Burst pipes inside concrete floors - from detection to repair and making good

When it comes to leaks few are trickier to solve than those found inside concrete floors. Concrete is a porous material and acts like a sponge absorbing any water and spreading the damp across the whole surface of the concrete block. This means you are much less likely to see the leak making its mark in any particular spot.

Detection

Detection of such leaks can be difficult and may require specialist leak detector contractors. However it is always best to consult with a plumber before hiring an expensive leak detection contractor in your area as an experienced plumber can trace pipe route and using any available marks identify the probably location of the leak inside the concrete.

Trace and Access

The second park of the repair is exposing the leak encased in concrete. Concrete being an extremely tough materials special breaker machinery is required for this task. You can imagine the damage such machines can cause to surrounding floor and other finishes however an experienced plumber can often minimise the damage.

If the leak detection has given an accurate indication of the leak and there is no furnishing blocking the floor you can expect the leak accessed in several hours. However in some cases the leak will require several excavations, it is also possible there is more than one leak! This part of the job therefore is the most difficult to quantify.

Leak Repair

Once the leak has been adequately exposed a permanent repair is carried out. Piping will require to be drained prior to this operation which is where the wet-vac hoover comes in handy (it might also be used to tidy up the mess from breaking up the floor!). Usually the repair itself is the quickest park of the job often requiring no longer than two hours. We then carry out a thorough test on the repair and ensure no further leaks remain before burying back the pipework.

Making Good

Following a successfull repair you will likely want the floor to be put back. Some firms will stop at this stage and direct you to a tiler or a floor fitter to finish and make good the floor. At FITnFIX we provide a fully comprehensive service including re-tiling. The scope of this work largely depends on if the floor can be salvaged and extent of making good.

Aftercare

It is very important to learn what has caused the leak in your concrete piping to begin with. In most cases installers do everything to avoid joining pipework inside concrete or using any pipe fittings. This minimises chances of a leak developing greatly. However any pipes laid in concrete must be adequately protected from corrosive action of concrete. In some cases we find the pipe repaired has no such protection. The long term solution in this case is to replace the pipe entirely, which is often possible to do without lifting any additional floor. A new pipe is simply installed on surface, utilising cupboards, kitchen units, void spaces it remains largely hidden.

Where central heating pipework has become corroded it is possible as a short term solution to add a leak sealer to the system which will help to seal smaller leaks caused by corrosion. This solution is by far the cheapest however has a much lower success rate.

Example leak repair carried out in Bromley

At FITnFIX we carry out all leak investigations and repairs, we have advanced cameras for hard to reach areas, thermal imaging cameras for detecting damp in concrete floors. We prioritise minimising disruption to customer's property on every job. Below is an example of a leak repair carried out by our plumber George in Bromley. In this example only two tiles were removed showing the accuracy of the leak investigation.

Plumber: George

Location: Bromley

Job Duration: 3 hours

Brief: To gain access to the leak we used a hammer drill and an angle grinder to break the floor tiles and excavate the concrete beneath.

Break floor tiles and concreate beneath to find leak under floor. Leak found using a Polygon leak detector.

Georges' notes:

"Exposed floor to find leaking flow and return pipes. The copper has been run inside the screed without protection. Cut both pipes and resoldered them. Filled and tested system. Covered pipes."