Trace and Access

Trace and access can be broken down into two categories. "Trace and trace access"

1. Trace - is when we use our specialised state of the art equipment to confirm and locate an area where the leak is. You will then be responsible to get someone to open up the area and repair the leak.
2. Trace access - is when we use our specialised state of the art equipment to confirm and locate an area where the leak is. We will then open the area up to expose the leak. You can then choose for us to repair it or have it repaired by someone else.

SD leak detection technicians are highly skilled and trained to find those pesky hard to find leaks in your property. We use state of the art equipment to pinpoint an area for access and repair the leak on the same day. With SOME central heating leaks this is unfortunately not possible.

Our leak detection equipment:

Moisture meter

Moisture meters are essential instruments used to check for excess moisture in different materials such as wood, concrete, tiles, laminate and plasterboard. We use non penetrating moisture meters which means we don’t have to damage your property. With moisture meters we are able to determine if an area/room has excess moisture, the different path that water travels and even check a rooms humidity level.

Acoustic Detectors

With some leaks water creates a specific noise when leaking. This is exactly what our acoustic detectors are looking for. Water leaks produce different frequency noises that can easily be picked up by acoustic detectors. With this information we can establish if the leak is on the hot, cold or central heating lines and sometimes pinpoint an area to make access. We can detect leaks in all materials, even buried underground or in concrete.

Thermal camera

Water leaks come in many forms and finding them through thermal imaging leak detection is one of the methods used. However, although it is a very powerful and useful method to find leaks, you would struggle to find water leaks with thermal imaging alone. With a thermal camera we look for hot or cold anomalies that could indicate a leak, we also use it to locate the hot water line in a concrete or sometimes suspended floor to get an idea of how the pipe runs in the property.

Tracer gas

Tracer gas is one of our most advanced methods to find leaks. Tracer gas is a 5% hydrogen and 95% nitrogen mixture of gas that is safe for everyone, the particles are so small that they even travel through concrete or compacted soil. When testing your central heating we first drain the water out of the system and isolate the boiler if that is possible, the tracer gas is introduced through a radiator and pressurised. On any water line the water is isolated and drained down, tracer gas is then introduced through one of the tap connections and pressurised.. We then use our equipment to search the property or area for tracer gas that would escape where the leak is. We can also monitor the gauges over time to check for a drop in pressure.