Pressure on boiler drops, laminate floor bubbling

[J9988]

Hello,
Firstly, sorry if this is in the wrong place, I'm new here!

The boiler in my grandparents house is losing pressure probably about once a month from 2 - 2.5 bar down to 0, causing them to have no hot water until someone can get there to go up into the attic where the boiler is situated.

We have taken the laminate flooring up in the hallway 5times now due to lifting and bubbling.
The first time we had a plumber come and look, he dug up a section of the concrete flooring (the pipes run through the floor, unlagged!!!) revealing a t section of pipes where the supposed leak was coming from and replaced this section. He also poured a leak sealer into the system.
New flooring was laid but it happened again.
A second, different plumber came and did exactly the same but in a differ part of the floor, about 3ft away from the last time.
New flooring laid again...
The third time, we lifted the floor (each time the concrete has been wet and dark coloured but has been worked on straight away) we allowed it to dry out. Surely if it was a leak, it wouldn't of dried?
Gold backed underlay suggested by the flooring shop was laid under the next lot of flooring...
It happened again, we lifted, let the floor dry out totally, had the heating system on, no wet spots. Laid a DPM this time and new floor.
The new floor is lifting again!
I really don't know what to do anymore, could it be condensation from the heat in the pipes? But surely the DPM shouldn't let that much moisture through to make the floor bubble and lift?
Could it still be a leak as the boiler is still losing pressure, but the floor dries out when exposed...
Any help at all would be very appreciated as its beginning to cost a small fortune!

 

[polesapart]

First check if you have a leak on the heating system.

Start by running the heating system whilst monitoring the pressure guage at the boiler. Start at 1bar with system cold. Watch the gauge for 20 minutes; if it shoots up you have an expansion vessel issue (many posts on this site) 10% variance in pressure from cold to hot is OK. 2 bar is not

If E.V. is OK get your plumber to install valves on the heating pipework dropping into the solid ground floor. This will allow you to double check: does the system run ok and consistently hold pressure with boiler and first floor rads only connected, and what happens if you then add in the ground floor rads and pipework.

 

[Jamesie]

What's the fees ability of running new pipes, Along skirting for example? Easier than smashing floor up and re screeding it. As this will just keep happening until one or the other is done! Bare pipe in concrete is terrible, gash as hell!

 

[J9988]

Hello
Thank you for your reply.
I will definitely try your suggest on my day off on Friday.
I probably should of mentioned that its a bungalow. The boiler is above the living room and the living room flooring is fine so we can eliminate the living room rad, that leaves 5 more and I believe that the pipes for all of these run through the hallway at some point. The hallway doesn't have a rad.

 

[CBF]

forget about the pipes under the floor if they are leaking, run new drops to each of the rads from the roof, i don't know why the first plumber didn't suggest this

 

[newbuildinstaller]

forget about the pipes under the floor if they are leaking, run new drops to each of the rads from the roof, i don't know why the first plumber didn't suggest this

coz droppers look turd

 

[J9988]

Running new pipe work is probably the only realistic option that I have. I was just hoping somebody may have another solution or had this experience before as running new pipes isn't as simple as it sounds. Across the skirting boards is feasible but I agree that drops look awful so more work is involved in that too.

Thanks for the replies guys

 

[mickthegas]

http://www.ct1ltd.com/miracle-seal.html

 

[J9988]

Thanks for the link...the first plumber did put some sort of sealant into the system but not sure which type/brand, this would be worth a shot but as I said, the concrete always dries out once exposed even with the system running.

 

[flameport]

The leaks won't be apparent with the heating on, as the hot water will evaporate quickly due to the heat.
The leak will be far less with the heating off as the pressure will be lower.

The only solution is to replace all of the pipes - if some are leaking, they will all leak soon enough.
Drops from above would be the obvious solution in a bungalow, and if some thought is given to their location, the visual impact can be minimised. This may involve relocating some radiators.
Usual choices would be next to a windowframe so they are behind the curtains, on the wall immediately behind a door, corners, cupboards, pipes dropped in one room which can serve the adjacent room through the wall etc.

 

[CBF]

forget about the pipes under the floor if they are leaking, run new drops to each of the rads from the roof, i don't know why the first plumber didn't suggest this

coz droppers look turd

not if they are boxed using plasterboard & skimmed, i would certainly prefer that option to beating up the concrete & replacing the floor every 6 months, copper in screed will be knackered (all of it) if it isn't protected so repairing a leak is a complete waste of time & money

 

[Agile]

If pipes are carefully soldered and run through foam insulation then its not much problem in concrete.

But if they are just laid direct in the concrete they are subjected to expansion stresses.

Tony