which length is losing water. Afterwards it checks the new section, and on tired pipe it can reveal a second weak point.

Tracer gas

On plastic pipe and quiet leaks, a hydrogen and nitrogen mix escapes at the fault and is sensed at the surface, so digging starts at the likeliest point.

Acoustic listening

On metal pipe under pressure, a ground microphone picks out the hiss of escaping water through soil or paving. The loudest point, once confirmed, is where we open.

Who asks us to repair as well as find

Owners told the leak is theirs to fix

Your water company says the leak is yours, between the meter and the house. Having the main water leak repair done during our visit keeps the quoted price and gives you proof.

Homes on long or ageing supply runs

Farmhouses, cottages and older terraces often have long or worn pipe. We mend the leaking length and say plainly if testing finds other weak spots, quoted separately.

Households losing boiler pressure

A heating pipe in screed is opened at the marked spot, not searched for across the floor. Tell us about any leak sealer in the system, as it can upset the tests.

Claiming for the repair as well as the search

Policies differ on what they pay for. Some treat the search, the digging, the new pipe and the making good separately, and the pipe itself is not always covered. Pricing the repair on its own keeps each figure clear for your claim. Read your policy before work starts. You get the report once the visit has been paid.

Water leak repair near you

We find and mend leaks throughout East Anglia and beyond, from terraces with a meter in the pavement to farms with a long run across a field. Pick your county below.

Common questions

Usually, once a leak on pipework is marked. Bear in mind that a price quoted in advance only holds for a repair done that day. Whether to go ahead, wait or use your own plumber is your choice on the spot.

It covers the pipework and fittings we install, for 3 months from the day of the repair. Older pipe either side of our work, and the rest of the system, are not covered. On a very old run, ask whether a new length makes more sense than a patch.

Old pipe can be weak in more than one place. Putting it under pressure, or working on it, can open a thin or corroded spot further along. If that happens, we show you where and quote that repair separately. It is the old pipe failing, not our work.

Agree that before the work starts. When we quote, ask what will be opened and what you will need to make good, such as tiles, flooring, turf or paving. Starting at the marked spot keeps the opening as small as the leak allows.

Our part on gas pipework is finding the leak, and only once the gas emergency service has made it safe. We mark the point so a registered gas engineer can carry out the work and reconnect the supply. If you can smell gas, ring the gas emergency service first.

No, they are separate. The detection price is agreed before booking. It pays for a set stretch of time on site, up to a half or a whole day, chosen to suit the job, and a quick find does not lower it. The repair is priced once the leak is marked, so you see both figures first.

Want the leak found and fixed?

Call 07700 102 008 to talk through the leak and the repair. Visits are usually booked within 24 to 48 hours.