There is no single price, because the job varies. The cost of leak detection depends on the size of the property, the type of leak and how hard the pipes are to reach. Most firms quote a fixed survey fee once they know those three things, and trace and access cover on most buildings policies often pays that fee back.
When you search for the cost of leak detection you find a lot of vague answers, and there is a reason for that. A survey on a two-bedroom terrace in Camborne with a heating leak and a survey on a farmhouse outside Liskeard with sixty metres of buried supply pipe are different days of work. What we can do is show you exactly what moves the price, what a fee should include, and how to make sure you are paying for it once rather than paying a plumber to guess three times.
What you are actually paying for
A leak detection fee buys three things. The first is a trained engineer’s time, usually for a half day or a day. The second is the equipment: a thermal camera, acoustic ground microphones and correlators, tracer gas kit, moisture meters and pipe locators, which between them cost more than a decent van. The third is the report, with the readings, images and a marked location, written so an insurer can act on it.
What the fee does not include is the repair. Detection and repair are separate jobs, often done by separate trades, and the whole point of the survey is that the repair is then small and certain. If you want to know what the visit involves, our guide to how long a survey takes walks through it.
What changes the price
- Size of the property and length of pipe. More rooms, more floors and longer runs mean more surface to map and more pipe to listen to. A large second home near Padstow takes longer than a flat in Truro.
- The type of leak. A heating leak is tested from the boiler and traced with a thermal camera. A mains leak needs the meter, acoustic work and possibly tracer gas. Underfloor heating and swimming pools have their own methods again. Each needs different equipment and different time.
- Where the pipe is. A pipe under a suspended timber floor is easier than one in a concrete slab, which is easier than one under a tarmac drive. Depth and surface both matter.
- Whether anyone knows the route. Tracing an unrecorded supply pipe across a Cornish smallholding is a job in itself and comes before the leak work.
- What has already been tried. A floor already cut open, or a carpet lifted and dried, gives poorer readings and can add time. Untouched is cheaper.
- How quickly you need it. A same-week booking that fits our route costs less to provide than a visit squeezed in at short notice at the far end of the county.
House, garden or pool: how the job differs
| Type of job | What the survey involves | What tends to add cost |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the house | Meter and pressure tests, thermal imaging, moisture mapping, acoustic listening | Solid floors, multiple bathrooms, older houses with several generations of pipework |
| Underground supply pipe | Pipe tracing, acoustic correlation, tracer gas along the marked route | Long runs, unknown route, tarmac or concrete over the pipe |
| Swimming pool or hot tub | Bucket and level tests, dye testing, pressure testing each pipe circuit, shell inspection | Number of pipe circuits, buried pipework, pools that must be kept full |
| Central or underfloor heating | Pressure or gas test of the system, thermal imaging of every loop | Multiple zones, pipes in screed, a system that cannot be isolated |
How trace and access cover pays it back
This is the part most people do not know when they first ring. Most UK buildings policies include trace and access cover, which pays the reasonable cost of finding a leak and of getting to it, including reinstating floors, walls or a drive that had to be opened. The limit is often in the £5,000 to £10,000 range, and it sits alongside the escape of water cover that pays for the damage the leak caused. It does not pay to repair the pipe itself.
So in many cases the detection fee is a cost you recover, provided the leak is confirmed and the report shows what was done and why. That is why we write every survey up as an insurance-ready document. Our guide to trace and access cost and who pays it goes through the money in detail, and the trace and access section of your buildings policy explains the wording you will find.
One thing to weigh up is your excess. Escape of water excesses have risen on many policies, and if the survey fee and a small repair together come to less than the excess, there is little point claiming. If a floor has to be cut and reinstated, a claim usually makes sense. Ring your insurer before the survey so the trace and access element is agreed from the start, and give us the claim reference so the report is addressed properly.
How a quote should work
Be wary of a price given before anyone has asked you a question. A proper quote comes after a short conversation: where the property is, what you have noticed, whether the meter moves with everything off, what the boiler pressure is doing, whether there is a pool, what floors you have and how far the meter is from the house. From that, a fixed fee for the survey can be agreed in writing before the visit, with anything extra, such as tracing a second pipe or a return visit, agreed with you before it happens rather than appearing on the invoice.
We do not publish a price list, because the only honest way to price the work is to ask about it first. The water leak detection service page explains what a survey covers, and a quote takes one phone call.
Things to try before you spend anything
Some of the cost of detection can be avoided by narrowing the problem down yourself first, and we would rather you did.
- The meter test. Everything off for an hour. If the meter does not move, the mains is not leaking and the survey can focus on heating or waste.
- The stopcock test. Meter still moving with the stopcock closed means the supply pipe, which is a different survey from an internal one.
- Boiler pressure. A gauge that drops from about 1 to 1.5 bar and needs topping up points to the heating circuit.
- Obvious sources. A dripping overflow, a running toilet cistern or a washing machine hose can be found and fixed by a plumber without any detection at all.
Where a plumber has already been and could not find it, that is the moment detection earns its fee. Guessing is what costs money: each exploratory hole has to be cut, then made good, and the leak may still be running. One located survey across Cornwall’s leak detection specialists is usually the cheaper route from there.
Frequently asked questions
How much does leak detection cost in Cornwall?
It varies with the property, the type of leak and the access, so most firms quote a fixed survey fee after asking a few questions rather than publishing a list. The fee covers the engineer’s time, the equipment and an insurance-ready report. It does not include the repair, which is priced separately.
Does home insurance pay for leak detection?
Most UK buildings policies include trace and access cover, which pays the cost of finding the leak and reinstating whatever was opened to reach it, often up to a limit in the £5,000 to £10,000 range. The pipe repair itself is not covered, so check your own policy wording and excess before you claim.
Is leak detection cheaper than getting a plumber to look?
For a visible drip, a plumber is cheaper. For a hidden leak the plumber cannot see, exploratory holes each cost money to cut and make good and may still miss it. A single located survey that marks the exact point is usually the cheaper route once the simple checks have been done.
Why will nobody give me a price over the phone straight away?
Because the job genuinely varies. A heating leak in a small house and a buried supply pipe under a long drive are very different days of work. A firm that asks about the property, the symptoms and the meter first can give you a fixed fee that will not change on the day.
Does the fee include fixing the leak?
Usually not. Detection and repair are separate jobs, and the survey is what makes the repair small and certain. Once the leak is marked, the fix is often a short section of pipe or one joint, and your insurer’s trace and access cover normally pays for the reinstatement around it.
Get a fixed quote before we come
Tell us about the property and what you have noticed, and we will give you a clear survey fee in writing before the visit. Every survey comes with an insurance-ready report so a trace and access claim is straightforward.
