Damn leak under floor

Fingers Mcginty

Howdy folks
Lifted the lino in our utility room recently and it was quite wet underneath. Got a guy in to kango the floor and we found a small leak on an underground rad pipe. He tightened up the fitting and left the hole open for a few days. Thing is it didn't dry up as well as i had hoped...still quite damp down there.
I supect there might be more leak (s)
Would there be any way of ensuring there are no more dodgy pipe joints in the concrete.? I tied up the float in the smaller of the 2 tanks in the attic and the water level has dropped about 4 inches in a fornight...Is this normal?...Is it normal for that ammount of water to evaporate????

ART6

Fingers Mcginty wrote: »

Howdy folks
Lifted the lino in our utility room recently and it was quite wet underneath. Got a guy in to kango the floor and we found a small leak on an underground rad pipe. He tightened up the fitting and left the hole open for a few days. Thing is it didn't dry up as well as i had hoped...still quite damp down there.
I supect there might be more leak (s)
Would there be any way of ensuring there are no more dodgy pipe joints in the concrete.? I tied up the float in the smaller of the 2 tanks in the attic and the water level has dropped about 4 inches in a fornight...Is this normal?...Is it normal for that ammount of water to evaporate????

I'd be surprised if the water loss from the tank was evaporation although I can't say I have ever tried your test. For finding a leak, there are electronic leak detectors available that detect leaks by the sound they generate (one of nature's oddities is that all leaks generate a 40 kH sound). Some of the larger plumbing firms might have them, alternatively you could try http://www.larsenwm.com/ They're in Kells and hire out leak detectors I believe.

The concrete floor could take some time to dry out completely if its been well soaked from inside. Might be worth hiring a dehumidifier from a local plant hire outfit. They create a very dry atmosphere that will draw the water out of the floor more quickly.

niceirishfella

Get a plumber into perform a pressure test on your plumbing.
Then you'll know the score.

Fingers Mcginty

Alright lads i'll get someone in to the the test...seems like a good idea. Ta:)

niceirishfella

Good move..........but tbh, it should have been pressure tested before the concrete was poured.

Fingers Mcginty

Yeah. The house isn;t new though. I've only started having these problems in the last few years. The house is around 14 years old. 3 years ago the pipe burst in the ground and actually emptied the small tank. The float got stuck and my heating cut out because there was no water in the pipes. Thank god the float actually stuck so it wouldn't allow any more water in. Since then i've been paranoid and have tied up the float a few times and the level drops off slowly. MAybe 4 inches in 2 weeks. Seems excessive to me. I fear i might have another few small leaks

ART6

niceirishfella wrote: »

Get a plumber into perform a pressure test on your plumbing.
Then you'll know the score.

I've done that myself. If you have a car foot pump with a pressure guage, then get a Shraeder valve from a local tyre centre and stick it in the expansion pipe that opens over the top of the header tank, and connect the pump to it. Then stick a wine bottle cork in the outlet pipe from the tank and pump up about 5 psi. If you pump too much it will simply blow the cork out, so no real risk of damaging anything. Then watch the pressure guage. If it drops steadily and there are no bubbles in the header tank, then you have a leak.

The only real problem is the wine cork, since to get one you have to first drink a bottle of wine, and that can add to the difficulty of getting the cork into the pipe:D

311

There is stuff available that might save you money and hassle.

Leak sealer http://www.heatandplumb.com/acatalog/Sentinel_Leak_Sealer.html its suppose to be good for small leaks.
I've honestly never had to use it ,I use cappilary fittings and they never leak.

Fingers Mcginty

Thanks for that...it seems like the leak is very small so maybe somthing like that might do the trick. How does it work ? ...do you just add it to the water in the tank ?

311

Basically it circulates around the system and when the stuff reaches the leak it solidifies on the outside. I think there might be an element of silicone in it.

I've never used it ,but I've asked about it at the suppliers and they said it works.

Fingers Mcginty

Sound lads...I'll give that a shot and get back to yiz