Constant running water sound in pipes

jertum said:

built in 1903, with a concrete kitchen floor

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may well be under there. What is the floor covered with?

have you looked under any floorboards yet?

Is the hall floor concrete?

Do you have any shrubs or trees that are growing surprisingly well?

Wait until Yorkshire Water do their bit then phone your home insurance.

jertum said:

I believe there's one on the pavement outside our front gate but apparently we're not allowed to touch it, as there's a chance our supply is shared with that of the neighbours, and damage can be caused when turning the water back on. Seems a bit far fetched to me but the last thing we need is a huge bill from YW for that.

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If each has there own stop tap on the boundary, you would be able to see a stop tap cover at each house - have you checked?

York Water probably have a good idea that it's a combined feed to various houses. At the end of the day it's best left alone - Unless you find covers as Harry says.

Harry Bloomfield said:

If each has there own stop tap on the boundary, you would be able to see a stop tap cover at each house - have you checked?

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Good point - there is actually an individual stop tap for our house and the one next door, so likelihood is that it's not shared. Looks like we need some kind of tool to operate it though.

JohnD said:

may well be under there. What is the floor covered with?

have you looked under any floorboards yet?

Is the hall floor concrete?

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The house is tiny - just a living room at the front, stairs in the middle, and kitchen at the back. I've been in the crawl space under the floorboards in the living room and think I've found the water pipe - no sign of a leak at all. Unfortunately the crawl space ends there - it's just a brick wall where the kitchen begins - the pipe appears to go underneath that. I've got a feeling the leak could be at the point where the pipe goes vertical and up to the stop tap, right next to the exterior wall in the kitchen.

I've booked a local plumber with a good reputation to come and have a look tomorrow - possibly an unnecessary expense given that Yorkshire Water are coming in a few days - but the thought of water constantly running into the foundations is keeping me up at night.

Do you think it's possible to cut the pipe at the point before it goes under the concrete and re-route it so it's above ground in the kitchen - possibly boxed in - to avoid having to smash the concrete floor? This would probably be a bit unsightly but having a pipe laid under concrete that risks the foundations seems silly to me.

Thanks all for your help - this is a fantastic resource.

jertum said:

Good point - there is actually an individual stop tap for our house and the one next door, so likelihood is that it's not shared. Looks like we need some kind of tool to operate it though.



The house is tiny - just a living room at the front, stairs in the middle, and kitchen at the back. I've been in the crawl space under the floorboards in the living room and think I've found the water pipe - no sign of a leak at all. Unfortunately the crawl space ends there - it's just a brick wall where the kitchen begins - the pipe appears to go underneath that. I've got a feeling the leak could be at the point where the pipe goes vertical and up to the stop tap, right next to the exterior wall in the kitchen.

I've booked a local plumber with a good reputation to come and have a look tomorrow - possibly an unnecessary expense given that Yorkshire Water are coming in a few days - but the thought of water constantly running into the foundations is keeping me up at night.

Do you think it's possible to cut the pipe at the point before it goes under the concrete and re-route it so it's above ground in the kitchen - possibly boxed in - to avoid having to smash the concrete floor? This would probably be a bit unsightly but having a pipe laid under concrete that risks the foundations seems silly to me.

Thanks all for your help - this is a fantastic resource.

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No problem at all to reroute see what plumb says.

jertum said:

Do you think it's possible to cut the pipe at the point before it goes under the concrete and re-route it so it's above ground in the kitchen - possibly boxed in - to avoid having to smash the concrete floor? This would probably be a bit unsightly but having a pipe laid under concrete that risks the foundations seems silly to me.

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Quite possible, what sort of pipe is it, lead? I think YW will replace lead pipe for free if it is, but only up to your house outside wall.

Have you tried putting your ear to the pipe?

The tool you need to turn the stop tap off, is like a fork at the lower end, with an eye at the top for a bar - but best left to YW to break the stop tap.

Nige F said:

York Water

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York Water used to be a different undertaking to Yorkshire Water.

Just thought I'd give an update on this, as you were all really helpful in finding the problem.

Yorkshire Water sent their contractors out to have a look and weren't able to find the leak on the street or in our garden, despite digging quite a sizeable hole. This narrowed it down and confirmed that the leak was indeed under the concrete floor in the kitchen - not ideal!

Thankfully a local plumber was able to cut the old lead pipe at the point it entered the crawlspace and connect it to some new MDPE pipe with a coupler, which he was able to reroute to the cupboard under the stairs, which is actually a much better place to have the stop tap. We were also having problems with water pressure from our boiler (which had been the case since we moved in), and rerouting the supply fixed this as it bypassed an old gate valve that was almost seized closed. So all worked out OK in the end!

I'm really glad we got a plumber in ourselves as he charged less than £200 for his time and materials. In contrast, YW's contactors (Morrison Utilities) quoted us nearly £1200 just to investigate under the house - before they'd even lay any new pipework!

Thanks again for all your help.

Thanks for posting the resolution.

Yes great news. Local plumbers eh!
Not all bad are we.