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Initial Observations: Property is an early 1900’s terraced house..
On walking into the property on my initial observation there were signs of damp along the wall on the left-hand side where the radiator is and is adjacent to the neighbours property.
We have begun the survey by looking at pipework around the radiator and noticed a small weep at one of the radiator valves, which I repaired. There were not any signs of damp on the screed below.
I then went and checked the central heating boiler pressure and there was no significant drop in pressure to indicate a leak in the heating system.
We then started a pressure test on the mains pipe in the hallway, isolating it under the stairs and testing it from there to the outside stopcock. The pressure test was carried out at 3.6 bar for 1 hour. In that hour 0.4 bar of pressure was lost indicating a leak on the mains pipe.
The laminate flooring in the hallway was lifted to give us a better reading in an acoustic survey. An acoustic survey was then carried out in the hallway in the direction where the mains pipe runs to the outside stopcock. No signs of a leak were observed.
I then took the survey outside and noticed that the stopcock outside serviced 2 properties number. I called out the water service and they confirmed that.
Having a shared main could be giving us a false reading of a leak in the adjacent property number 17 and I have made an application for separation of the two mains so we can confirm if there’s is a leak possibly in the adjacent property.
The survey now continued inside. I then dug a track in the floor along the wall with the damp to give me an idea of the moisture in the screed.
Initial observations showed that the screed was dryer with a moisture content of 9% and the walls with 37%.
Upon digging a track, moisture readings confirmed that the moisture was rising up the wall through the brickwork, with reading of 19% on the lower subfloor and moisture readings in the walls going from 41% at a lower level to 37% at a height 300mm higher.
Conclusion
We have carried out a full leak detection survey at the property. A pressure test confirmed there is a leak in the mains pipe but with it being a shared main with next door we cannot confirm the leak is in our clients property and maybe the adjoining one. Applications have been made to get this separated to confirm this.
Moisture readings and observations have concluded to me that the damp is either coming up through the ground level or from the property next door.
Some level of drying would need to be done and a survey of the damp proofing would need to be carried out.
