wet floor

[Tim Lamb]

OK. I know unprotected copper pipe should not be laid in floor screed. However, nobody seems to have told flat builders circa 1965.

Having taken out the kitchen units and removed the lino? flooring we seem to have a *wet floor* problem. Damp smell, cold dark screed but no visible wet spot.

Is there a DIY way of confirming this is a leak in the buried pipes? The solution is to re-run the H&C behind the new units but we don't want to refit the kitchen and then discover the problem remains.

At present I have shut off the incoming mains and plugged the waste connections. There is a de-humidifier running.

Any thoughts?

regards

[R]

My thought is to undo the connector at the incoming main, and add some food colouring. If colour appears through floor you have an answer. Might take a short while but at least you'll know

[Tim Lamb]

In message , R writes

Umm.. I suppose this could also be done with the hot water system. I rather wondered if a fault was more likely in the hot pipe because of the thermal cycling and consequent abrasion?

My other thought is to wonder if the probes used for *damp* testing by dodgy surveyors could be used to find the wettest bit. If this coincided with a known pipe run then.....How dissimilar would these be from a digital Ohmmeter with fixed interval probes?

There is an alternative source in that these particular flats rely on an internal 3" cast iron pipe to carry away rainwater from the flat roof. There have been incidents in other flats where excess water has flowed down the outside of the pipes, presumably from cracks or faulty seals.

regards

[meow2222]

If its the bigger pipe you might be able to reline in situ. No idea what it costs.

So the challenge is to know the source. Why not run a temporary plastic pipe across the surface to bypass the buried copper, and in a week you'll know whether you need to make that permament or not.

NT

[Dave Fawthrop]

|!OK. I know unprotected copper pipe should not be laid in floor screed. |!However, nobody seems to have told flat builders circa 1965. |! |!Having taken out the kitchen units and removed the lino? flooring we |!seem to have a *wet floor* problem. Damp smell, cold dark screed but no |!visible wet spot. |! |!Is there a DIY way of confirming this is a leak in the buried pipes? The |!solution is to re-run the H&C behind the new units but we don't want to |!refit the kitchen and then discover the problem remains. |! |!At present I have shut off the incoming mains and plugged the waste |!connections. There is a de-humidifier running. |! |!Any thoughts?

The water *might* have come from *above* the screed rather than below.

Allow ventilation to the screed and wait a week or two, to see if it dries off.

[Tim Lamb]

In message , [e-mail] writes

currently the flat is empty so a H&C supply not essential. Unfortunately the kitchen installers are anxious to get on.

regards

[Cicero]

================================== I would suggest a couple of 'test bores' down to the pipes. It isn't difficult to remove a small section of screed and a visual inspection of the pipes will show what's happening. I think that if the pipes are the culprit then they're quite likely to be generally porous rather than punctured and a simple air pressure test would confirm this if suspected.

Cic.

[Tim Lamb]

In message , Cicero writes

We have a plumber/builder going to have a look Sat. so hopefully we will learn enough to make the right choice. Mind you he did mention he is currently booking work for October!

regards

[Weatherlawyer]

Get a plumber in to give it a pressure test. If he comes in last thing in the evening and first thing next day and the pressure has dropped significantly overnight you have a prolem.

But it might be cheaper to just do the re-route. At least you wil know it isn't going to fail -if not already, then soon.