Water leak detection in Mansfield & Nottinghamshire
Finding the leak before anyone lifts a floor — and repairing it once we have.
A leak you cannot see is the expensive kind. Pressure that keeps dropping, a warm patch on a floor, a stain spreading across a ceiling, a cupboard that smells damp — by the time the evidence is obvious, the water has usually been running for weeks. The instinct is to start lifting floorboards where the damp shows, but water travels along joists and pipe runs, so the wet patch is very often nowhere near the leak. We trace it first and open up second. Everything here is work inside the property: heating and hot and cold pipework under floors and in walls, and the taps, valves, cylinders and radiators on the end of it.
- Hidden leaks traced without lifting floors on a guess
- Heating systems that keep losing pressure, diagnosed properly
- Leaking taps, valves, radiators and cylinders repaired
- Reports written for insurance trace and access claims
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Accredited & approved
Trading since 1989 · Gas Safe registered · £5 million public liability insurance · Rated 10/10 from 50+ reviews on Checkatrade
Customer reviews
Customer rating 10/10
RPH Home Services did a great job. I can’t fault Dean and his team. We had a new boiler fitted. Highly recommended. Fitted the boiler on a Saturday as they were busy the following week.
Customer rating 10/10
If you are looking for anybody to carry out boiler installation, servicing or central heating work then look no further. RPH were competitive, punctual, professional, clean and tidy. Nothing was rushed and they went to great effort to not only complete our swap from a traditional to a combi boiler, but to do it in a way that made the swap look as good as possible too. Although we got several quotes, they left us feeling confident we made the right decision.
Customer rating 10/10
I was very impressed with David from the day he came to give me a quote. He checked the location of gas pipes to ascertain the complexity of the job — two previous companies had not even mentioned this. On fitting day David and two colleagues arrived at the time advised. They kept me informed of each task and left my property clean and tidy.
Customer rating 10/10
Needed my old boiler and F&E system replacing. David visited and we agreed a new location for the boiler and an extra radiator. On the day of installation David, Dean and crew were very professional, ensuring all carpets and flooring were protected. Very pleased with the work undertaken.
Our work
Work we have completed
Our own photographs from recent jobs across Nottinghamshire.
Worcester combi, kitchen install
Commissioned and documented
Copper pipework, first fix
Signs you have a hidden leak
Pressure that keeps dropping
A sealed heating system that needs topping up more than once or twice a year is losing water somewhere. If the pressure relief discharge outside is dry, the water is going into the building rather than out of it — usually from pipework under a floor or inside a wall.
A stain spreading on a ceiling
Almost always pipework or a fitting in the floor void above, and almost never directly above the stain. Water runs along a joist until it finds somewhere to drop, so the mark on the plaster tells you where it left, not where it started.
Warm or damp patches on the floor
A leak on a heating pipe buried in a solid floor warms the surface above it. A cold damp patch is more likely a cold feed or a waste. Either way the position of the patch is a clue, not an answer.
A tap or valve that never quite stops
A weeping tap, a radiator valve that marks the floor, or an overflow that drips is small until it is not. These are the cheapest leaks to fix and the ones most often left for a year because they seem trivial.
How do you find a hidden water leak?
The point of leak detection equipment is to avoid destroying the building to find a pinhole. Which method fits depends on what is leaking and what it is buried in, and usually it is more than one — the camera narrows it to a room, the acoustics narrow it to a metre.
- Thermal imaging — shows a heated pipe run and the anomaly on it, through tile, screed or timber
- Acoustic listening — picks up the sound of escaping water on pressurised pipework
- Pressure testing — isolates the system circuit by circuit to prove which one is losing water
- Tracer gas — introduced into a drained pipe and detected where it surfaces, for the leaks nothing else finds
Can you find leaks under floors and inside walls?
This is the bulk of what we are called to. Under suspended timber floors, pipework runs between and along the joists, and a weep can track several metres before it shows anywhere — which is why lifting boards under the damp patch so often finds dry pipe. Under solid floors the pipework is cast into the screed, so there is nothing to lift and nothing to see: the only signals are falling system pressure and a faint warm line across the floor. Both are traceable without opening the room up first.
- Heating circuits buried in solid floors located by thermal imaging
- Pipe runs under suspended timber floors traced before boards come up
- Leaks inside stud and solid walls mapped by their moisture pattern
- Failed joints and pinholes on hot and cold pipework repaired
- Floors and coverings reinstated after the repair
What about leaks from taps, valves, cylinders and radiators?
