Lead service
Leak detection and repair across London
Twenty-five years of finding water where it should not be: behind plaster, under screed, inside stud walls, beneath concrete floors. We locate the source, repair it, and put the room back. Written report with photographs by email, usually the same day.
The problem
Water rarely shows up where it is escaping
It travels behind walls and under floors, so the obvious place to open up is usually the wrong one. We survey first, show you the reading, then open one small area.
- A damp patch that dries out, then comes back in the same place
- Water meter still ticking over with every tap in the house turned off
- A musty smell in a room with nothing visibly wet
Leak surveys from [CONFIRM: £X], agreed in writing before we start.
Book a Leak SurveyThe call costs nothing, and if we think you do not need a survey we will say so.
One panel out. Cause found and fixed. Wall made good afterwards.
How it works
Four steps, and they happen in this order every time
- 01
We ask before we touch anything
When it started, what has already been tried, and how the place is built. A top-floor flat and a Victorian terrace leak in completely different ways.
- 02
We survey and show you the readings
Thermal imaging behind the plaster, damp meters across the floor, acoustics listening for pressurised water, drain camera for anything below ground.
- 03
We open one small area
Nothing comes off the wall until we can point at the spot and tell you why. Usually that is one panel or one lifted tile, not a stripped-out room.
- 04
We repair it and put the room back
Pipework, plastering, tiling and decorating, all by us. Then a written report with photographs by email, usually the same day.
Same method in a top-floor flat in Islington as in a Victorian terrace in Croydon. No walls opened on a hunch.
Insurance
Your insurance probably pays for this
Escape of water is around 29 percent of all UK home insurance claims, and most home policies include something called trace and access cover. Hardly anyone knows it is there.
Trace and access pays for finding the leak and for the damage caused getting to it: the tiles lifted, the plaster cut out, the floor taken up, and putting all of that back. It usually will not pay to replace the failed pipe itself, because that is the repair rather than the access. Cover is commonly capped around £5,000, but the figure and the wording vary by policy.
What an insurer wants is evidence: a written report saying where the leak was, what was found and what it took to get to it, with photographs. That is what we email you after the survey, usually the same day.
Check your policy wording or ring your insurer before you book anything, and ask what they need from you. [CONFIRM: whether LH Builders works directly with insurers or handles claims paperwork]
What to ask your insurer
- Does my policy include trace and access, and what is the limit?
- Do I need to tell you before the survey happens?
- What do you need in the report, and who do I send it to?
- Is the pipe repair itself covered, or only the access and making good?
The kit
What the equipment tells us before we touch your wall
Thermal imaging cameras
Show us the cold trail of water behind the plaster, so we know which side of the wall to open and how far up.
Damp meters
Tell us how far the water has already travelled through the floor or the plaster, which is usually further than it looks.
Acoustic equipment
Let us hear pressurised water escaping under a concrete floor without lifting a single slab to check.
Drain inspection cameras
Put the inside of your drain run on a screen, so you can see the crack or the blockage before anyone digs up the driveway.
Cost and timing
What it costs and what happens next
The survey
From [CONFIRM: £X], covering the visit, the equipment, finding the source and the written report.
The price in writing
You get the figure before anything is booked. Nothing extra happens without your say so.
How soon we can come
Ring and we will give you the first slot in the diary. [CONFIRM: typical time from call to attendance]
Questions
The things people ask us on the phone
Not sure whether it is a leak yet?
Describe the problem and send a photograph. We will tell you what we think is going on and whether a survey is worth your money.
The phone call costs nothing, and if we think you do not need a survey we will tell you.