Plumbing problems can be some of the worst household disasters costing homeowners thousands of dollars in repair and reconstruction fees. While some of these expensive problems are the result of sewer backups and clogged lines the worst damage is often caused by leaking water pipes. Some water leaks are easy to find such as those from faucet connections or the pipes dripping under the cabinet. However, many leaks are often hidden away in places you aren’t able to look. Some of these leaks will be in the walls where pipes are run between rooms and floors while others could be underground, in the concrete slab or even basement walls.
Locating these problems requires plumbing contractors experienced in the arts of Leak Detection in Olympia, WA. In some cases these skilled plumbers can find these leaks by checking the condition of the walls and floors, but in many instances they will use more modern methods for locating leaks. One of these methods involves sonic based acoustic testing equipment. These tools allow them to pinpoint serious leaks and even locate a smaller leak with amazing accuracy. By listening for certain sounds the plumber can narrow down where the pipes are broken and make the repairs with minimal damage to the home.
Another useful tool in Leak Detection in Olympia, WA uses an ultra-sensitive probe for detecting vibrations from the leaking pipe as well as any sounds caused by that leak. For really difficult to find problems there is a ground microphone location tool that can pick up the sounds of a leak while minimizing any extraneous sounds in the background. By removing these sounds the plumber can more easily isolate the exact location of the leaking pipe.
Another useful tool employed by companies like West Coast Plumbing, Pump and Filtration LLC is Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). This technique can locate changes in soil density which are common with leaking pipes. In many cases this can quickly help the plumber locate leaks around slabs and basement walls with a minimum of fuss. For homes with external sewage leaks GPR can also find these problems in those rare cases where video probes have difficulty locating the breaks in the pipe.
