Leak Detection in Bexley and Sidcup
Bexley, Sidcup, Blackfen and Lamorbey are classic 1930s suburbs, with semis, bungalows and chalets whose original pipework is now reaching the end of its life.
Leaks in Bexley and Sidcup homes
Much of DA5, DA14 and DA15 was built in a single burst in the 1930s. Blackfen, Lamorbey and Sidcup are street after street of semis, bungalows and chalet bungalows with solid ground floors and heating pipes laid in the screed. Old Bexley village has older cottages and Victorian houses, Foots Cray has post-war housing and newer flats, and Bexley itself has larger interwar detached houses. In bungalows the whole pipe system is in the floor, so there is no ceiling to stain. The first sign is often a boiler losing pressure or a warm patch underfoot. Corroded copper where it passes through the screed is the common failure.
We cover DA5, DA14 and DA15, including Old Bexley, Bexley, Sidcup, Foots Cray, Blackfen and Lamorbey. The usual calls are a heating system that will not hold pressure, a floor that feels warm with the heating off, and a meter turning overnight. We pressure test the heating to confirm the loss, then use tracer gas and the thermal camera to mark the spot on the floor. A borescope through a small hole shows the condition of the pipe before anything is cut. Supply pipes under front gardens and driveways are located with the acoustic ground microphone.
Parking is easy across most of the area, with driveways and open residential roads, and controlled zones only close to Sidcup and Bexley stations. We protect the floor coverings and work through the house in order. Any excavation outside is a single small hole at the marked point. You receive a written report with photographs, thermal images and readings that supports a trace and access claim on your buildings insurance, with detection, access and repair listed separately.
What we detect in Bexley and Sidcup
Central heating leak detection
A boiler that keeps dropping pressure means water is escaping somewhere in the heating circuit. We find the pipe or fitting and fix it.
Heating leaks
Tracer gas leak detection
A safe hydrogen and nitrogen mix is put into the drained pipe, rises through the floor or wall and is picked up by the detector directly above the leak.
Tracer gas
Water mains and underground leak detection
Leaking supply pipes under driveways, gardens and concrete floors, located with acoustic and tracer gas kit so only one small excavation is needed.
Mains & underground
Thermal imaging leak surveys
A thermal imaging camera shows warm pipe runs and cool wet patches through floors and walls, so the leak is seen before anything is opened.
Thermal imaging
Trace and access insurance reports
Leak detection carried out and documented the way insurers expect, with a report your claims handler can act on straight away.
Insurance reportsFrom your first call to a leak you can see in the report
Call or WhatsApp with a few photos and a line about the symptoms. We ask a handful of questions, agree a fixed price and book the survey, usually for the same or the next day.
On arrival we pressure test the mains, hot water and heating, check the meter and test the escaping water, so we know what we are looking for before the detection starts.
Thermal imaging, the acoustic ground microphone and tracer gas are used as the pipework dictates until the leak is marked on the floor or wall.
You get a written report with readings, thermal images and photographs, ready for a trace and access claim. If you want the leak fixed, we open that one spot and repair it.
Leaks in Bexley and Sidcup: questions answered
How quickly can you come to Sidcup or Bexley?
Usually the next working day. We come from Watford round the M25 and in from the Dartford side, and an urgent visit can sometimes be fitted in the same day.
Do you cover Blackfen and Lamorbey as well as Sidcup?
Yes. All of DA5, DA14 and DA15, including Old Bexley, Bexley, Sidcup, Foots Cray, Blackfen and Lamorbey.
My bungalow has no damp patches but the boiler keeps losing pressure. Could the leak be under the floor?
Very likely. In a 1930s bungalow the heating pipes run through the solid floor, and a pinhole leak soaks into the screed without showing. Tracer gas and thermal imaging locate it from above so only a small area is opened.
Do you repair the corroded pipe once it is found?
Yes, where you want us to. The leaking section is cut out and replaced in copper or barrier pipe, with a fixed price agreed before we start. Detection and repair are invoiced separately for the insurer.
Suspect a leak in Bexley and Sidcup?
Call now and we will tell you straight away whether it needs a same-day visit. Or send a photo of the stain, the meter or the boiler gauge on WhatsApp.
07516 755 680