Water where it should not be? The emergency line is answered by a person, 24 hours a day, every day of the year — and we will talk you to your shutoff before anybody gets in a van. Call 000-000-0000
The expensive part of a hidden leak is almost never the pipe. It is the ceiling, the floor, the cabinetry and the three exploratory holes somebody made in the wrong places first. Detection equipment exists precisely so that the hole gets made once, in the right spot.
We use acoustic listening to hear pressurised water escaping, thermal imaging to see where a warm or cold line has wet the structure around it, tracer gas where acoustic will not carry, and isolation and pressure testing to prove which line is at fault before anybody swings a hammer.
Signs you have a hidden leak
Any one of these on its own is worth a call. Two together usually means water is already moving somewhere it should not.
A water bill that has climbed for no reason
The most reliable early signal there is. Compare against the same month last year rather than last month.
The meter moves with everything off
Shut every fixture and appliance, then watch the meter's low-flow indicator. If it turns, water is going somewhere.
A warm patch on the floor
A hot water line leaking under a slab. Frequently the first symptom, and often mistaken for radiant heating.
Damp, staining or bubbling paint
Particularly on a ceiling below a bathroom, or low on a wall where a supply line runs.
A musty smell with no visible source
Water inside a wall or under a floor, for long enough to have started growing something.
The sound of running water when nothing is on
Quiet, continuous, usually noticed at night. Take it seriously.
Cracked or lifting flooring
Tile lifting, wood cupping, or a section of floor that has started to feel soft underfoot.
How we find it
In roughly this order, because each step narrows the search for the next.
Isolate and pressure test
Shut sections off one at a time and watch the pressure. This alone often tells us whether it is supply or drainage, hot or cold, and which branch.
Acoustic listening
Pressurised water escaping makes a very specific noise through pipe, soil and slab. Ground microphones and a wall probe narrow it to within a foot or so.
Thermal imaging
A hot line leaking under a slab or behind plaster shows up as a temperature pattern the eye cannot see. Excellent for confirming an acoustic hit.
Tracer gas
For plastic pipe and quiet leaks where acoustic does not carry. An inert gas is introduced and detected where it surfaces.
Camera, for drainage
A leak on the drain side is a different problem and wants a camera rather than a listening probe.
Mark, then open
One hole, in the right place, after you have agreed to it. Not a series of increasingly hopeful ones.
Then the repair
Detection without repair leaves you holding a report. We do both.
Spot repair
Where the pipe is otherwise sound and the leak is a single fitting, joint or pinhole.
Reroute
Frequently the better answer for a slab leak — abandon the failed section and run a new line through accessible space rather than breaking more floor.
Partial or full repipe
Where one pinhole in old pipe is the third one this year, replacing the run costs less over five years than chasing it.
Make-good
Drywall patched, tile reinstated where we can, and an honest handover of what needs a finishing trade rather than a plumber.
Documentation for insurance
Photographs, the detection findings and a written report, because sudden accidental water damage is frequently covered even where the pipe itself is not.
Questions
Leak Detection & Repair — the questions we are asked most
How much does leak detection cost in Woodside, NY?
$295 for a standard detection including isolation, pressure testing and an acoustic and thermal survey, or $395 for a slab leak with the location marked on the floor. The fee is credited in full against a repair we carry out on the same visit.
How do I know if I have a hidden water leak?
The most reliable test costs nothing: turn off every fixture and appliance in the house, then watch the water meter's low-flow indicator for ten minutes. If it moves, water is leaving the system somewhere. A bill that has climbed without explanation, a warm patch on a floor, or a musty smell with no visible source are all worth a call.
Can you find a leak without breaking the wall or floor?
That is the entire point of the equipment. Acoustic listening, thermal imaging, tracer gas and pressure isolation between them locate the great majority of leaks to within about a foot before anything is opened. Then one hole gets made, in the right place, with your agreement.
What is a slab leak and how serious is it?
A leak in a supply line running under or within the concrete floor slab. It is serious because the water has nowhere obvious to go and can undermine the slab and wet the structure for a long time before it surfaces. A warm patch on the floor is the classic early sign of one on a hot line.
Is it better to repair a slab leak or reroute the pipe?
Very often a reroute is both cheaper and less disruptive — the failed section is abandoned and a new line run through accessible space, instead of breaking more floor to reach it. Where the slab has to be opened anyway, a spot repair may win. We price both.
Will my insurance cover a hidden leak?
Policies commonly cover sudden and accidental water damage while excluding the failed pipe itself and anything gradual, but the wording varies a great deal. We supply photographs, the detection findings and a written report as standard so you have what an adjuster will ask for. Check the specific terms with your own insurer.
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Book a plumber, or call the 24-hour line
Tell us what the water is doing and we will tell you honestly whether it needs somebody tonight or whether it will keep until the morning. Diagnostics are $89 and credited in full against any repair you approve.