Pipe leaking in wall?

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Location
London
Am concerned that I may have a slow leaking pipe in a wall - some of it solid - judging by some wallpaper discolouration on both sides of the wall.

Is there any way of establishing if there is a leak in there without just hacking away at the wall?

Be kind with me - am not the most practical of sorts - what bike mech skills I have have been won slow and hard.
 

screenman

Legendary Member
What makes you think it is a pipe? ground floor or another.
 
OP
OP
Blue Hills
Location
London
Don't know - thought I had better check.

It's the ground floor -just in from the exterior of the front of the house. Walls aren't wet as such just in certain places cold and damp to the touch. And some bubbling of the paper. Have had carpet up one side of the wall - all dry underneath.

You asked which floor it was? Can I ask why?
 

Levo-Lon

Guru
Ok posts overlap

If it's a leak you would expect a bit more than discoloration.

Is it near a bedroom ceiling?
Outside wall?
Gutters ok?
More info would help..
This time of year is the damp season so mould and mildew are common in a cold or unvented house.
 
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ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
Am concerned that I may have a slow leaking pipe in a wall - some of it solid - judging by some wallpaper discolouration on both sides of the wall.

Is there any way of establishing if there is a leak in there without just hacking away at the wall?

Be kind with me - am not the most practical of sorts - what bike mech skills I have have been won slow and hard.
I have the same kind of problem. Mine is an internal ground floor partition wall and there is no obvious reason why the water would suddenly start to rise up from the floor. I suspect that my problem may originate from the shower or pipes in the bathroom above.

Same issue though - how to investigate without pulling things to pieces! The amount of damp isn't yet enough to warrant the damage.
 

screenman

Legendary Member
Don't know - thought I had better check.

It's the ground floor -just in from the exterior of the front of the house. Walls aren't wet as such just in certain places cold and damp to the touch. And some bubbling of the paper. Have had carpet up one side of the wall - all dry underneath.

You asked which floor it was? Can I ask why?

If it had been top floor it could have been roof leaking.
 

Levo-Lon

Guru
Don't know - thought I had better check.

It's the ground floor -just in from the exterior of the front of the house. Walls aren't wet as such just in certain places cold and damp to the touch. And some bubbling of the paper. Have had carpet up one side of the wall - all dry underneath.

You asked which floor it was? Can I ask why?


Bedroom ceiling= gutters roof tiles
 

Slioch

Guru
Location
York
We had a leak, but the pipe that was leaking was not directly above where the ceiling was discoloured.

According to the plumber water can "travel" quite a way horizontally and vertically before manifesting itself on a visible surface, so your leak may not necessarily be in the immediate vicinity of where it is showing.
 

Tail End Charlie

Well, write it down boy ......
Strangely enough I noticed some damp on a bedroom wall yesterday, so this morning I was up a ladder outside filling cracks and gaps in the outside brickwork with silicone sealant. I'm hoping this'll fix it. As has been said, water can travel in strange ways, so I ended up filling over a large area.
Gutters and roof are fine btw.
 
Location
Loch side.
Build a picture of the damp spot by using a moisture meter. One of those two-pronged ones used for firewood will do the job. Take readings all over the area and map it on a piece of paper.

Then hack away and see what's inside.
 

Brains

Legendary Member
Location
Greenwich
A leaking pipe in the wall is unlikely.

If it's an external wall, then look for blocked gutters and damaged tiles

If it's an internal wall look for leaking waste pipes. Showers are the usual culprits.

As said above; water can move a long way horizontally from the source

Sometimes it easier to simply replace all the waste pipes in a bathroom and then look again.
 

Paulus

Started young, and still going.
Location
Barnet,
A leaking pipe in the wall is unlikely.

I had the main riser from the mains start leaking in the wall last year. It was only a very small leak, but over time the wall got saturated and eventually water started dripping onto a window sill in the downstairs toilet. I knew the riser was there or thereabouts so I started gently hacking away the tiles and plaster in the corner of the bathroom. When I uncovered the pipe it was a very fine spray from the original lead pipe built into the house when built in 1935.
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
I had the main riser from the mains start leaking in the wall last year. It was only a very small leak, but over time the wall got saturated and eventually water started dripping onto a window sill in the downstairs toilet. I knew the riser was there or thereabouts so I started gently hacking away the tiles and plaster in the corner of the bathroom. When I uncovered the pipe it was a very fine spray from the original lead pipe built into the house when built in 1935.
Hmm, there is a lead water pipe in my cellar, passing somewhere underneath the damp patch in my wall! I think I'll go down there with a torch later to check that the pipe is intact ...

(And it reminds me that I was going to contact Yorkshire Water to see about getting the lead pipes replaced and a water meter fitted.)

PS This house is about 110 years old so the water pipe could be that old too.
 
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