Plumbing · Paddington, London
Leak Detection & Repair in Paddington, London
A brown ring on a ceiling tells you water has been somewhere. It rarely tells you where it started. [Honest Plumber Paddington](/) takes leak detection and repair calls on 07727 401418, and the honest first step is often free: a ten-minute meter check can tell you whether you have a leak at all before anyone books a survey.
Paddington is a hard place to trace water. Regency Tyburnia terraces became flats, so pipes run through floors, boxed-in risers and long cast-iron stacks shared between homes. The wet patch in your bedroom may belong to a pipe two storeys up, or to a shower tray in the flat next door.
Published London figures put a basic leak investigation at about £60 to £150, a hidden leak at £200 to £600, and a full survey with a written report at £250 to £750. The partner company who attends confirms its own price in writing and should explain which method it intends to use and why.
We separate two jobs that are often sold as one. Finding the leak is one price; repairing it, including making good plaster and decoration, is another. You should never be quoted a single figure that hides which is which.
If the source is in a shared riser or the building's roof, we say so plainly. That repair belongs to the freeholder, and paying for detection inside your flat to prove it is sometimes still worthwhile, because a written finding is far harder for a managing agent to wave away than a verbal complaint. Keep any photographs of the stain with the date they were taken.
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The Work
How a Hidden Leak Gets Found
Different leaks need different tools, and the cheapest one that works is the right one.
Meter and Pressure Checks
With every tap off, a moving water meter points to a leak on the supply. A pressure test on heating pipework does the same for a sealed circuit. These checks cost little and rule a whole class of leak in or out before any equipment is used.
Thermal Imaging and Acoustic Listening
A thermal camera shows cold or warm patches where water is moving behind plaster, and acoustic microphones pick up the hiss of pressurised pipe. Published prices run about £150 to £500 and £150 to £400 respectively. Neither digs a hole, which matters in a decorated period flat.
Tracer Gas and Dye Tests
For stubborn leaks under floors or in drains, a harmless tracer gas or dye pinpoints the escape. Tracer gas is published at roughly £250 to £600. It suits cases where the water appears a long way from the pipe that is failing.
What You Get
From Stain to Sealed Pipe
Detection, repair and making good are three separate decisions.
Confirm There Is a Leak
The partner company tests before it opens anything up. If your meter is not moving, the cause may be condensation, a leaking shower seal or a neighbour's pipe.
Locate It With the Lightest Method
The aim is the smallest opening in your wall or floor. In a conservation-area flat with original plasterwork, that is worth paying for.
Repair, Then Dry Out
Fixing the pipe is not the end. Damp plaster needs time to dry, and you are told what that means for redecorating before you agree anything.
Worth Knowing
Signs of a Hidden Leak
Water tends to leave clues before it leaves a puddle.
Clues Inside the Flat
Any of these deserves a look.
- A water meter that keeps turning with every tap off
- Brown rings or bubbling paint on a ceiling
- A musty smell in a cupboard or behind a bath panel
- Floorboards or laminate lifting at the edges
- A boiler that keeps losing pressure
Quick Checks Before You Ring
These take minutes and cost nothing.
- Turn every tap and appliance off, then watch the meter
- Check under sinks and behind the toilet for damp
- Look at the overflow pipe outside for a steady drip
- Ask the neighbour above whether they have had a leak
- Note the date and spread of the stain
Why Ring Us
Leaks in Tyburnia, Bayswater and Maida Vale
Where a building was built decides where its leaks hide.
Stucco Terraces Turned Flats
Around Norfolk Square and Sussex Gardens, mid-19th-century terraces were split into flats and small hotels. Old supply runs and waste stacks pass through several owners' floors.
Mansion Blocks With Shared Risers
Maida Vale's blocks, from 1897 onward, keep water and heating on communal risers. A leak in one can stain three flats, and consent from the managing agent is needed to open them.
Lead and Early Copper
Georgian Marylebone and Bayswater conversions often hide lead and early copper pipework behind modern finishes. Old joints weep slowly before they fail.
Not sure whether the problem is a leak at all? Our tap and sink repair and low water pressure pages cover the look-alikes, and the full list is on the services page.
What Is Leak Detection?
Leak detection is the process of finding where water is escaping from a supply pipe, heating circuit, waste pipe or fixture, without guessing and without opening more of the building than necessary. It combines simple tests, such as watching the meter, with equipment such as thermal cameras, acoustic microphones and tracer gas.
Repairs on the supply side must meet the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, which is why replaced joints and valves should be WRAS-approved fittings fitted to the manufacturer's instructions.
What Decides the Price of Leak Work
The Method Used
A meter check costs almost nothing; tracer gas sits at the top of the published range. A good partner company starts with the cheap test and only escalates when it has to.
Access and Making Good
A leak under a bath panel is quick to reach. One behind tiling in a period flat means careful opening, and the plaster and tile repair is a separate line on the quote. Ask for it to be shown as one.
