Leak Detection Specialists
A good plumber fixes a leak once it is in front of them. A leak detection specialist finds the one nobody can see, using kit most plumbers do not carry, and hands over a marked location and a written report.
Leak detection specialists, step by step
The difference between a leak detection specialist and a general plumber is not skill, it is purpose and equipment. A plumber is there to install and repair, and most carry nothing that can see inside a floor or hear a pipe through concrete. When the leak is hidden, the honest options left to them are to open up on a best guess or to recommend someone who can locate it first. Greenwinter Leak Detection exists for that second option. Locating hidden leaks is the whole job, in homes and commercial buildings across Watford, Hertfordshire and London, and further afield when asked.
The kit is what makes the difference. A handheld thermal imaging camera, a Sewerin Aquaphon acoustic ground microphone, a Sewerin Variotec hydrogen tracer gas detector and a borescope camera come to every survey. So do nitrogen pressure test gauges, dye for baths and showers, test strips to tell mains water from heating water and a moisture meter. Each tool covers a weakness in the others. Thermal imaging needs a temperature difference, acoustic detection needs pressure and noise, and tracer gas needs a drained pipe. Knowing which to use, in which order, on which system, is the specialist part.
Finding is only half of it. If you want the leak repaired, the same engineer opens up at the marked point and fixes it in copper, barrier pipe or MDPE, so there is no second trade to arrange. Whether or not we do the repair, you receive a written report with the readings, thermal images and photographs. Insurers use it for trace and access claims, and a plumber of your own choosing can work straight from it. Plumbers are welcome to bring us in to locate the leak and then take the repair themselves.
In our own photos
From 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.
A report your insurer can act on
Most buildings insurance policies include trace and access cover for finding a hidden leak and making good the way in. Our report is written for that claim: what we tested, what we found, where it is, with photographs, thermal images and readings.
- Turn off the stop tap or the heating and stop topping up
- Photograph the damage, the boiler gauge and the meter
- Tell your insurer a leak is suspected and detection is being arranged
- Trace and access pays to find the leak and make good the access
Specialists: questions answered
What does a leak detection specialist do that a plumber does not?
A specialist locates the leak before anything is opened, using thermal imaging, acoustic and tracer gas equipment that most plumbers do not carry. A plumber repairs what can be seen. The two work well together, and we are happy to be brought in by a plumber who then takes on the repair.
Do I need a specialist, or will my plumber do?
If the leak is visible, your plumber is the right call. If water is appearing with no obvious source, the meter turns with everything off or the boiler keeps losing pressure, the leak needs locating first. That is specialist work, and it saves opening floors and walls on a guess.
Which areas do you cover?
We are based in Watford and work across Hertfordshire and London. We also travel into Berkshire, Essex, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire when asked.
Can you fix the leak as well as find it?
Yes. Once the leak is marked we can open that one spot, repair the pipe in copper, barrier pipe or MDPE and test it, on the same visit where the parts allow. If you prefer your own plumber to do the repair, the report and the marked location are all they need.
Do you deal with gas leaks?
No, we locate water and heating leaks only, and tracer gas is a detection method using a safe hydrogen and nitrogen mix that has nothing to do with the gas supply or gas appliances. If you can smell gas, leave the property and call the gas emergency number.
Related services
Need leak detection specialists?
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