Leak Detection in New Farm
Water escaping where nobody can see it is what leak detection in New Farm is for: under a floor, behind plaster, beneath a drive. Every job is done by a licensed plumber, available 24/7, with no extra charge for nights, weekends or public holidays. We cover New Farm and the suburbs around it, same-day where we can.
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Binkinba, the Turrbal name for this land-tortoise peninsula, sits on river deposits that hold water long after rain. That makes a damp patch here genuinely ambiguous, and the tests below are how you tell a leak from groundwater.
What a Wet Patch or High Bill Is Telling You
Three places give a hidden leak away: the meter, the house and the ground outside. A dial that keeps turning while every tap is closed is the clearest sign of all.
Inside, look for damp patches or stains on a wall or ceiling, a musty smell in a room that never had one, or paint lifting and timber swelling. Under a sink, the usual culprit is a braided hose, and our flexi hose replacement page covers those.
Outside, watch for soil that stays wet, or a lawn patch growing greener than its neighbours. A higher bill than the same quarter a year ago ties the three together, because a leak keeps running day and night.
One caution for the low blocks near Welsby Street: silty ground there holds rainwater under garages and ground-floor flats, so wet soil on its own proves nothing. Homes up on the Harcourt Street ridge drain drier, and a damp patch there earns more suspicion. The meter settles the argument either way.
From Meter Reading to the Exact Pipe
The method runs in a fixed order: confirm at the meter, divide the supply into parts, pressure-check each part, then narrow the hunt before anything gets opened. Nothing gets dug up on a guess.
Isolate
Valves close off one stretch of pipe at a time, so each part gets checked on its own.
Pressure-check
The part that drops in pressure is the part carrying the leak.
Listen
We listen along a pipe where it shows, or along a wall, for the noise water makes leaving the pipe.
Moisture readings
Readings across walls, floors and subfloor timber map how far the water has travelled.
Every step is carried out by a licensed plumber, because the results decide what gets opened and what gets left alone. The repair that follows is water pipe repairs work, and a service line that splits open goes to our burst pipe repairs page.
Is the Leak on Your Side of the Meter
With every tap and appliance that uses water switched off, photograph the meter reading, red numbers included, give it at least one hour, then compare: any change means a leak. Leave the meter tap as it is, and draw no water at all while you wait.
The result then tells you who calls whom. Urban Utilities looks after the main and the meter itself; every pipe on the property side of that line belongs to you, the owner.
A meter box brimming with water goes to the utility, and so does soggy soil with the dial not turning. Soggy soil with the dial turning means your property is drawing water out of sight, and that is a job for us.
Concealed Leak Rules for Your Water Bill
A concealed leak, meaning water escaping out of sight past the meter on your property, can open the way to an adjustment on your account when three conditions are met:
- the leak sits out of sight, under concrete or beneath a floor, and is not something you could reasonably have noticed;
- the repair happens inside a month of you finding it, and it is a lasting repair, not a temporary bypass;
- the claim reaches the utility in writing, supported by our invoice as the licensed plumber on the job.
Excluded every time: water lost through dripping taps, running cisterns, hot water systems and other appliances, plus watering systems and water features outside.
Tenancies and unit schemes have their own lines. If the utility alerts a tenant to likely leak or heavy use, the owner or the agent is taken to know from that point. Where a unit scheme sub-meters each lot and the utility reads those meters, an owner claims on their own lot, and the body corporate handles shared land.
There are more accounts to protect here every year: area-level figures put five-year population growth near 5.3 per cent. More meters read more water, and one unnoticed leak can quietly double a quarter.
How Your Leak Detection Visit Runs
- 1
Describe the problem
Phone (07) 3524 7163 or fill in the form with what you're seeing in New Farm. The more we know, the better we can prepare.
- 2
We begin at the meter
We begin at the meter, then work the supply line piece by piece: listening along pipes, taking moisture readings and pressure-checking each part until the leak has one address.
- 3
Agree on the price
A fixed quote comes before any work starts: flat-rate pricing, no hidden fees, and your go-ahead first.
- 4
Pay on completion
Card or EFTPOS on site when everything's working, or ask us about Fix now, pay later.
Plumbing job in New Farm?
$0 call-out fees, available 24/7, and same-day where we can.
Hidden Leak Questions From New Farm
Call (07) 3524 7163How can I check for a hidden water leak myself?
Run the meter test first. Switch off every tap and each appliance that uses water, note the meter reading with the red numbers, wait a full hour without running anything, then read it again. Any movement means water is moving somewhere past the meter, and that is a job for us.
Is a leak at the meter mine or Urban Utilities' problem?
Urban Utilities' problem, usually. Water pooled around the meter, or wet ground while the dial sits still, points to the utility's pipe, and the utility takes the report. If the dial turns while nothing in the house is running, your property is drawing water somewhere out of sight.
Will Urban Utilities reduce my bill for a hidden leak?
Yes, when the leak fits their concealed leak rules. The leak must sit out of sight past the meter, be fixed inside a month of you finding it, and be backed by our invoice as the licensed plumber on the job. Dripping taps, running toilets and faulty appliances are excluded.
How does a plumber find a leak under a slab?
Step by step, the same as any hidden leak. The meter confirms the loss, the supply gets split into parts, each part gets pressure-checked, then we listen along pipes and take moisture readings across floors and walls. The stretch that cannot hold pressure carries the leak, and only then does anything get opened.
Who pays for a hidden leak on my property in New Farm?
The owner does, for both the water and the repair. Every litre passing the meter goes on your account, leak included, and every pipe on the property side is yours to maintain. Relief comes only through Urban Utilities' concealed leak rules.
Ring Us About a Hidden LeakWe'll call you back.
Phone (07) 3524 7163 for a licensed plumber in New Farm. We work under QBCC No: 15024607, with flat-rate pricing, no hidden fees and same-day where we can.
To claim your $0 call-out fee, call (07) 3524 7163 today.