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Mr Leak

East Sussex · BN1 · BN2 · BN41

Leak detection in Brighton

Non-invasive water leak detection, repair and insurance reporting across Brighton and the surrounding area. Thermal imaging, acoustic correlation and tracer gas find the source precisely — before anyone lifts a floor or opens a wall.

Our base. Engineers are typically with you inside the hour.

Local knowledge

What actually leaks in Brighton

Brighton's housing is unusually old and unusually subdivided. Regency and early Victorian townhouses across Kemptown, Brunswick and the Seven Dials were built with lead supply pipes and soft copper that has since been extended, re-routed and boxed in by successive conversions, and a single building may now hold five flats sharing pipework nobody has a drawing for. The chalk beneath the city drains fast, which means an underground supply leak can run for months without ever showing at the surface.

That is not trivia. It changes where we start. Knowing that a Brighton property is likely to be on Southern Water mains, built the way most of the stock around it was built, and sitting on the ground it sits on, means we can rule out whole categories of fault before we unpack the van — which is time you are not paying for.

The faults we are called to most often here

  • Leaks between converted flats in Victorian and Regency conversions
  • Lead and early copper supply pipes failing at joints
  • Basement and lower-ground flat ingress in seafront terraces
  • Underground supply leaks draining straight into chalk
  • Flat roof and parapet failures on terraced conversions

Neighbourhoods we cover in Brighton

  • Kemptown
  • Hanover
  • Preston Park
  • Seven Dials
  • The Lanes
  • Withdean
  • Patcham
  • Moulsecoomb
  • Woodingdean
  • Rottingdean

Plus every street in BN1, BN2, BN41. If you are just outside, call and ask.

Equipment

How we survey a property in Brighton

Every van carries the full range. Which instrument leads depends on the pipe, the pressure and the ground it is buried in.

  • Thermal imaging camera survey

    A radiometric camera reads surface temperature through plaster, screed and tile to reveal the cold plume of an escaping supply pipe or the warm track of a heating leak.

  • Acoustic leak correlation

    Ground microphones and digital correlators listen for the specific hiss of pressurised water forcing its way out of a pipe, then triangulate the exact point.

  • Tracer gas testing

    A harmless hydrogen and nitrogen mix is introduced into drained pipework, escapes at the fault, and is picked up at the surface by a gas sensor.

  • Moisture mapping and salts analysis

    Pin and pinless meters chart how wet a structure is, and a salts test tells us whether the water arrived from a pipe, from the ground, or from the weather.

  • Pressure and flow testing

    Isolating and pressurising each circuit in turn proves which one is losing water, and how fast, before anything is opened up.

  • CCTV drainage survey

    A self-levelling camera crawls the drain run and records exactly what is broken, where it is, and how deep.

  • Borescope inspection

    A camera on a flexible probe goes through a hole the size of a pencil to look inside a void, wall or ceiling.

  • Tracer dye testing

    Non-staining fluorescent dye is added to one water source at a time so the escaping water carries a colour-coded label.

  • Pipe and cable tracing

    A signal generator puts a tone on the pipe and a receiver follows it, so we map the route and depth before anyone digs.

  • Roof integrity and voltage testing

    Low-voltage electronic testing finds breaches in a flat-roof membrane that are invisible from the surface.

Questions

Leak detection in Brighton: your questions

How quickly can you get to Brighton?

Our base. Engineers are typically with you inside the hour. We answer the phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and target a 1 hour response across our coverage area, with no surcharge for an emergency call-out.

Which parts of Brighton do you cover?

All of it. We work across BN1, BN2, BN41, including Kemptown, Hanover, Preston Park, Seven Dials, The Lanes, Withdean, Patcham, Moulsecoomb, Woodingdean and Rottingdean. If your postcode sits just outside that list, call and ask — we regularly work on the boundary.

What causes most leaks in Brighton?

Brighton's housing is unusually old and unusually subdivided. Regency and early Victorian townhouses across Kemptown, Brunswick and the Seven Dials were built with lead supply pipes and soft copper that has since been extended, re-routed and boxed in by successive conversions, and a single building may now hold five flats sharing pipework nobody has a drawing for. The chalk beneath the city drains fast, which means an underground supply leak can run for months without ever showing at the surface. In practice that means the faults we are called to most often here are leaks between converted flats in victorian and regency conversions, lead and early copper supply pipes failing at joints, basement and lower-ground flat ingress in seafront terraces.

Who is responsible for a leak on my supply pipe in Brighton?

Mains water in Brighton is supplied by Southern Water. As a general rule the supply pipe from the boundary stop tap into your property is yours to maintain, and everything on the street side belongs to the water company. Our report states which side of that boundary the fault sits on, which matters because many water companies will repair a first leak on a customer supply pipe at no charge.

How much does leak detection cost in Brighton?

The same as everywhere else we work — there is no Brighton premium. Weekday surveys start at £54.00 + VAT with a half-hour minimum and no call-out fee, evenings and weekends from £69.75 + VAT, and late nights from £90.00 + VAT.

Will my insurer accept a leak detection report from you?

Our reports are written to the evidence standard loss adjusters work to: calibrated moisture readings, dated photographs, a stated methodology and a clear causation finding. Trace and access cover in your buildings policy will usually pay for the survey itself as well as the damage caused by getting to the leak.

Leak in Brighton? We can be with you today.

Call 01273 123 5050 for free advice over the phone, or book a survey online. No call-out fee and no emergency surcharge.