Underfloor Heating Leak Detection
Underfloor heating is wonderful until it leaks. The pipework is cast into screed under tile, stone or engineered wood, so a leak can feel like a catastrophe. It does not have to be. Located accurately, a UFH leak is repaired through a small opening in the floor and the loop is re-jointed with a proper repair coupling. Located badly, or not at all, it means breaking out entire rooms.
Common causes of UFH leaks
- Screws or fixings driven through the pipe. Door thresholds and floor-mounted fittings are the usual suspects.
- Damage during original installation that only fails years later
- Kinked pipe at tight bends fatiguing over time
- Manifold connections weeping into the floor build-up
Our UFH detection process
- Manifold assessment. Flow, return and each loop are isolated and pressure-tested individually. This tells us which loop leaks before we look at the floor.
- Thermal mapping. Running the affected loop warm paints the exact pipe route across the floor in infrared, and the leak appears as a spreading plume off the line of the pipe.
- Tracer gas confirmation. The loop is drained and charged with hydrogen trace gas; a surface probe pinpoints the exit point to within a tile.
- Marked location and repair plan. We mark the floor, photograph everything, and report what the repair involves.
Insurance and UFH leaks
Most buildings insurance policies include trace and access cover, which pays for locating the leak and for opening and reinstating the floor. Our report is written to support exactly that claim: findings, method, thermal evidence and the marked location.
Common questions
Yes. Detection is non-invasive; the floor is only opened at the confirmed leak position for the repair itself.
Tile, stone, screed, laminate, engineered wood and vinyl are all workable. Thick carpet with underlay reduces thermal contrast, so we may lift it locally.
A press-fit or compression repair coupling made correctly and pressure-tested is a permanent, manufacturer-approved repair.