ADI’s engineers find hidden leaks with tracer gas, acoustics and thermal imaging. We work around your tenant and give you a report to pass to the landlord and the insurer.
Explore a house split into two flats: the bathroom over the flat below, the boiler, the kitchen, the pipes under the floor and the supply from the pavement.
What the tenant notices. A stain on the top-floor ceiling after heavy rain, damp around a chimney breast or dormer, or a cold-water tank in the loft that overflows.
How it is found. Moisture mapping and thermal imaging inside show where the water is arriving; tracer gas or smoke testing on the roof can pinpoint the defect. ADI locates roof leaks and reports them. The repair is a roofer's job; loft tanks and pipework are plumbing.
How we investigate roof leaksWhat the tenant notices. The tenant downstairs reports a stain or drip under the bathroom of the flat above. It may appear only when that shower is used, or it may never stop.
How it is found. Moisture mapping, thermal imaging, dye tests on the shower and bath, a borescope camera behind the bath panel, and pressure testing of the hot and cold supplies. The flat above usually needs to be accessible.
How we investigate leaks between flatsWhat the tenant notices. A swollen kickboard, a damp base unit, laminate lifting beside the washing machine or dishwasher, a smell under the sink.
How it is found. Moisture readings and thermal imaging along the run of units, dye tests on waste connections, and a borescope camera into the void before a cabinet comes out.
How we investigate kitchen leaksWhat the tenant notices. The tenant keeps topping up the boiler pressure, one radiator stays cold, or a patch of floor feels warm. Heating pipes often run under floors and behind finished walls.
How it is found. Pressure testing to confirm the heating circuit is losing water, thermal imaging to follow the pipe route, then tracer gas or acoustic listening to pinpoint the leak.
How we investigate heating leaksWhat the tenant notices. Damp flooring or skirting in a hallway or understairs cupboard, and a water meter that keeps turning when every tap is off.
How it is found. A meter check with the stopcock open and closed, each circuit pressure tested on its own, tracer gas and thermal imaging to follow the pipe, then a targeted opening at the marked spot.
How we investigate pipes under floorsWhat the tenant notices. A water bill that has jumped, a meter that turns with the stopcock closed, low pressure, or a damp patch along the front path. In a converted house the supply may be shared between flats.
How it is found. Acoustic ground microphones and leak-noise correlation along the pipe, tracer gas where the ground is noisy, and a trace wire to map a plastic pipe before a targeted excavation.
How we investigate supply pipe leaksADI’s engineers combine these seven methods to locate hidden leaks before anything in the tenant’s home is opened.
A safe, non-flammable hydrogen and nitrogen mix is put into the pipe or void. It escapes at the leak, rises through the floor or wall, and a detector picks it up at the surface.
In a rented home: Supply pipes under a front path, hot pipes under a hallway floor, heating pipes under a screed.
Ground and pipe microphones amplify the sound of water escaping under pressure. The loudest point is the leak.
In a rented home: Front gardens, pavements and hallway floors over a buried pipe.
Two sensors clamped to a pipe record the leak noise from either side; the correlator works out how far along the pipe the leak sits.
In a rented home: Long supply pipes to a house or a converted block, where listening alone is slow.
A thermal camera shows warm pipes and cold, wet patches behind finished surfaces. It scans large areas quickly and is always paired with another method to confirm.
In a rented home: Heating runs under floors, hot pipes behind walls, the ceiling under a bathroom.
A camera on a flexible tube goes through a small, easily made-good hole to look inside a void, behind a bath panel or into a boxed-in pipe.
In a rented home: Looking behind a bath panel or kitchen units before anything larger is opened.
Pin and pinless meters read moisture in walls, floors and ceilings. Plotted room by room, the readings show where the water has travelled and where it started.
In a rented home: Showing the landlord how far the water has spread, and which flat it started in.
Each circuit is isolated and held under pressure. A drop confirms a leak on that circuit; a steady gauge rules it out, and proves a repair afterwards.
In a rented home: Separating the heating, hot and cold pipes, and proving a repair before the tenant uses them again.
Three ADI investigations in residential properties, with the findings and repair outcome recorded for each job.
