In a World Heritage city where whole crescents are listed Grade I, opening floors on guesswork is unthinkable. We locate hidden leaks through Bath stone, flagstones and lath-and-plaster without disturbing any of it — for a fixed £480 + VAT.
Nowhere in Britain raises the stakes on leak detection quite like Bath. The Georgian crescents and terraces that earned the city its UNESCO listing are protected down to their floorboards, so the traditional plumber's approach — cut holes until you find it — is off the table. Precision-first detection was made for buildings like these, and it is why owners, managing agents and conservation-minded surveyors bring us in before anyone reaches for a saw.
The work is far from all Georgian, though. We trace leaks in the Victorian terraces of Oldfield Park and Bear Flat, in student lets serving the city's two universities, and in the post-war homes of Twerton and the southern slopes. Wherever the property sits, the fee is fixed at £480 + VAT and agreed before we travel — Bath jobs run on planned routes from Neath, usually within a few working days.
Each survey produces a documented conclusion — the leak's confirmed position with supporting imagery and readings — written so that insurers, conservation officers and contractors can all act on it without further investigation.
Local knowledge
Bath's Georgian set pieces — the crescents and terraces of Lansdown, Bathwick and the city core — combine soft local limestone, timber floors, lath-and-plaster ceilings and vaulted cellars running out beneath the pavements. Water escaping anywhere in that assembly travels unpredictably, often surfacing in a vault or a neighbouring flat several metres from its source, and because so much of the stock is listed Grade I or II, every unnecessary opening is a legal as well as a financial problem. On top of that, the region's notably hard water scales up old pipework and stresses joints, so pinholes in ageing copper are a regular find.
South of the river the story is Victorian and later: Oldfield Park's tight terraced grid, heavily let to students, sees bathroom and heating faults at a rate its original plumbing never anticipated, while Widcombe and Bear Flat mix period stock on sloping ground where escaping water follows the hill rather than announcing itself below the fault. Twerton, Southdown and Combe Down add post-war homes with heating pipes set in solid floors — the classic slow, silent pressure-loss leak.
WHAT WE FIND IN BATH
Coverage
We serve the whole city across BA1 and BA2 — the centre, Bathwick and the Lansdown slopes, out through Walcot to Larkhall and Weston, and south of the Avon from Widcombe and Bear Flat through Oldfield Park to Twerton and Combe Down.
Postcode areas covered: BA1 · BA2
Our methods
In Bath the order of operations is everything: observe first, touch last. Thermal imaging traces heating runs and wet migration through lime plaster and timber without contact; acoustic sensors read the sound of pressurised escape through Bath stone; and hygrometer and moisture surveys establish how far the water has genuinely spread. Tracer gas then provides the courtroom-grade confirmation, rising from the isolated fault through floors and vaults to a detector held at the surface — all of it achieved without lifting a flagstone or cutting a single original board.
A safe hydrogen-nitrogen mix escapes through the smallest defects — traced above ground to pinpoint the leak.
Non-toxicInfrared surveying reveals temperature anomalies behind floors, walls and ceilings.
Non-contactAmplifies the distinctive sound of pressurised water escaping from mains, copper and MDPE pipework.
UndergroundA flexible camera inspects wall cavities, floor voids and boxing-in through the smallest access point.
Minimal accessComparative readings across plaster, timber and concrete map water migration and confirm findings.
Evidence-gradePricing
Many leak detection companies charge £100+ per hour with no way of knowing the final bill. Our Trace & Find survey is a fixed £480 + VAT — however long it takes to find your leak.
A complete leak detection survey with the right equipment for your property.
no hourly rates · no hidden costs
Once located, repairs are quoted separately — every repair varies by leak type, pipework and access.
Priced individually to reflect the size, complexity and requirements of each project.
Answer a few quick questions and we will point you to the right fixed price.
Bath FAQs
Answers specific to Bath properties and how we work in the area.
The entire survey is performed through the existing fabric. Thermal imaging, acoustic listening and moisture mapping narrow the search, and tracer gas confirms the exact failure point from the surface. Nothing is lifted or cut during detection, and any eventual repair — with consent where required — can be a single minimal opening.
Frequently. Terraces let to students carry heavy bathroom use on ageing plumbing, and landlords need faults found fast between or during tenancies. One visit identifies the failed pipework and the report gives you a dated record for your insurer and your agent.
Yes. Vaults collect water from faults some distance away, so we test the property's supply and heating circuits systematically, and use acoustic and gas detection to follow the trail back to its origin rather than assuming the nearest pipe is guilty.
It is compiled to that standard — confirmed location, thermal images, moisture data and photographs. Most buildings policies include trace and access cover, which generally pays for the professional detection work; our survey is a fixed £480 + VAT with no extras.
We schedule Bath on planned routes along the M4 from Neath, so most surveys are confirmed within a few working days of calling 01639 999 999. We will advise on isolating the water immediately if it is actively escaping.
Book a non-invasive Trace & Find survey for a fixed £480 + VAT — we locate the source fast, with a full report for your records or insurer.
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