Leak after mains is turned off?

[MpHearl]

I have a leak under my house/into the garden. I have turned off the mains but the water keeps flowing?

 

[KenGMac]

MpHearl, good evening.

Where did you "Turn Off" the water? inside the house or externally?

If the stop cock is indeed in the "off Position" then simply put the "Stop Valve / Tap / Stop Cock" is passing water even if the stop device feels closed.

As an aside this is a classic Insurance Claim, a leak of water from an underground service, consider an Insurance Claim?

Ken

 

[MpHearl]

The stopcock is in the garden. The water is pooled around that pipe but doesn't come from the pipe. I have undone the pipe at both ends and it was empty the pool of water appears to fill from the wall.

 

[MpHearl]

Thxs for the help Ken I could get a photo of the other end of the pipe in the garden if that would help?

 

[KenGMac]

MpHearl, Good evening again.

As I understand it, the water is leaking out from under the property? not from the pipe in the garden? If water emanating from the property, no need for an image of the other end of the pipe.

Is the ground floor in the property a Concrete slab? or suspended timber?

As an aside how did you find out about this leak? what alerted you to the leak? soggy externally perhaps?

Ken

 

[terryplumb]

the stopcock in your garden ,is it a few feet underground ? when you turn it off ( clockwise ) do you then have no water inside your house at your cold water kitchen sink tap ?

 

[MpHearl]

Hey Ken a concrete path in the garden lifted and was wet even in nice weather, alerted me. The ground floor is suspended timber I can crawl around under the house.

terryplumb Thxs for the reply yes the stopcock is about arms length down and there is no water coming from any off my taps.

 

[terryplumb]

you may well have a burst on the underground pipe ,before the stopcock.contact your local water supply provider. by the way ,what is the black pipe ? why is it in the hole , where does it originate from and where was it terminated ?

 

[MpHearl]

Hey terry the black pipe is cold water it goes to an outside tap and from a T joint that feeds the kitchen sink it appears to carry on past the out side tap towards the stopcock. I thought the problem was the pipe but that hole fills with water when the pipe is empty. Once the hole reaches the level in the picture the water runs out into the garden.

 

[terryplumb]

so if you disconnected from the "T " ,this black pipe ,then you will still have 2 pipes in the T. one going to kitchen sink ,the other going to where ? I presume when you took this black pipe out the T ,then all the water in the house plumbing would have come out of the open port of the T. is it that what is filling the hole ? and if you open the garden stopcock does water come out of the black pipe ?

 

[MpHearl]

First question the other end goes towards the bathroom. When I disconnected the pipe no water came out, but the hole was still filling with water. It fills the from bottom corner of the hole away from the pipe. There appears to be no difference in the rate at which the hole fills with water when I turn the stopcock on or off.

 

[terryplumb]

and does water come out the black pipe when stopcock is opened ? if it does then it would appear that it is your supply pipe . do you not have a stopcock INSIDE your property ?

 

[Ian H]

Could it be the plumbing in your house draining down through the damaged pipe once the water is turned offf?

If you put your ear on a screwdriver handle and the blade end on the pipe can you hear water running ?

 

[MpHearl]

Hey everyone thanks for all your help I had the water board out today and they said it is just a high water table and will dry out eventually and he had seen the same thing at other properties in my street. I live in Ireland so he actually laughed when he said it would dry out lol