Total cost of a hidden leak planner

Guidance only. An engineer on site confirms it.

Type your own figure for each line you expect. Give a low and a high guess where you are unsure, or one figure in the first box. Leave a line blank if it does not apply.

Extra water chargesWhat the leak has added to a bill, from your own bill or meter readings.
The repair itselfFrom a written repair quote, once you have one.
Opening up and making goodLifting a floor or opening a wall, then closing it up again.
Drying outDehumidifiers or specialist drying, if it is needed.
RedecoratingPlaster, paint, flooring or fittings damaged by the water.

Enter at least one figure to see the total.

On this page

Why the total is more than the detection

Finding a leak is the first cost, not the last. Once the source is known there is usually a repair, often some opening up to reach it, and then the damage the water has already done, which may need drying and redecorating. Each is a different job, often a different trade, and each is priced on its own.

The planner lays those lines out so that none is forgotten when you plan. It does not know your property, so it does not estimate any of them. It adds what you type.

How to use it

For each line you expect, type a low and a high figure, or one figure in the first box. Leave a line blank if it does not apply. The total is the sum of the lows and the sum of the highs, with the detection visit added to both unless you switch it off.

Use figures from somewhere real: a written repair quote, a water bill, a decorator or a drying contractor. A guess is fine to begin with, but replace it as quotes arrive, so the range narrows to something you can plan around.

What is and is not in the detection line

One fixed price of £480, every method included, agreed before we attend. No VAT is charged. It covers locating the leak with every method it needs, and the written report, in one visit to a single domestic property in London.

It does not cover the other lines. The repair itself, opening up and making good, commercial or multi-unit buildings, and underground work that needs a different set-up are quoted separately, in writing, before any work starts. Repair work is quoted separately in writing before it starts, as one fixed price with labour, parts and materials set out. Making good, such as walls, ceilings and decorating, is quoted per job by a partner team. Read what is included and what the visit does not cover before you enter a figure on the strength of an assumption.

Where the money tends to go

The order of size depends on the leak, so no line is always the biggest. A leak under a solid floor can make opening up the dominant cost. A slow leak that has run for months can make drying and redecorating larger than the repair. A leak on the supply pipe can show up chiefly as a water bill.

Water charges are the line people overlook. If you have a meter, your bill will show how much the leak added, and the meter test calculator gives a litres figure to put beside it. Whether your water company or your insurer treats any of it differently is for them to say.

Sources and method

  • Your own figuresThe planner adds the numbers you enter and the published detection price. It estimates no repair, drying or decorating cost, stores nothing and sends nothing.

Questions customers ask

Does the planner estimate the repair cost?

No. Repairs depend on the pipe, the access and the damage. Use a written quote, which repair work is quoted separately in writing before it starts, as one fixed price with labour, parts and materials set out.

Is the detection price in the total?

Yes, as one line, which you can switch off. One fixed price of £480, every method included, agreed before we attend. No VAT is charged.

Why a low and a high figure?

Early on you usually do not know the exact cost. A range shows how far the total could move, and narrows as quotes arrive.

Can I print the result?

Yes. Use the print button under the total to keep the lines and the range.

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