Fast Efficient Water Leak Detection
The benefits of quickly sourcing underground water leaks and fixing them are obvious. If you can pinpoint the source of the leak before you start digging to find the pipe, then you only have to dig one hole. Speedy identification of the water leak means less water ingress and less destruction. So a faster overall leak detection followed by a full repair means that the property is reinstated back to a working or living condition far quicker overall.
Water leak detection is also known as ‘trace and access’ and it is usually very difficult to work out where the leak is actually coming from. The signs of water damage, more often than not, appear in an altogether different place to the damaged pipe and can be quite a distance from the actual water leak source itself. Understanding the physics involved makes you realise that natural forces like gravity, capillary action, damp proof membranes, soil and weather conditions can cause water to flow a significant distance from the split in the pipe to cause flood damage in other parts of property. This hampers the process to actually detect the water leak source, inevitably increasing time taken to find the leak and so equating to higher repair costs.
Traditionally, water leak detection involved a fair amount of guesswork and involved digging several holes to try to locate the source of the water leak in underground water pipes. It was quite common to have to dig several holes when looking for a water leak. The water leak contractor would traditionally use crude, but quite effective “listening sticks’ to hear if water is flowing in a pipe. Listening sticks are basically poles that you stick into the ground (if the surface material is penetrable) to then place the tip of the listening stick onto the pipe. You then rest your ear against the wooden handle and you can usually hear the sound of water flowing, or not, both of which is helpful. Listening sticks can be reasonably effective but are very limited in practical use, especially nowadays with modern materials used for pipe manufacturing. Listening sticks really only work well with metal pipes in particular, not so much with more modern plastics based pipes that are widely used today. So listening sticks are considered quite old school in today’s technology led marketplace, though they are still used.
Inside the property the detection process is mainly based on visual identification of the leak. It is often very disruptive, knocking through interior walls until the source of a water leak is discovered somewhere inside the property. All of this adds to the overall disruption and inevitably adds time to any water damage repair project, thereby increasing reinstatement costs.
Investment In Technology
Paradigm Reinstatements has embraced new technology to greatly speed up the trace and access process. Paradigm is one of the new breed of insurance repair companies, preferred by loss adjusters, that are turning more and more to newly developed state of the art technology for water leak detection.
Paradigm is one of the new breed of reinstatement companies to invest in trace systems such as: ‘Tracer’ gas which is a highly sophisticated system used to ‘Sniff out’ even the faintest of leaks when the tracer gas is introduced into a pipe. This effective solution is a particular speciality of Paradigm Reinstatements. Another option to deploy is the ‘Ferret’ water leak detection system. This is a cleverly designed device that uses water pressure inside the pipe to efficiently pinpoint the source of an underground water leak. Another new technology being deployed are Boroscope Cameras for easier and enhanced visual inspection. Also, Infrared cameras can be deployed for visual inspection and even acoustic oscillators are used when required. These use sound frequencies together with acoustic ground microphones which, in skilled hands, can greatly aid leak detection.
Choosing A Contractor
When you are considering building restoration contractors, it is advisable to choose one that has its own team for digging holes rather than bringing in outside third party contractors. Remember, some third party contractors still hold the view that they get ‘paid by the holes dug’ so the more holes they dig, the more they end up charging. If, like Paradigm Reinstatements, the water leak contractor has full control over the entire water leak detection and leak repair process, the overall costs will be lower and the repair job will be more efficient overall.
About Paradigm
In Central Scotland, Paradigm Reinstatements is at the top of their game for building reinstatement, water leak detection, trace and access, asbestos removal flood damage restoration, sewage blockage and drainage services. As such Paradigm are chosen by many leading loss adjusters and insurance companies as the recommended reinstatement company for fast, efficient and professional leak detection and reinstatement services.
