Tracing a suspect pipe path and finding a leak

[Ian H]

You would sit it on the benching or sit it in a tin in the channel. If it's a shared manhole a fair distance away then the smoke test might not works. We use them more for smells than damp.

 

[ripperuk]

The manhole is approx 6-7 metres away from the property. I'd have a place it in a tin which I could then lower down. But would I then cover the drains to allow the smoke to travel?

 

[Ian H]

Yes, put the lid back on.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Warn your neighbour if you are going to do it, if the drains are shared, he might have a leak somewhere too...

 

[ripperuk]

We have a bit of an issue. Neighbour is not happy for me to go ahead is say that it could do more damage, even though I explained it's simply smoke and will show any leaks. Damn it!

 

[Ian H]

Stick one through his letter box

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Technically, the drains serving your property, are highly likely to become the remit of the Water Company once they pass your boundary into his property. What on earth does he think it'll damage?

 

[ripperuk]

lol @ Ian - That'll smoke him out.

Hugh - I totally agree. This is why I called the water company. They have advised that I wait for any water to show up in my cellar and once it does, to call them and they'll come out, take a sample and check the drainage with cctv/dye etc for free. Hopefully if they suspect an issue on the neighbour's side, then I can only assume, they'll take charge and force him to give access. It's a tough one and I've got to find a fine balance between finding the source of this water leak and keeping the neighbours happy.

 

[Ian H]

If you neighbour is being awkward you could test your drains further up.

They might just be leaking a tiny bit so if you use them much more than normal the water might show. So flush your toilet 10 times, leave your kitchen sink running and put a hose up your rainwater downpipe so the water flows back down it (rather than putting the hose straight into the gully). Test the surface too, this had green in the gully and purple on the floor, second pic is the subfloor after 5 minutes:

If you get water through you can repeat the test with a different colour of drain dye in each gully.

If you don't get water through then look elsewhere.

 

[ripperuk]

Hi Ian,

Thanks for your great advice. Unfortunately, I didn't see your reply until late evening, so diy stores were closed and I couldn't get any dye.

However, I've got some update. I spent today digging further and noticed that the more I dug towards the right footing stone, the more wet the soil/clay got. As you instructed, I flushed the toilet many times and also left the water running. I then continued to dig slightly under that stone and it seems there is a VERY VERY slow leak of water coming through under it. In fact it's so slow, that it just looks a lot more wet than the rest of the soil.

Now to be honest, because the water leak is extremely slow, I can't be certain if this is due to a drain/gutter leak or just generally water seeping through from elsewhere. All I know is that the soil is very damp/wet. Also I'm not sure if it's safe digging under the stones as I'm sure they are part of the foundation.

 

[Nige F]

Aparently you can get drain dye from Screwfix . It's OK to dig a bit under the stones- so long as you don't go all the way along, right under them

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Don't expect water to pour in as soon as you flush the WC, if the drains are leaking, then it's likely the surrounding soil will be very waterlogged. Any leaking water will just be adding to the general saturation, rather than just pour straight into your cellar.

Dye should help indicate if this is the issue, it should show itself soon enough after use if this water is escaping from the drains. I'm with Nige, DIY sheds are less likely to stock it, available from Screwfix, https://www.screwfix.com/p/monument-tools-flourescein-drain-dye/31595#_=p You don't need to use too much each time!

 

[ripperuk]

Just got it... How should I use it?

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Teaspoonful at a time, start with the WC. Gently put required amount into the water in the bottom of the WC pan, flush, then wait. See if it appears in your cellar. If no sign by the morning, repeat the test on another drain or WC.

 

[ripperuk]

Thanks hugh. I hope you're not going to mind me asking this, but why the WC? I mean the water I'm getting does not smell, so surely if the water from WC was coming out of the cellar, it would smell, wouldn't it?