Leaking pipes in Norwich
A pipe dripping under the sink, or one that has burst behind the wall? Repaired at the source
Leaking pipe repairs for Norwich homes and rental properties: weeping compression joints, pinholes in old copper, split plastic, frozen pipes that have thawed and gone, and the corroded runs in older houses that fail a bit at a time.
Five-star ratedby homeowners and landlords
- Joints remade, sections replaced
- Copper, plastic and lead-to-copper
- Emergency bursts included
What Norwich households say once the drip has finally stopped
A leaking pipe is the most common plumbing fault there is and the one most often repaired badly. A bit of tape, a smear of sealant, a jubilee clip over a rubber patch: they hold for a while, then the leak returns and the cupboard base is ruined in the meantime. A proper repair means finding exactly where the water is coming from, cutting out the failed section or remaking the joint, and testing it under full pressure before the panel goes back.
In Norwich the leaks tend to follow the housing. The Victorian and Edwardian terraces have old copper with imperial fittings, lead supply pipes joined to copper with a wiped joint that has finally given up, and long pipe runs in cold under-floor voids that freeze. The post-war estates have pipes in solid floors and the first generation of plastic push-fit that has aged. Each has its own repair.
This page covers leaks you can see or point to. A leak that is only showing as a damp patch with no visible source is a job for leak detection first. A leak that is pouring rather than dripping is handled as an emergency plumbing call-out: stopcock off first, then the form. Pipe repairs are done across every town on the areas list.
Finding a leak that is hidden
Even a visible leak is not always where it appears. Water runs along a pipe and drips off at the lowest point, so the wet joint under the sink may be dry and the leak is a foot further back. The first step is to dry everything, run the water and watch, with a torch and a mirror where the pipe disappears. If the source still is not clear, the tracing methods on the leak detection page are used before anything is opened up. Repairing the wrong joint is the classic way a leak "comes back".
Emergency leak and burst pipe repair
A burst is dealt with in two stages. First, the water is stopped: the stopcock off, the pipes drained, and if the leak is on stored water the tank or cylinder valve closed. Then the split section is cut out and replaced. Copper is repaired in copper with soldered or compression fittings; plastic in plastic with push-fit or compression; a lead-to-copper joint that has failed is remade with a proper adaptor, or the lead is cut back and replaced where that is the right answer. The repair is tested under full mains pressure before the water is left on.
How the pipe is inspected without damage
Where a pipe runs out of sight, in a boxed-in duct, under a bath panel, behind a kitchen kickboard or under a floor, it is inspected by removing what was designed to be removed rather than by cutting into what was not. An inspection camera goes into a void through an existing gap. A thermal camera shows the wet track through a wall. Moisture readings show how far the water has spread. Only when the point is known is a board lifted or a panel cut, and it is the one that needs to be.
Common leak sources and symptoms
- Compression joints under sinks and behind toilets: the olive has relaxed or the nut was never tight. Symptom: a slow drip that stains the cupboard base.
- Pinholes in copper, usually on the hot pipework in older houses, from the inside out. Symptom: a fine spray or a damp patch that appears on a wall.
- Push-fit joints that were not pushed home, or whose O-ring has failed. Symptom: a weep that gets worse with hot water.
- Frozen and thawed pipes in lofts, garages and under floors. Symptom: nothing until the thaw, then a lot.
- Radiator tails and valves. Symptom: a wet patch on the carpet under one end of a radiator.
- Lead-to-copper joints on the supply near the stopcock. Symptom: a damp patch under the kitchen floor or by the front wall.
- Flexible tap connectors that have corroded or perished. Symptom: a drip that becomes a burst without warning.
What to do before the engineer arrives
Shut off the water at the nearest isolation valve if the pipe has one, otherwise at the stopcock. Open the cold taps to take the pressure off. Move anything under the leak, put a bowl or towels down, and if the leak is above a ceiling, open the loft hatch or the cupboard so the water has somewhere to go. Turn off the boiler if the leak is on the heating pipework and the pressure is dropping. Note where the water first appeared, because that is useful for finding the source. Then send the form with as much detail as you have.
