Leak detection outside London.

A leak-detection survey is the right service when you know there is a leak but no one can yet find it. Damp ceilings below first-floor bathrooms, unexplained spikes on the water bill, persistent staining at the base of an exterior wall, or a pressure-loss heating system that needs daily topping up. Local plumbers will often guess, lift a few boards, find nothing, and bill for the time. A proper non-invasive survey reverses that: we identify the source before any cutting begins, document the finding to insurance-grade standards, and quote the actual repair separately so it can be claimed under the escape-of-water cover.

Our survey kit travels with us. We use FLIR E76 and E96 thermal-imaging cameras for radiant temperature differentials on walls, floors, and ceilings; Sewerin acoustic loggers and microphones for pressurised mains leaks; Sewerin tracer-gas (a 5% hydrogen, 95% nitrogen blend, intrinsically safe and non-flammable) for buried supply and central-heating pipework; Protimeter Surveymaster and Hygromaster dual-mode moisture meters for quantitative wall-and-floor mapping; and a borescope camera for tight cavity inspection. Every survey ends with a written report, photographs, thermal images, moisture readings, and a separately-itemised repair quote you can take straight to the insurer.

How an out-of-area survey runs

Seven stages, completed in a single visit wherever the property layout allows.

1. 1
   Free phone scope-out
   A 10 to 15 minute call to understand the symptoms, the property size, and whether the leak is most likely on the cold mains, the heating circuit, or a waste pipe. We confirm the survey is the right next step before quoting.
2. 2
   Written quote with mileage breakdown
   A fixed survey fee, day rate (typically a single engineer for a single day), mileage at the HMRC AMAP £0.45 per mile each way from the nearest M25 junction, and a separate not-to-exceed for tracer-gas consumables if needed.
3. 3
   Arrival and initial walk-round
   Property orientation, identification of all damp evidence, location of the mains stop-tap, the boiler, the manifold (if UFH), and a baseline meter and pressure reading.
4. 4
   Thermal and moisture mapping
   FLIR E76 or E96 sweep across suspect surfaces, with Protimeter Surveymaster moisture readings logged at gridded intervals. Anomalies marked, photographed, and recorded.
5. 5
   Acoustic and tracer-gas trace
   Sewerin acoustic loggers on the mains for pressurised leaks. Where required, the suspect pipe section is isolated and charged with 5% H2/95% N2 tracer gas; surface sniffer locates the egress point to within centimetres.
6. 6
   Same-visit written report
   A PDF report drafted on site: methodology, equipment used, thermal images, moisture readings, leak source confirmation, and recommended repair scope.
7. 7
   Separately-itemised repair quote
   The actual repair, costed line by line, in the format insurers expect under the escape-of-water section of the policy. We will deal directly with your insurer where you give us written authority.