Leaks in pipework following new Condenser boiler being fitted

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Hi all,

First post here. I'm coming looking for some peace of mind from people in the know. At the start of October we had our old Ideal Mexico floor stood boiler, the hot water tank and header tank in the attic taken out and replaced with a new Worcester condenser combi - 25si I believe it is.

Everything seemed to be fine and working well, until a couple of weeks ago we noticed a big wet patch on the carpet - water coming up through the floor and presenting itself via the carpet grippers that had pierced the waterproof membraine that covered the concrete floor below.

Long story short - a frantic search for leaking piping ended last wednesday when I located the source of the leaking pipe - it was a hot water pipe supplying the hot tap in the downstairs loo. The pipe was fairly well hidden and about 2 meters from where the leak originally presented. Anyway, we had the section of pipe replaced on Thursday and began the drying out period.

Saturday afternoon, we noticed the valve at the bottom of our upstairs toilet was leaking - not incredibly fast, but significant enough to collect enough ml in a small bowl overnight before it was fixed yesterday afternoon. The plumber said it was the seal at the bottom of our toilet that seals the 3/8 bottom entry filling valve or something. Anyway, all sealed up and drip free again as of yesterday afternoon.

My question is, do we think the two are both connected? I appreciate the old gravity based system has been replaced with a pressurised system, and that could likely have exposed the weakness in the hot water pipe.

I am now fast developing a paranoia about all the pipework. For the waterworks, it's all exposed and fairly easy to see (now I know where it all is and how it routes in the house. The central heating is a different scenario - most of it is boxed into the skirting board or boxes running to the upstairs. All the walls and floors feel dry and the areas around all of the rads are dry - I've checked all the pipes I can see coming from the rads and they are all fine.

Boiler is not losing pressure, so I assume that indicates no leaks on the CH plumbing.

I guess I'm looking for reassurance that we aren't likely to see leak upon leak upon leak until all existing pipework has been replaced.

We moved into the house 18 months ago and hadn't touched the plumbing until replacing the boiler start of October, so this episode has exposed me to a new fear of plumbing.

We also have something of a condensation problem and every small droplet I fear is the sign of a leak! I plan on lagging the cold water pipes at the weekend as they are plumbed fairly closely to the hot water pipes and reckon that could be contibuting to the build up of condensation.

I'm just a paranoid mess at the moment and it's affecitng how on edge I am at home, with two young kids I just want to get on and not have to worry about possible leaks.

Any knowledge that can be shared around how likely more leaks are to occur would be appreciated.

Thanks to all in advance.
 
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My question is, do we think the two are both connected? I appreciate the old gravity based system has been replaced with a pressurised system, and that could likely have exposed the weakness in the hot water pipe.

It's quite common for a couple of leaks to appear when switching from a gravity to a sealed / pressurised system, it does tend to find any weak spots, but they usually show up early on so you will probably be OK now.

I think the WC will be a red herring though and not be related, as it's connected directly to the cold mains supply and not the boiler or heating system. Unless you flush it with hot water :D
 
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An unfortunate result of pressurising old pipes.

No one's fault. Although it would have been nice of the installers to have given you a warning.


However, it wouldn't have made any difference.
 
I'm not going to blame the installers. They've been really good and have offered to help with the cost of laying a small area of new underlay and cover the cost of the carpet fitters time. We've used them a couple of times previously as well, so we have a good relationship.

I was aware that leaks could occur through the change in pressure, but I guess these things sometimes take time to present symptoms.

If leaks are going to happen as a result of the change in pressure, does it usually happen fairly soon after the install? We are 8 weeks down the line from when it was installed now, and it's a fair bet that the leak we discovered on halloween had been there for some time - undetected. I just want to be able to sleep well at night without worrying about bursting pipes :)
 
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Is it only old pipework that would prove vulnerable? Some of the rads appear fairly new, with seemingly new(ish) pipework at the legs, etc.

I don't want to be overly paranoid and go stripping skirting to check for pinholes. I'd like to think if a leak was somewhere on the piping it would present itself through wet areas appearing in the floor/walls, etc?

Is there any way that leaks could go undetected? I mean, if there was a leak on the CH the pressure on the boiler would drop, right? And would that happen fairly in sync with the development of the leak?
 
I think that the primary rad pipework would have sprung by now if it was going to. Obviously the change from gravity to mains water has found a few chinks in the armour though I think any other weak points would have reared their heads by now if it's 8 weeks along. As Dan say though, even a long term pressurised system can fail sometimes when encountering fluctuations. Yes, a drop in system pressure would indicate a possible leak.

That being said, could these systems have been pressure tested prior to being changed over to mains and sealed, to minimise risk, certainly something I would have done.

The jury seems to be out on that point though.
 
An unfortunate result of pressurising old pipes.

No one's fault. Although it would have been nice of the installers to have given you a warning.


However, it wouldn't have made any difference.

+1

Its in my terms and conditions because there always the potential although often its ok
 
I think the WC will be a red herring though and not be related, as it's connected directly to the cold mains supply and not the boiler or heating system. Unless you flush it with hot water :D

Most toilets are connected to the low pressure cold from the loft tanks in houses with a gravity hot water system.

Reconnecting this to the mains can cause problems with the ball valve and in most cases they should be replaced with a high pressure type.

Leaking from the pipe connection would indicate a faulty joint though.

Any good installer will warn of the possibility of leaks when pressurising a system although these are most often from the CH system and particularly from rad valves which is why I always recommend replacing them if they are old.

Although leaks can arise at any time its usually within a few weeks after they have been connected to a higher pressure.

So you are probably going to be ok now.

Tony
 

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