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Water leaks under floors, tell me how you got through it.

13 replies

MissClementine · 30/08/2019 19:39

Currently have an undetected slow water leak in house on ground floor. It’s internal and has been going on for a few weeks I think. A plumber has narrowed down to an area but all pipes are under ground under tiles! Someone else coming on Monday to investigate.

I’m full of anxiety and stress and just wanted reassurance that this will get sorted and will pass.

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BitOftheSea · 30/08/2019 22:50

We had an underfloor leak and our insurance company sent someone to investigate. If it isn’t immediately obvious they can do something with a gas to trace it without having to smash the floor or walls. Is the floor completely tiled or do you have any access areas? A plumber had to go underneath the floor to fix our leak.

NotWavingButMNing · 30/08/2019 22:54

We ended up having new pipe work installed and capping off the old leaking pipe.

MissClementine · 30/08/2019 22:58

What pipe was leaking under your floor? Our floors are all tiled but the tiles are due to be ripped up soon as we planned to refurbish the downstairs soon anyway so not to worried about ripping up tiles if needed. Haven’t involved the insurance company yet. Will see what plumber says. Am keeping the mains switched off most of day and night at present. Very stressed by it all.

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BitOftheSea · 31/08/2019 00:15

Ours were pipes for the central heating which had rusted due to the crawl space getting wet a few years before. We just had them replaced, but we had an access hatch so that was all quite easy.

It might be best to get the insurance company involved because if you need the gas tracing it can be expensive.

BitOftheSea · 31/08/2019 00:16

How do you know there’s a leak btw? If it’s central heating pipes then you don’t need to be keeping the mains water off.

MissClementine · 31/08/2019 00:33

It’s water coming off the mains, not from the tank, so not heating or hot water or mains fed cold. We have signs of damp on walls and tiles near downstairs shower room and could hear a running water sound in this area 24/7. The sound goes when mains turned off. We did the meter test and we were losing about a litre per hour with no water in use in house. A plumber has narrowed it down to the few areas fed off the mains.

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MissClementine · 31/08/2019 00:35

Not tank fed cold I meant!

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MrsMoastyToasty · 31/08/2019 00:39

We had a leak under the floorboards. Discovered that the supply pipe was made of lead and also literally inches below the driveway and garden outside so decided to replace the whole thing to current regulations.

BubblesBuddy · 31/08/2019 09:10

We had a leak under a wooden floor and the floor bowed. It all had to come up. I would agree to having the floor up if necessary to get to the pipe. You don’t want excess water causing other problems. Your insurance should cover it. Our did and we had to have new skirting boards and redecs as well. Cost around £3500 altogether.

PigletJohn · 31/08/2019 10:25

If you have a leaking supply pipe under the floor then (unless it is near-new and there is an easily corrected fault) it is usual to lay a new one.

It's very common in old houses.

You didn't say if it's a suspended wooden floor or a solid concrete one. Of course it is much easier to lift a wooden one that has a space underneath.

The new pipe does not have to follow the same route as the old one. Often it can be less disruptive to dig a trench at the side of the house.

If you're laying a new supply pipe, I strongly recommend doing it in a largerer size of plastic, at least 25mm but preferably 32mm. The cost of materials is little more, and the effort of digging the trench is the same. A larger pipe (all the way to the watermain under the pavement) will give better flow and enable you to get the best from a modern unvented cylinder or large combi, making it possible to have powerful showers and not get the water running cold and hot when someone turns on another tap. Make sure you specify full-bore stopcocks and service valves (the larger ones are more expensive and if the plumber "forgets" it is a hundred times more work to dig up the pipe later than if they had been done in the first place).

Your water company will have to inspect the new pipe before the trench is filled in, to verify it is correctly laid. Or if you employ one of their approved plumbers they can certify it. They are usually more expensive. No great skill is required to dig a trench and connect a pipe. A builder or labourer will often do the heavy spadework, or a householder who likes gardening.

Contact your water co at once. Maybe they offer a subsidy for replacing old pipes, especially if lead. They must test the water before you start work.

MissClementine · 31/08/2019 10:30

Thanks for that info, it is not the supply pipe. The leak/sound has been narrowed down to inside the house from a pipe being fed direct from where water enters house (garage) so it will be under floor between downstairs shower room or downstairs loo (both installed by previous owner) all floors are tiled, there is an access hatch under the 2 tiles that came lose after damp lifted them. We need to get into the hatch to see more. Plumber coming Monday.

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MissClementine · 31/08/2019 10:34

The stop cock is in the back of garage. The leak/sound is in a pipe the house side of stop cock.

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BitOftheSea · 31/08/2019 12:34

You should contact your insurance company now and get the claim started.

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