Plumbing leaks are one of the most troublesome problems that property owners have to deal with. The smell of gas can indicate a leak in a gas pipe. A wet wall or ceiling usually means a plumbing leak. However, neither one of those extremely disturbing signs tells you where the leak is located.
With a gas leak, it’s important to shut off the gas at the main valve and open the windows. If there’s an open flame anywhere in the house or facility, including a pilot light, then it needs to be extinguished.
Water leaks are tricky, because the water almost never soaks through the wall or floor in the vicinity of the leak. It may run down walls between the studs, or along ceilings between the joists. It often follows the side of the pipe for a distance. Taking out the damaged drywall usually won’t tell you what you need to know about the leak location.
Pressure testing
It’s possible to isolate sections of pipe by turning taps and valves off. Our testing equipment can detect an unexplained loss in the pipe’s pressure, indicating a leak. We’ll continue to isolate and run static pressure tests on sections of pipe until we find the one with the unexplained pressure drop.
This works extremely well with all kinds of building plumbing – cold water, hot water and gas pipes – because they’re already filled with pressurised fluid.
Acoustic testing
After our static pressure testing has revealed which section of pipe is damaged, we’ll break out the high tech acoustic testing equipment.
Here’s how it works: when fluid is spurting out of a leak, it does it with a lot of force. That force causes vibrations in the pipe, pressure waves that run in both directions, up and down the pipe, originating from the leak location. We can attach monitors to each end of the pipe segment, and our tester will interpolate the pressure waves to estimate the location of the leak.
The equipment uses a similar method, measuring pressure wave amplitude, to estimate the size of the leak. It’s incredibly useful in learning about a leak in an inaccessible pipe.
Uncovering the leak
Once we’ve estimated the distance of the leak from the valves, we’ll try to figure out where the pipe is located in the walls and floors. Since we also perform plumbing installations, it’s not difficult for us to figure out the most likely plumbing placement. Usually, we only have to open up one small section of the wall, floor or ceiling in order to find the section of pipe that requires repair.
Call the Experts at Smart Flow Plumbing
Pressure testing, acoustic testing and an understanding of building construction and plumbing design help make Smart Flow Plumbing’s trained and experienced staff experts at leak detection. We’ll track down your plumbing leak quickly and precisely and get it fixed fast.
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