CH pipe leak under the floor tile, please help

[wayneH]

Hi there,

It has been diagnosed by the boiler man from the manufacturer that there must be somewhere leaking with the central heating pipe underneath the floor tile, because the water pressure drops quickly from 1.5bar to 0.2 in several hours! The sad thing about this is that we can not see any water coming up to the ground surface through the concrete and tiles.

I do not know where to start really, because I have three radiators using pipes from the floor. I suspect this might be a big leak, which might not be sealed by any leak sealant, but I really do not want to lift all the floor tiles up and dig all the way through.

What shall I do? I called around, many plumbers said they do not have special equipments to detect the leak, and they have to dig the floor up to trace the leak. If that's the only solution, I guess it will cost much less for me to dig the floor myself.

Please help. Appreciated for any advice.

 

[gas4you]

I usually repipe rads from above with drops

 

[wayneH]

Unfortunately this is the case with this property. Somebody says that there could be some thing like get a compressor connected to the system and try to hear the noise from the leak. Is that workable?

Any ideas?

 

[clf-gas]

Unfortunately this is the case with this property. Somebody says that there could be some thing like get a compressor connected to the system and try to hear the noise from the leak. Is that workable?

Any ideas?

Doubtful.

What shall I do? I called around, many plumbers said they do not have special equipments to detect the leak, and they have to dig the floor up to trace the leak. If that's the only solution, I guess it will cost much less for me to dig the floor myself.

Wether you dig or a plumber digs you will more than likely dig the full run before finding the leak, (sods law) thats how it works

Best bet to save the floor is as Dave has pointed out, and I would surgest if I where your plumber. Repipe from the drops. Not as nice as hidden pipes I know, though leaks can be seen and repaired more easily.