I'm wondering if our plumbing gurus have any tips on where to locate the source of leaks in pipes that are in walls, floors or ceilings without having to take out huge portions of the surface areas in order to locate the leaks.

Case in point: I have an elderly friend with an upstairs apartment in one of the homes that she owns. When it got really cold, she neglected to shut off and drain the pipes to an adjoining bathroom and kitchen upstairs. The home is unoccupied, so leaving the heat up was something that she didn't want to do.

The result was, that one or more pipes burst or had leaks develop in them. Walls and floors in a downstairs foyer had water coming down a couple of the walls as well as through the ceiling above the foyer.

Are there any tips or tricks to finding where the leaks are without tearing out huge portions of the walls and ceiling downstairs and maybe upstairs floors and walls too? I know that the water can travel, and finding out such a thing might not be possible without tearing apart vast areas.

I've learned a lot from the plumbing pros on this site!

Thanks!

Hi Clough I'm not a guru but I'm sure there may be more leaks than you see. IF the water is turned and you put a screw driver to the pipe on the hot or cold side in the bathroom you will be fairly sure if the hot or cold is leaking. Of course the pipes are usually in tandem on supply and the other thing is the water is now leaking down the walls again. A Leak Detection tool won't work there either. They can hear the leak and get maybe with in 2 Feet but again more water down walls.
Clough. The walls or drywall/plaster is more than likely shot. Tear the bad spots out and then turn on the water to chase the leak.
The other bad news is when pipes in a house freeze and you fix those leaks and re energize too many times a pin hole was missed. So all I have for you is wet walls ripped out turn on water and get to it

Sorry maybe Afroo Balinger or Mass or Speed or the rest of the gang can come up with a better way.

The results will basically be the same.
Good day To you Clough! Sorry about your friends situation.
Signed Mark 21

Hi Clough..

I've seen you giving some very logical advice to people in terms of so many different things that I won't bother to go into the most obvious places to begin as I am sure you have already done the obvious... ;)

Fist, I am wondering if the leak shows up only when a fixture is used? Or is there a constant leak and you shut the water off for now? Can you isolate this to be a heat pipe, a cold water pipe or a hot water pipe, or could even be a waste pipe if leak only occurs during use of a fixture?

If not sure, shut off the hot water heater and see if the leak stops. If you can isolate just the hot and/or just the cold water to this bath then do that... or is the leak so large that when you turn the water back on it just starts making a huge mess..? If heat pipe, then may make it easire to isolate, but you need to tell me more here.

You could also use an air compressor to pump pressure into system and see if you can HEAR anything obvious!

Then, I guess I always start at the easy stuff. Remove the tub/shower trim plate and see if you can see anything obvious behind the plate. Next, if there is an access panel behind the tub/shower open that up and see if there is anything happening there. Of course, look under the vanity and check that water is not streaming down the water pipes and showing up downstairs.

After that, I usually decide to open an area of the ceiling. They sell spring loaded access panels at all home improvement stores so you can plug the hole cleanly until ceiling can be patched.

Finally, if I have to open a wall I usually open a hole in the wall that can be covered by a picture until the plasterer can get in to patch the wall. You can also remove some baseboard, cut the wall behind the baseboard and see if you can find a pipe that water is flowing down... then follow that pipe upwards.

I will say that with good detective work you can usually find these leaks without too much damage to the house...

Answer some of my questions... see what else we can come up with.

MARK

Mass / Clough The air pressure works well I didn't think about that. We use air to blow out the lines at the shore property to winterize and blow the water lines out it is a GREAT idea Mass has. Do the prelims like he suggested and the air is the best to test all lines faucets and all. Just be careful not to get the air pressure past 40 to 50lbs
Good Job Mass!

There is in inexpensive fiber camera that can be purchased for probably less that $300.

You can put low-voltage blank plates in smaller areas you open. Say 1 to 2 gang.

Wet sheet rock will likely have to be replaced anyway.

All good features to hit upon. Something else to remember about hidden leaks. Water, like electricity will always seek the path of least resistance. This means that "spot on the ceiling" ,or that "hot spot on the slab" may not be a good indication of where the leak really is. It could be some distance away from where you first spot it. As far as a guru gos the last I heard they were a endangered species down in Africa. Ya'all have a great Sunday. Tom

Pressurize the water line to start the leak, then immediately shut it off. Take a stethoscope and listen at the wall/ceiling surface for a hiss. You will only hear the hiss while the line still has pressure in it, so you may have to repeat the above several times. This should get you to within 8 or 10 inches of the leak. Obviously, you will have to turn off any other devices that may mask the sound.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by who-me

Pressurize the water line to start the leak, then immediately shut it off. Take a stethoscope and listen at the wall/ceiling surface for a hiss. You will only hear the hiss while the line still has pressure in it, so you may have to repeat the above several times. This should get you to within 8 or 10 inches of the leak. Obviously, you will have to turn off any other devices that may mask the sound.

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Hi Me and Welcome to The Plumbing Page. At AskMeHelpDesk.com. You're responding to a 3 year old dead thread. Look in then upper left hand corner of the first post form the date in the first post before you post, Thanks,
Good solid advice! Now jump on a current question with the same good advice. Welcome aboard! Tom