Water was pooling under the stairs and the boiler had been losing pressure for two weeks. Pressure testing, tracer gas and thermal imaging found a damaged 15 mm hot pipe under the hallway floor, plus a separate leaking WC valve.
The meter showed a small leak with no water in use. When the flat was converted to a combination boiler, some old hot pipework had been left buried under the bathroom floor, still connected and under pressure.
The tenant reported a leak from the upstairs bathroom, with damage to the ceiling below and saturated skirting. An endoscope, removed panels and one targeted opening led to a leaking shower-mixer connection.
Give the postcode, the type of property, what the tenant has reported and since when. The office team will ask about access and the water and heating system, then give you current availability and a quote.
Agree the time with the tenant and who will let the engineer in. If the flat above or below may be involved, arrange that access too. Parking close to the door matters: the equipment is heavy.
The engineer looks at the meter, the stopcock and the boiler first, then walks the affected rooms with whoever is at the property.
Pressure testing separates the circuits. Thermal imaging, moisture mapping, acoustics, tracer gas and cameras then close in on the leak. Some tests need the water or heating off for a short while.
A report with photographs, findings and recommendations that you can send straight to the landlord, a contractor or the insurer.
Pipework and drainage leaks can be quoted and repaired, often on the same visit, and pressure tested afterwards. Roof and building-fabric leaks are located and reported for a roofer to fix.
Full review on TrustpilotI spoke with Lauren and she was amazing from start to finish. I had a lot of questions, particularly because the work was being covered through my home insurance, and she took the time to clearly explain exactly what the engineer would do, how the process worked and what would be covered. She was incredibly knowledgeable, patient and transparent about everything, including the pricing. […] I would highly recommend ADI Leak Detection.
Full review on TrustpilotGrant was incredible here in Essex from start to finish. He arrived early, and managed to track down a leak in the bathroom that was making its way through into the kitchen. It turned out there were nails in the pipe! […] He was polite, friendly, clearly very experienced and knew exactly what he was doing. He explained what was happening and dealt with the repair professionally and efficiently. Really impressed with the service and would definitely recommend Grant.
Full review on TrustpilotRobert was very thorough and explained what he was doing as he went. He detected and fixed 2 leaks in the outdoor water pipe under our paving. Excellent service.
Full review on TrustpilotBooked the engineer over the phone with no issues.. Mathew (the engineer ) arrived on time and was very thorough in his investigation. Leak found and issue sorted very professionally. Would definitely recommend ADI for water leak issues.
Letting Agent Leak Detection, a specialist service from ADI Leak Detection. ADI started in 2011 and has more than twenty-five leak investigation engineers across England, Scotland and Wales. An agency with homes in several towns can use one provider and get the same kind of report from every visit.
Nearly always. The methods are non-invasive: moisture mapping, thermal imaging, dye tests, tracer gas, acoustics and camera inspection narrow the leak to a small area before anything is opened. Some jobs still need targeted access to confirm or repair the fault, and no survey can promise zero disturbance in every property, but we work to keep that to a tile or a panel rather than a room.
Yes. Tell the office the property is occupied when you call. Agree the appointment with the tenant, who will let the engineer in and whether any rooms or cupboards are locked. Some tests need the water or heating off for a short period; the engineer agrees the timing with whoever is at the property.
Say which rooms and which flats are affected. The engineer may need to get into the flat above, the flat below or a shared cupboard, so arrange that with those occupiers or the block's managing agent before the visit. A stain on a ceiling does not prove which home the leak is in.
Pipework and drainage leaks can be quoted and repaired, often on the same visit, and pressure tested afterwards. Roof and building-fabric leaks are located and reported for a roofer to fix. Repairs are charged separately from the survey and are quoted before any work starts, so you can get the landlord's approval first.
The report is written so you can pass it straight on: photographs, findings and recommendations. Insurers call this work trace and access, and policies differ on what they cover, so ask the landlord's insurer what it needs before the visit and tell the office so the report answers it.
Call with the postcode, the property type and what the tenant has noticed. The office team gives you current availability and a quote in the same call. ADI has more than twenty-five engineers across England, Scotland and Wales. We do not promise arrival times or prices on a website without knowing the job.
Describe what the tenant has noticed, the type of property and the postcode. The office team will talk through the survey, give you a quote and current availability, and book the engineer.