Not every leak is hidden. A tap that weeps whatever you do to it, a radiator valve leaving a mark on the floor, a cylinder that has started to seep, a toilet that runs constantly — these are ordinary jobs and they are worth doing before they become the other kind. A dripping cylinder or a failed valve on an upstairs radiator will find its way through a ceiling eventually, and at that point the plaster costs more than the part did.
- Taps, mixers and stop valves reseated or replaced
- Radiator valves, unions and towel rail connections
- Hot water cylinders, including unvented systems and their safety devices
- Toilets, overflows and float valves
- Isolation valves fitted so the next repair does not mean draining the house
What leaks do you not cover?
We work inside the property. The underground supply pipe running from the boundary stop tap in the street to your internal stop tap is not something we take on, and neither is water mains work, lead supply replacement or any job that needs the ground opened up. If your water company has flagged a leak on your external supply, or you have water surfacing in a garden or driveway, that is a job for a mains and excavation specialist rather than for us. We would rather tell you that at the enquiry than send an engineer to say it at the door.
What should I do if I smell gas?
Gas is different, and the order of operations matters. If you can smell gas, do not wait for us and do not start looking for the source yourself. Turn the supply off at the meter, open the windows, leave the electrics alone and call the National Gas Emergency Service on <strong>0800 111 999</strong> — they attend free, at any hour, and will make the property safe. Once it is made safe, a Gas Safe registered engineer has to trace and repair the fault before the supply can be restored, and that is the part we do.
Will my home insurance cover trace and access?
Most home insurance policies include trace and access cover — the cost of finding the leak and of the damage caused getting to it, separately from repairing the pipe itself. Insurers generally want evidence of what was found and how, which is exactly why non-invasive tracing matters: a documented, targeted investigation is a far easier claim than a lifted floor and a guess. We provide a written report with our findings for you to submit.
Losing water and cannot find where?
We will trace it properly before anything gets lifted, and give you a fixed price for the repair once we know what we are dealing with.
Leak Detection near you
We cover Nottinghamshire and the surrounding East Midlands with no travel charges. Pick your town for local detail.
- Leak Detection in Mansfield
- Leak Detection in Rainworth
- Leak Detection in Mansfield Woodhouse
- Leak Detection in Ravenshead
- Leak Detection in Sutton-in-Ashfield
- Leak Detection in Kirkby-in-Ashfield
- Leak Detection in Selston & Brinsley
- Leak Detection in Worksop
- Leak Detection in Retford
- Leak Detection in Warsop
- Leak Detection in Shirebrook
- Leak Detection in Edwinstowe
- Leak Detection in Radcliffe-on-Trent
Frequently asked questions
Can you find a leak without lifting my floor?
Do you find leaks on the water pipe outside, in the garden or drive?
My boiler pressure keeps dropping — is that a leak?
There is a stain on my ceiling. Where is the leak?
Will my insurance cover the cost?
What do I do if I can smell gas?
Do you cover the villages around Mansfield?
How much does leak detection cost?
How quickly can you get out to a leak?
Are you insured and Gas Safe registered?
Page reviewed and updated by RPH Home Services, Mansfield.
Other services we offer
Boiler Installations
A-rated combi, system and regular boilers on a fixed written quote, usually fitted within 48 hours, with up to 12-year warranties.
Learn moreBoiler Repair
Fast diagnosis and fixed-price repairs on all major boiler makes, with an honest answer on whether repairing is worth it.
Learn moreBoiler Servicing
Annual boiler service at a fixed price — flue gas analysis, safety checks and a written report that keeps your warranty valid.
Learn moreCentral Heating
New heating systems, radiator installation and replacement, system conversions and smart heating controls.
Learn morePower Flushing
Magnacleanse and chemical flushing to clear magnetite sludge, restore circulation and protect a new boiler's warranty.
Learn moreLandlord Boiler Services
Boiler servicing, CP12 certificates and plumbing cover for landlords, letting agents and property managers.
Learn moreCommercial Plumbing Services
Commercial plumbing, heating and boiler work for shops, offices, care homes and landlords' portfolios — scheduled around trading hours.
Learn moreEmergency Callout
Same-day response for no heat, no hot water and active leaks, with vulnerable customers prioritised.
Learn more
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Prefer to talk?01623 354773