Leaks and Who Owns the Pipe
Your Pipe, the Building's Pipe
In a mansion block, the pipe that serves only your flat is normally yours and the shared riser is the building's. In a stucco conversion, the lease usually says. Westminster's conservation areas and Article 4 Directions, such as the one for Sussex Gardens, can add rules about external pipework, so check before anything visible changes.
Leaks After Heavy Rain
Water Coming In, Not Out
Not every wet wall is a plumbing leak. Westminster lists Paddington and Maida Vale among its five priority flood catchments, and an estimated 500 properties were affected by the storm of 12 July 2021, most of them in Maida Vale. Damp in a lower-ground flat after a downpour may be ingress through walls or gullies rather than a failing pipe, and the partner company will say so rather than sell you a pipe test.
Damp From the Bathroom Above
A failing shower tray or bath seal in an upper flat is one of the commonest causes of a ceiling stain below it. It is not a pipe leak in the strict sense, but it is found with the same patience, and the repair belongs to whoever owns the fixture.
Writing It Down
Ask the partner company to put the location, cause and cost of the repair in writing. A clear note is what a managing agent, a landlord or a claims handler will want to see, and it stops arguments later about what was found. It also helps if you rent: a landlord who is handed a dated note naming the failed joint has little room to dispute where the problem began.
Questions, Answered Plainly
How much does leak detection cost in London?
Published 2026 figures give a basic investigation at about £60 to £150 and a hidden leak at £200 to £600. Thermal imaging runs roughly £150 to £500, acoustic work £150 to £400 and tracer gas £250 to £600. A full survey with a written report is published at £250 to £750. The partner company quotes its own price in writing before starting.
How do I know whether I actually have a leak?
Turn off every tap and appliance, then watch your water meter or the dial inside the stopcock. If it keeps moving, water is escaping somewhere on the supply. If it stands still, the damp may be condensation, a failing shower seal or water from a neighbour's flat. A short phone conversation with us usually narrows it down before anyone is booked.
Will you have to cut holes in my walls?
Not as a first step. Thermal imaging and acoustic listening locate most leaks without opening anything, and the partner company chooses the lightest method that will work. When an opening is needed, it is kept as small as possible and you are told where before it is made. This matters in flats with period plasterwork or in conservation areas.
The stain is on my ceiling. Is the leak in the flat above?
Possibly, but not always. Water travels along joists and pipes before it shows, so the source can sit a metre or two from the stain, or in a shared riser or roof. Tracing it properly is the job. If the cause lies in a neighbour's flat or the building's shared pipework, we tell you so and you can take that to the managing agent.
Who pays if the leak is in a shared riser or stack?
Shared pipework in a mansion block or converted house is normally the freeholder's or the building's responsibility, while pipes serving only your flat are yours. Your lease sets out the detail. The partner company records what it finds so you have evidence for the managing agent. We cannot decide the dispute, but we tell you plainly which side of the line the pipe falls.
My boiler keeps losing pressure. Could that be a leak?
Yes. A sealed heating circuit that needs topping up repeatedly is losing water somewhere, whether through a radiator valve, a joint under the floor or the boiler itself. A pressure test can locate it. Published figures put a leaking radiator valve repair at about £100 to £200. If the boiler is the problem, see boiler repair.
How long does it take to find a leak?
A straightforward leak under a sink may be found in minutes. A hidden one behind plaster or under a floor can take a couple of hours with the right equipment, and a tricky one may need a second visit. The partner company gives you an honest estimate once it has seen the property, and does not guess before then.
Can you repair the leak in the same visit as finding it?
Often yes, if it is an accessible joint, valve or flexi hose and the part is to hand. If the pipe is buried or a stack is involved, finding the leak and fixing it may be separate visits. The partner company quotes the repair in writing before it starts, and making good plaster or decoration is priced apart.
Is a leak an emergency?
It is if water is actively running, reaching electrics or flooding a flat below. Turn off the stopcock and ring us. A slow weep with no spread can wait for a daytime visit, which is cheaper than a night one. Our emergency plumbing page sets out how to judge which side of the line your leak is on.
What is the difference between a leak and a burst pipe?
A leak is usually a slow escape from a joint, valve or hairline split. A burst is a sudden failure that releases a lot of water at once. The first can sit unnoticed for weeks and damage plaster silently, while the second needs immediate action. If water is pouring, go straight to burst pipe repair and the stopcock.
Do you cover leaks in Little Venice and Lancaster Gate?
Yes. We take calls across Paddington, Bayswater, Maida Vale, Marylebone, Lancaster Gate and Little Venice. Lancaster Gate's large park-facing terraces are often split into flats and have had interiors rebuilt, while Little Venice mixes stucco terraces with mansion blocks. The partner company nearest to you that suits the job is sent, and its name reaches you by text before anyone arrives.
Damp Patch, No Obvious Cause? Ask Us First
We tell you what is worth testing. Call 07727 401418.
07727 401418