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Mr Leak

Ceiling leak detection in Sussex, Surrey & London

The single most expensive mistake in leak investigation is cutting a hole under the wet patch. Water entering a ceiling void runs along the top of the plasterboard and down the side of a joist until it finds a screw head, a light fitting or a board joint, and only then does it come through. The visible stain can be several metres from where the water actually arrived.

Thermal imaging shows us the full wetted area rather than the part that has stained, and moisture mapping shows which end of it is wettest, which is the direction of travel. That gives us a source to test rather than a patch to guess at.

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Our approach

How we find ceiling leaks

These are the methods we would normally work through on this kind of job, in this order, stopping as soon as the evidence agrees on one point.

  1. 1

    Thermal imaging camera survey

    Water moving where it should not changes the temperature of everything it touches. A thermal camera renders those differences as an image, so a leak under a solid floor shows up as a shape long before it shows up as a stain. It is completely passive: nothing is drilled, lifted or cut to take the reading.

  2. 2

    Moisture mapping and salts analysis

    Damp on its own does not tell you where water came from. Rising ground moisture leaves nitrate and chloride salts behind; a burst pipe does not. Testing the salt content of a plaster sample separates a plumbing leak from rising damp or condensation, which is often the difference between a valid insurance claim and a rejected one.

  3. 3

    Borescope inspection

    When every non-invasive method points at the same spot, a borescope gives visual confirmation before anything is properly opened up. The access hole is small enough to fill and touch in with a dab of filler, which is why we always try it before lifting a floor or cutting a ceiling.

  4. 4

    Tracer dye testing

    Ideal where several possible sources share the same wet patch. A shower tray, a waste trap and a heating pipe can all end up on the same ceiling; dosing them one at a time and watching where the dye emerges answers the question definitively rather than by elimination.

What happens

Trace, access, repair, prove

The same four stages on every job, whether it is a weeping joint or a mains supply pipe under a driveway.

  1. 1

    Trace

    Non-invasive survey of the whole affected area. We rule systems out as well as in, because knowing what is not leaking is half the evidence.

  2. 2

    Access

    One opening, in the right place, as small as the job allows. Usually a borescope hole first, and a larger opening only if the repair needs it.

  3. 3

    Repair

    The fault fixed on the same visit wherever it can be, guaranteed for 12 months. Anything larger is quoted at a fixed price before we start.

  4. 4

    Prove

    The circuit re-pressurised and held, moisture readings taken again, and the whole job written up with dated photographs and calibrated readings.

Pricing

Published rates, no call-out fee

Charged by the half hour with a half an hour minimum, and no premium for an emergency. All prices exclude VAT at 20%.

  • Weekdays7am – 6pm, Monday to Friday£54.00+ VAT
  • Evenings & weekends6pm – 9pm weekdays, plus all day Saturday and Sunday£69.75+ VAT
  • Late night9pm – 7am, every day£90.00+ VAT

Questions

Ceiling leak detection: your questions

My ceiling is bulging. Is it going to come down?

It might, and a saturated plasterboard ceiling can be heavy enough to hurt someone. Keep people out of the room, put a container underneath, and if it is safe to do so pierce the lowest point of the bulge with a screwdriver to let the water drain in a controlled way. Then call us.

Why is the damp patch not under the leak?

Because water runs downhill along whatever surface it lands on before it drops through. Ceiling voids are full of joists, cables and insulation that channel it. Following it back to the entry point is most of the work.

Is it a leak or condensation?

A salts test on a plaster sample answers this. Condensation and rising damp deposit hygroscopic salts; clean water from a pipe does not. It is a genuinely important distinction because insurers cover escape of water but do not cover condensation.

Related services

Ceiling leak detection near you

We cover 74 towns, cities and boroughs across Sussex, Surrey and London.

All areas we cover

Need ceiling leak detection?

Call 01273 123 5050 for free advice, or book a survey online. No call-out fee, and we will tell you honestly if you do not need us.

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