Leak detection and repair

Signs you have a hidden leak

• Water bill up with no change in usage — the single most reliable early sign

• Damp or discoloured patch on a wall, ceiling or floor

• A musty smell in one room that doesn't go away

• Water meter still moving with every tap and appliance off

• Warm spot on the floor — a hot water line under a slab

• Drop in water pressure with no obvious cause

• Sound of running water when nothing's on

How we find it

We start non-invasively, always. Acoustic detection picks up the sound of water escaping under pressure through concrete and drywall. Thermal imaging shows temperature differences where water is tracking behind a surface. Pressure testing isolates which line has failed. In supply lines we can trace with tracer gas where access is difficult.

Only once we know where it is do we open anything — and then it's one precise access point rather than a wall.

What we find most in Vancouver

Failed Poly-B and Kitec fittings, pinholes in copper from age or water chemistry, cracked joints under slabs in 1970s–90s builds, failed shower pan membranes in condos, and supply lines to fridges and dishwashers that were never properly secured. In towers, most "my ceiling is leaking" calls trace to the suite above, not the building's plumbing.

What it costs

Repair quoted separately once we know what we're dealing with, in writing before we start. If the leak turns out to be a symptom of failing Poly-B or Kitec, we'll say so rather than patch it and leave.