Leaking pipe underground - help!!

P

pead

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Hi
I wonder if someone could please maybe advise me.......
There's a prolem with the (gas) heating in my house at the moment and i've had a plumber in to take a look. The pressure is continuously dropping which means the radiators upstairs aren't heating at all.

I bought the house (new) 3 years ago. The plumber advised me that the root of the problem is a leak in one of the pipes leading to one of the radiators, and that this leak is the fault of the plumbers that built the house and has been there since the house was built.
To fix the issue the he has to dig up the floor and advises me that it will be an expensive job. He also said that if this isn't rectified, all the radiators in the house will have rusted rotten within 12 months and will have to be replaced, which would be a huge job.

I've contacted my house insurance company but they won't cover it because it's not 'accidental damage'. I've contacted Homebond but they won't cover it because they don't cover the 'services', they will only cover structural damage.
I've tried to contact the builder, who has long since left the area, to no avail.

Any advice on what i could do would be greatly appreciated....
 
Looks like you're stuck with it to be honest, and will have to bite the bullet. Did this problem not manifest itself immediately after you moved into the house? Why are you only dealing with it now?

I think, even if you tracked down the builder, you would have a hard job persuading him that it was his problem after three years living with it.
 
Thanks....

It just started giving trouble in the last couple of months for some reason, i don't know why. I thought that maybe it should be covered in some way since it's there since construction.
 
That's terrible. Perhaps before you go ripping up floors you could get a company with a thermal imaging camera. I believe that TI cameras can be used successfully to determining the source of a leak. Finding a leak can be a nightmare and it's very difficult to know where to start digging. I know it's not a solution to getting those responsible to deal with it, but it might save some money if you have to go it alone.
 
I posted a similar question and got some useful responses I'll try to bump it for you...so far I've spent at least €1200 twitching around with this problem and its only gotten worse.

New plumber coming tomorrow and I'm prepared to take up the floor...which will be ruined....will let you know how I get on!

ETA Just realised I got reprimanded on my very first post on this site for empathising with another sufferer that this problem was "excrement"....welcome to askaboutmoney....very sensitive crowd :))
 
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In respect of the issue of your rads rusting rotten, this has more to do with having no or diluted inhibitor , than introducing fresh water to your heating system, so you could repair the leak and still have your rads "rust rotten" if you don't put inhibitor into the clean system after the repair.
 
pead said:
Thanks....

It just started giving trouble in the last couple of months for some reason, i don't know why. I thought that maybe it should be covered in some way since it's there since construction.
Click to expand...

I think if the trouble has only started recently then get your plumber to re-assess the problem and go back to your insurance company with a leak rather than a bad workmanship and see if they'll pick up the tab.
 
pead said:
Hi
I wonder if someone could please maybe advise me.......
The plumber advised me that the root of the problem is a leak in one of the pipes leading to one of the radiators, and that this leak is the fault of the plumbers that built the house and has been there since the house was built.
To fix the issue the he has to dig up the floor ....
Click to expand...

If you have been able to identify the problem pipe work, would be possible, and less disruptive, to bypass the leaking section, before and beyond the leak...
 
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