Finding a Water Leak

Jumper55

I hope someone can help.  I received my water bill for the last 6 months and the usage was showing as almost double what it would normally be and I couldnt think of an explanation (I hadnt changed my usage habits).

So I suspect that I have a leak somewhere but I cannot find it.  I have done the following tests:-

- Turned the main stopcock in the house off and then checked the meter and there is no movement so this means that the leak is not between the meter in the pavement and the main stopcock in the house.

- I checked the meter reading and then went out for a couple of hours with no water being used in the house and the meter reading increased - even though there was no water being used.

I have checked everything in the house that I can think of - no leaking taps, no toilets continuing to run, felt all the pipes that are accessible (eg under the kitchen sink).  There are no visible signs of a leak (no water patches on the ceiling etc) and there is no smell of dampness in the house.

So how can I identify where the leak might be?  I dont want to call a plumber out until I can narrow down where the leak might be - otherwise I will be paying him to do the same tests that I have already done.

Can anyone give me advice of what else I can try to be able to identify where the leak is?

Thanks

ButterCheese

Tricky.  Could it be anything outside that you have forgotten about e.g. outside tap? 

You can buy water leak detectors but I'm guessing the cheaper ones don't work very well, and the ones that work well are probably several hundred if not thousand.  This might be what a plumber would already have.  Perhaps tell them the issue and ask how they would go about finding the leak, so you know what you might be in for.  They might also have some sort of flow meter which they would put inline between certain sections of pipe to try and narrow down where it is?

Other than that, it would be a case of taking the carpets and floor boards up.  If it's a substantial leak then you'd notice if it was upstairs probably, so I would start downstairs.  That's the only way I can think of doing it, but you might just have to bite the bullit and get someone in.  I would tell them what you have done first; a good tradesperson will not charge you for stuff you have already done, but on the other hand they may want to repeat some of the steps to ensure it has been done the correct way.  They can't take everyone's word for it in case it's not been checked properly

ButterCheese

Also this would be a nightmare for downstairs if you don't know where the pipes run, as they are often hidden/covered by kitchen uints and/or might be boxed in behind plaster in the corner of the kitchen, often following the waste pipe down from upstairs.  This is why I'd be tempted to pursue a good plumber

WIAWSNB

Jumper55 said:

I hope someone can help.  I received my water bill for the last 6 months and the usage was showing as almost double what it would normally be and I couldnt think of an explanation (I hadnt changed my usage habits).

So I suspect that I have a leak somewhere but I cannot find it.  I have done the following tests:-

- Turned the main stopcock in the house off and then checked the meter and there is no movement so this means that the leak is not between the meter in the pavement and the main stopcock in the house.

- I checked the meter reading and then went out for a couple of hours with no water being used in the house and the meter reading increased - even though there was no water being used.

I have checked everything in the house that I can think of - no leaking taps, no toilets continuing to run, felt all the pipes that are accessible (eg under the kitchen sink).  There are no visible signs of a leak (no water patches on the ceiling etc) and there is no smell of dampness in the house.

So how can I identify where the leak might be?  I dont want to call a plumber out until I can narrow down where the leak might be - otherwise I will be paying him to do the same tests that I have already done.

Can anyone give me advice of what else I can try to be able to identify where the leak is?

Thanks

Your meter reading over 6 months is almost double the norm? Ok, we can assume that's a lot of water, then. 

The average bod apparently uses around 150 litres of water per day, so even assuming there's only one average person in your house, this could be around twentyfivethousand litres of water lost. I think you'd notice the damp patch. We can assume that if this loss was occurring inside your house living area, then you would know about it.

You have carried out the first two important tests. Can you recall whether the meter was 'spinning' with the mains stopcock open, but absolutely nothing running in your house? Or did you just take a couple of readings and compare the difference?

Where is your mains stopock located - under the sink? If so, it would be usual for all the other water pipes to also be above floor level.The obvious exception are the CH pipes. What type of boiler do you have, and does it have a pressure gauge? If it doesn't, and a CH (radiator) pipe is leaking under your floor, then your small F&E tank would be constantly topping it up.

The other possibility is if you have a F&E tank and CWS (cold water storage) tank in your loft, and one of them has a sticky ballcock. This would make the tank keep refilling, and the excess would be escaping via an overflow pipe. If you have these, then check outside for your house having a constant weewee from a white plastic pipe.

Of course, if you have a sealed system, then ignore all that...

But, if there are tanks in t'loft, go up and have a look at them.

diveunderthebonnet

Could you turn the water off in the house by the stopcock and leave it for about half a day ,make a note of the water meter reading before and after as it might be a faulty water meter.

Lorian

Damp smells in a room?
Skirting boards uneven?
paint flaking off the bottom part of walls?
Creaking flooring?
Uneven laminate?

Can all be tells of a leak

youth_leader

My neighbour in the bungalow across the drive has just had a leak.  She was able to hear running water when she opened her kitchen cupboard.

She contacted the water board first, who confirmed the leak was her responsibility, as it was on a lead pipe in her drive.

She then contacted her insurance company who provided a 'track an trace' service.  They traced the leak to just near her water meter, and only made two large holes in her drive to investigate.

She then had to contact a company and pay for the pipe to be replaced, I think she used a company called Hydrosure.

Olinda99

do you have tanks in the attic?

if so, go up and turn the mains feed off to the cold water tank and ch tank.

wait a few hours or overnight. Has the level gone down ? if not, that rules out leak in CH and hot water and low pressure cold water systems ie leak is in main feed somewhere.

Obviously if the level has gone down in one of the tanks then that points to your culpit

diveunderthebonnet

As others have said the amount of water " missing " they would be swimming by now if a simple leak in a central heating pipe or a kitchen tap feed ,must be major leak or faulty meter.

Jumper55

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions.

For information and to answer some of the questions.  It is a 3 storey townhouse.  The main stopcock is on the ground floor in the integrated garage.  There is the washing machine and a toilet/sink on that floor.

The kitchen is on the first floor and the boiler is in the kitchen.

On the second floor is the main bathroom and an ensuite.  There is also the airing cupboard with the hot water tank.

In the loft is the cold water tank.  Someone mentioned an F&E tank - sorry I dont know what that is?

I will do some more tests at the weekend and get up in the loft to see if I can see anything amiss there.

However, as was mentioned, with nearly double my normal usage it would be a lot of water and very surprising that I cant see any sign of it at all.  

It leads me to think that a faulty meter is more likely.  If thats the case do I just phone my water company to get them to come and test it?

Thanks again for your responses.

TheGreenFrog

You can probably test the water meter yourself.   A cubic meter is 1,000 litres.  Look for teh smallest unit on your meter - mine is .0001 of a cubic meter which is 0.1 of a litre.   Find a bucket and fill to, say, 5 litres.  Check meter before and after.  make sure all other taps, washing machine etc not running