Leak detection & repair

Signs you have a leak

• Damp patches or staining on ceilings and walls
• A water meter that keeps moving when every tap is off
• Lifting flooring, swollen skirting or a musty smell
• Lower water pressure than usual
• A cistern that keeps refilling on its own

Check your meter first

If you have a water meter, it’s the quickest test. Turn off every tap and appliance, note the reading, and check again after half an hour without using any water. If it has moved, water is going somewhere.

Whose leak is it?

The pipe from the water main to the pavement stop tap belongs to Bristol Water. The pipe from that stop tap into your home, and everything inside, is yours. A leak in the street or the pavement should be reported to Bristol Water. A leak on your side is where we come in.

How we deal with it

1. We work out which part of the system is leaking: supply, heating side, waste or appliance.
2. We find the exact point, lifting as little as possible.
3. We repair or replace the failed section, and tell you if nearby pipework looks likely to go the same way.
4. We test it and leave it dry.

Heating-side leaks: we can repair water pipework, but we don’t work on boilers or gas appliances.

Hidden leaks and your water bill

Not every leak announces itself with a drip. Water can escape from a supply pipe buried in a floor, a joint behind a kitchen unit, or the underground pipe between your stop tap and the pavement. On a meter, that water still goes through the meter. A jump in your bill with no change in how you use water is worth investigating.

The pipe from your boundary stop tap into the house is the owner’s responsibility, even where it runs under a front garden or a drive. If the meter test points to a leak but there’s no sign of it inside, the leak may be on that underground section. Tell us that when you call, because it changes how we approach finding it.

Leaks that aren’t pipes

A lot of “leaks” are actually seals. Silicone around a bath or shower tray, the seal under a toilet pan, or the waste connection under a basin can all let water out slowly, often only when that fitting is used. Water soaking through to a ceiling below a bathroom, but only after someone showers, points that way. These are usually simpler repairs than a burst pipe, but the longer they’re left, the more of the floor underneath they spoil.