Ceiling leak detection in Sussex, Surrey & London
The single most expensive mistake in leak investigation is cutting a hole under the wet patch. Water entering a ceiling void runs along the top of the plasterboard and down the side of a joist until it finds a screw head, a light fitting or a board joint, and only then does it come through. The visible stain can be several metres from where the water actually arrived.
Thermal imaging shows us the full wetted area rather than the part that has stained, and moisture mapping shows which end of it is wettest, which is the direction of travel. That gives us a source to test rather than a patch to guess at.
Our approach
How we find ceiling leaks
These are the methods we would normally work through on this kind of job, in this order, stopping as soon as the evidence agrees on one point.
- 1
Thermal imaging camera survey
Water moving where it should not changes the temperature of everything it touches. A thermal camera renders those differences as an image, so a leak under a solid floor shows up as a shape long before it shows up as a stain. It is completely passive: nothing is drilled, lifted or cut to take the reading.
- 2
Moisture mapping and salts analysis
Damp on its own does not tell you where water came from. Rising ground moisture leaves nitrate and chloride salts behind; a burst pipe does not. Testing the salt content of a plaster sample separates a plumbing leak from rising damp or condensation, which is often the difference between a valid insurance claim and a rejected one.
- 3
Borescope inspection
When every non-invasive method points at the same spot, a borescope gives visual confirmation before anything is properly opened up. The access hole is small enough to fill and touch in with a dab of filler, which is why we always try it before lifting a floor or cutting a ceiling.
- 4
Tracer dye testing
Ideal where several possible sources share the same wet patch. A shower tray, a waste trap and a heating pipe can all end up on the same ceiling; dosing them one at a time and watching where the dye emerges answers the question definitively rather than by elimination.
What happens
Trace, access, repair, prove
The same four stages on every job, whether it is a weeping joint or a mains supply pipe under a driveway.
- 1
Trace
Non-invasive survey of the whole affected area. We rule systems out as well as in, because knowing what is not leaking is half the evidence.
- 2
Access
One opening, in the right place, as small as the job allows. Usually a borescope hole first, and a larger opening only if the repair needs it.
- 3
Repair
The fault fixed on the same visit wherever it can be, guaranteed for 12 months. Anything larger is quoted at a fixed price before we start.
- 4
Prove
The circuit re-pressurised and held, moisture readings taken again, and the whole job written up with dated photographs and calibrated readings.
Pricing
Published rates, no call-out fee
Charged by the half hour with a half an hour minimum, and no premium for an emergency. All prices exclude VAT at 20%.
- Weekdays7am – 6pm, Monday to Friday£54.00+ VAT
- Evenings & weekends6pm – 9pm weekdays, plus all day Saturday and Sunday£69.75+ VAT
- Late night9pm – 7am, every day£90.00+ VAT
Questions
Ceiling leak detection: your questions
My ceiling is bulging. Is it going to come down?
It might, and a saturated plasterboard ceiling can be heavy enough to hurt someone. Keep people out of the room, put a container underneath, and if it is safe to do so pierce the lowest point of the bulge with a screwdriver to let the water drain in a controlled way. Then call us.
Why is the damp patch not under the leak?
Because water runs downhill along whatever surface it lands on before it drops through. Ceiling voids are full of joists, cables and insulation that channel it. Following it back to the entry point is most of the work.
Is it a leak or condensation?
A salts test on a plaster sample answers this. Condensation and rising damp deposit hygroscopic salts; clean water from a pipe does not. It is a genuinely important distinction because insurers cover escape of water but do not cover condensation.
Related services
- Bathroom and shower leak detectionWet rooms, shower trays, baths and waste traps: the most common source of a stain on the ceiling below.
- Roof leak detectionPitched and flat roofs, balconies and terraces. Electronic membrane testing finds pinholes you cannot see.
- Emergency leak detectionWater coming through a ceiling does not wait for office hours. We answer the phone around the clock and target a one-hour response.
Ceiling leak detection near you
We cover 74 towns, cities and boroughs across Sussex, Surrey and London.
Sussex
Need ceiling leak detection?
Call 01273 936 030 for free advice, or book a survey online. No call-out fee, and we will tell you honestly if you do not need us.