Service areas
Leaking pipes are repaired across Norwich and every town within twenty miles, from the terraces of NR2 and NR3 with their period pipework to the estates in Bowthorpe and Sprowston and the market towns and coast beyond. Rental properties are dealt with through the landlord or agent, with the tenant contacted for access.
How a job runs
How a leaking pipe repair runs
Water off, source found, section replaced, tested under pressure.
Isolate and describe
You stop the water as far as you can and describe where the leak is showing. The visit is priced on the call back.
Find the actual source
Dried, run, watched and traced back along the pipe until the point of failure is certain.
Repair properly
The joint remade or the section cut out and replaced in the same material, with new fittings, never a patch.
Test and make good
Full mains pressure for long enough to be sure, the area dried and left as it was found, the failed part shown to you.
Ready when you are
A drip that is slowly ruining a cupboard, or a burst you have just stopped?
Describe where the water is coming from and where you are. You get a call back to arrange the visit and the price for it.
On the tools
Leaking Pipes: the kind of work behind the page
Four from the gallery. The full set is on the home page, and every photo opens full size.
Where we work
Pipe repairs across Norwich and the surrounding towns
Old copper and lead-to-copper joints in the city, push-fit and solid-floor runs on the estates, and frozen loft pipes everywhere in a hard winter. Every town within twenty miles.
The larger towns in the area
- Norwich
- Great Yarmouth
- Bowthorpe
- East Dereham
- Beccles
- North Walsham
- Diss
- Attleborough
Related
Jobs that often go with this one
One visit often covers two of these. Mention both on the form and the price covers the lot.
Leak Detection
Finding the leak behind a damp patch, a dropping boiler gauge or a water bill that doubled, using tracing methods that do not mean lifting every floor.
247 Emergency Plumber
Burst pipes, water through a ceiling, a boiler down in January or a toilet that will not stop running. Emergency plumbing requests taken day and night.
Plumber
Taps, toilets, showers, stopcocks, outside taps and the small jobs that turn into big ones when they are left. A plumber for Norwich homes, booked by the job.
Questions
Leaking Pipes: the questions people ask first
Can a leaking joint be fixed without replacing the pipe?
Usually. A compression joint is remade with a new olive, a soldered joint is cleaned and re-soldered, a push-fit is refitted with a new O-ring or replaced. The pipe itself is replaced only where it has pinholed or split.
Is a pinhole in copper a one-off?
Rarely. A pinhole means the pipe is corroding from the inside, and the same run will produce more. The section is replaced, and if it happens again the run is renewed.
What if the leak is inside a wall?
The source is traced from outside the wall first, then one opening is made at the leak. The pipe is repaired and the opening described so it can be made good. A pipe that has failed inside a solid wall is often re-run on the surface or in a new route rather than repaired in place.
My pipe froze and now it is leaking. Will it happen again?
In the same place, yes, unless the pipe is lagged or moved out of the cold space. The repair visit includes advice on which, and both are simple jobs.
Do you repair lead pipes?
Where a lead supply pipe has failed at its joint to copper, the joint is remade or the lead cut back and replaced with a new section and the correct adaptor. Where the lead itself has failed, replacement of the run is the honest fix and is quoted.
Should I turn the boiler off if a pipe is leaking?
If the leak is on the heating pipework and the boiler pressure is dropping, yes. A boiler run with no water in it can be damaged. A leak on the cold or hot supply does not need the boiler off.
Anything not covered here is answered on the contact page, where the same form takes the details and someone calls you back.
Quick Quote Online
Five-star ratedby homeowners and landlords
Tell us where the leak is and we will price the repair
Where the water is showing, whether you have been able to stop it, and roughly how old the house is. The call back arranges the visit.
- A written price before any work starts
- Plumbing, heating, drains and bathrooms from one enquiry
- Norwich and every town within twenty miles