Kirsty from Viridian Apartments in Reading contacted us regarding a leak coming from a block of 44 apartments that she manages. Thames Water notified her and gave her 2 weeks to investigate and rectify.
Kirsty informed CW Pipewise that a leak detection company attended and have been able to narrow down where they believe the leak may be coming from and seems to be underneath the communal area which is one of two main entry and exit points of the block. She kindly sent us the leak detection report and our team were able to give Kirsty a few options to avoid up-routing all 44 apartments. As Thames Water only gave Viridian Apartments two weeks, we were able to shuffle some work around to attend the next couple days.
Before our team arrived Kirsty kindly sent over all information to gain access to the apartments and parking facilities.
Our team arrived on site and located where the leak detection company narrowed down where the leak was coming from, we excavated down to the leaking supply, we found no leak, we continued to excavate further along the communal area and still found no leak, at this point our team were close to an occupied apartment and would need to access and potentially excavate in there also. We contacted Kirsty to make her aware that where the previous leak detection company narrowed down, we could not find the leak, our team were certain that the leak was coming from a ground floor apartment. we offered her two choices, to excavate in the apartment and continue to locate the leak or have another leak detection company who we recommend and trust to attend to confirm the leak was in fact coming from this apartment – Kirsty chose this option and made the tenant aware in advance.
The leak detection company arrived a couple days later and started from scratch, testing the hot water system, internal feeds, etc. they gained access to the apartment in question which we knew the leak was coming from. They carried out pressure testing of the supply pipe which indicated the leak was located on the mains cold water supply and not the internal feeds. With the supply pipe isolated water flooding within the subfloor of the kitchen dried.
This confirmed we was good to carry on excavating in the kitchen area. We removed the kitchen flooring and below was completely damp, we continued to dig down and there as all the water, we sucked out the water with a submersible water pump and continued digging where we was eventually underneath the kitchen now, we found the water supply pipe and found the leak. We then cut out that part of the pipe and replaced with an MDPE pipe and run more tests to confirm no more leaks were there before starting the reinstatement.
The photos below show our team working hard from start to finish.
Kirsty was very pleased with our work and left a fantastic review!
“I was contacted by our water company to advise we had “a leak somewhere” under the flats we manage and that “it was probably outside” and “I have a full 14 days to resolve the issue” Generous! Mild panic set in and I set about my google searches. I came across CW Pipewise and made contact with Charly asking if I should start a decant of the property and could he help. Charly was able to accommodate the unrealistic timeframe I was given by shuffling a few jobs around to attend. Unfortunately, the leak detection company I had attend before Charly were incorrect in their findings, luckily, Charly and his team continued to investigate was able to source another leak detection specialist who attended and pinpointed exactly where the leak was.
Charly and his team attended the very next day and by 3pm (on a weekend) the leak was found, pipe replaced, hole filled and kitchen units back into place!
Property management isn’t an easy task and leaks can be some of the worst issues I come across. I would not hesitate to use Charly @ CW Pipewise in the future, quick turnaround, left site clean and tidy and really went above and beyond to end this nightmare for me – not to mention saving us £thousands on the water bill. Thank you Charly”
