West Sussex · PO18 · PO19 · PO20
Leak detection in Chichester
Non-invasive water leak detection, repair and insurance reporting across Chichester and the surrounding area. Thermal imaging, acoustic correlation and tracer gas find the source precisely — before anyone lifts a floor or opens a wall.
An hour west of Brighton along the A27, and covered from the Sussex office.
Local knowledge
What actually leaks in Chichester
Chichester's centre is a conservation area built on four Georgian streets, and a great deal of the housing inside the walls is listed or in a conservation area. That matters more here than anywhere else we work: consent is needed before a floor comes up, and the plaster, panelling and flagstones are often the reason the building is protected in the first place. Behind that frontage the services are frequently original, with lead supply pipes and cast iron waste still in use, and the flint and rubble-filled walls carry water sideways in a way brick does not.
That is not trivia. It changes where we start. Knowing that a Chichester property is likely to be on Portsmouth 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
- Lead supply pipes still live in listed and conservation-area property
- Water tracking through flint and rubble-filled walls
- Cast iron waste stacks corroding behind original plaster
- Leaks under flagstone and suspended timber floors that cannot be lifted
- Failed lead flashing and valley gutters on steep tiled roofs
Neighbourhoods we cover in Chichester
- Summersdale
- Whyke
- Parklands
- Fishbourne
- Donnington
- Westhampnett
Plus every street in PO18, PO19, PO20. If you are just outside, call and ask.
Services
What we do in Chichester
Every service below is available across PO18, PO19, PO20, at the same published rates we charge everywhere else.
Water leak detection in Chichester
The core survey: we find the exact source of any escape of water in your property without lifting floors or opening walls on a guess.
Emergency leak detection in Chichester
Water coming through a ceiling does not wait for office hours. We answer the phone around the clock and target a one-hour response.
Central heating leak detection in Chichester
If your boiler keeps losing pressure and you are topping it up every few days, there is a leak in the system. We find it.
Underground water leak detection in Chichester
Mains supply pipe leaks under drives, gardens and roads, located to within a foot before anyone lifts a spade.
Drain cleaning and unblocking in Chichester
Blocked drains cleared and the run scoured back to the pipe wall, not just punctured so it flows until next time.
Damp and mould surveys in Chichester
Establishing whether you have a leak, rising damp, penetrating damp or condensation, because the fix for each is completely different.
Trace and access reports for insurance claims in Chichester
The evidence pack your insurer needs: what leaked, where, how it was proved, and what it will cost to put right.
Leak repair in Chichester
Find and fix in one visit wherever possible, with the repair pressure tested and proved before we leave.
Water damage restoration and drying in Chichester
The stage after the leak: drying the structure out properly, and putting right what the water damaged. Quoted separately once we know what we are dealing with.
Commercial leak detection in Chichester
Offices, retail, hotels, schools, care homes and managed blocks, surveyed with minimum disruption to trading.
Equipment
How we survey a property in Chichester
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.
High-pressure water jetting
Water at up to 3,000 psi, fired backwards through a nozzle that drags itself up the pipe, stripping the bore back to the original clay or plastic.
Mechanical rodding and drain snake
Rods and a 20-metre powered snake, for blockages close to the surface and for runs too fragile or too tight to jet.
Chain knocker descaling and coring
A rotating chain head or coring machine takes off what water alone will not shift — hardened scale, set concrete and cast iron corrosion.
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 Chichester: your questions
How quickly can you get to Chichester?
An hour west of Brighton along the A27, and covered from the Sussex office. 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 Chichester do you cover?
All of it. We work across PO18, PO19, PO20, including Summersdale, Whyke, Parklands, Fishbourne, Donnington and Westhampnett. If your postcode sits just outside that list, call and ask — we regularly work on the boundary.
What causes most leaks in Chichester?
Chichester's centre is a conservation area built on four Georgian streets, and a great deal of the housing inside the walls is listed or in a conservation area. That matters more here than anywhere else we work: consent is needed before a floor comes up, and the plaster, panelling and flagstones are often the reason the building is protected in the first place. Behind that frontage the services are frequently original, with lead supply pipes and cast iron waste still in use, and the flint and rubble-filled walls carry water sideways in a way brick does not. In practice that means the faults we are called to most often here are lead supply pipes still live in listed and conservation-area property, water tracking through flint and rubble-filled walls, cast iron waste stacks corroding behind original plaster.
Who is responsible for a leak on my supply pipe in Chichester?
Mains water in Chichester is supplied by Portsmouth 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 Chichester?
The same as everywhere else we work — there is no Chichester 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 Chichester? We can be with you today.
Call 01273 936 030 for free advice over the phone, or book a survey online. No call-out fee and no emergency surcharge.