Leak detection in Aberdeen

Caledonian Leak Detection finds hidden water leaks in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire properties, granite and stone buildings included, across the AB postcode area.

Illustration: granite houses, with a supply pipe leak showing on the front path.

Which parts of Aberdeen does Caledonian Leak Detection cover?

Caledonian Leak Detection covers every AB postcode district, 33 of them, from the city out to the towns of Aberdeenshire and Moray, each one listed below.

Beyond the city, the AB area takes in Westhill, Inverurie and Ellon, Stonehaven and Banchory, Peterhead and Fraserburgh on the coast, and Huntly, Keith and Buckie further west. Elgin and Forres, for example, sit in the IV area instead and appear with every other covered town on the areas covered page.

AB: Aberdeen

AB10 Aberdeen
AB11 Aberdeen
AB12 Aberdeen
AB13 Milltimber
AB14 Peterculter
AB15 Aberdeen
AB16 Aberdeen
AB21 Aberdeen
AB22 Aberdeen
AB23 Aberdeen
AB24 Aberdeen
AB25 Aberdeen
AB30 Laurencekirk
AB31 Banchory
AB32 Westhill
AB33 Alford
AB34 Aboyne
AB35 Ballater
AB36 Strathdon
AB37 Ballindalloch
AB38 Aberlour
AB39 Stonehaven
AB41 Ellon
AB42 Peterhead
AB43 Fraserburgh
AB44 Macduff
AB45 Banff
AB51 Inverurie
AB52 Insch
AB53 Turriff
AB54 Huntly
AB55 Keith
AB56 Buckie

How is a leak traced in an Aberdeen granite building?

A leak in an Aberdeen granite building is pinpointed from the surface first, with pressure testing, thermal imaging and acoustic listening, so solid stone is cut only where the pipe is leaking.

Cutting into granite on a guess leaves a hole that has to be made good if the pipe is not there.

The order normally stays the same. The affected supply or heating circuit is isolated and pressure tested (sealed and watched on a gauge) to confirm it is losing water. Thermal imaging then looks for the warm track of a hot pipe, and acoustic listening follows the sound of water escaping under pressure. A thermal camera only reads the surface of a thick stone wall, so it is one check among several, and the position is marked once the readings point to one spot. Pipes under a floor or behind a kitchen in the same house are found the same way, which hidden leak detection for water pipes explains.

Who should you contact about a leak in Aberdeen?

The right contact for a leak in Aberdeen depends on which side of the stopcock it is. Scottish Water deals with the public main and the communication pipe up to and including the stopcock, and takes leak reports online or on 0800 0778 778, 24 hours a day.

The supply pipe from the stopcock to your internal stop valve, and everything inside, is the owner's to sort out, and tenants report a leak to their landlord. Aberdeen City Council has its own page on reporting drains, water leaks and damp in a private property.

Scottish Water may offer an assisted repair or replacement for a leak on a domestic supply pipe once the leak is detected, at its discretion and with conditions.

Which leak detection services are available in Aberdeen?

Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire properties have the same four investigations as the rest of Scotland: finding hidden leaks on water pipes, tracing central heating leaks, locating a leak on the underground supply pipe and tracing a leak for a home insurance claim.

Hidden pipe leaks

Thermal illustration of a hot water pipe leaking under floorboards, the pipe run showing through the boards — Illustration: a pipe leak under floorboards, found before anything is lifted.

Pipes chased into a granite wall or laid under a tiled kitchen floor leak out of sight, and hidden pipe leak detection places the leak before any stone or tile is broken.

Central heating leaks

Thermal illustration of a central heating pipe leaking under the floor beside a radiator — Illustration: a heating pipe leak spreading under the floor beside a radiator.

If the boiler in an Aberdeen house needs topping up again and again, central heating leak detection pressure tests the system and follows its pipe runs to the escaping water.

Underground supply pipe leaks

Thermal illustration of an underground water supply pipe leaking under a front lawn, between the pavement stopcock and the house — Illustration: a supply pipe leak under the front garden, between the stopcock and the house.

A supply pipe under a front path or a granite-setted drive can leak with no sign at the surface, and underground water leak detection traces it from above.

Leaks traced for an insurance claim

Thermal illustration of water from a hidden leak spreading through a ceiling below a bathroom — Illustration: water from a hidden leak spreading through the ceiling below a bathroom.

Trace and access cover pays to find a hidden leak and reach it, not to repair it, and for an Aberdeen home trace and access leak detection is the finding part, written up for your insurer.

Read how leak detection in Scotland works, method by method, on the home page.

Where does Aberdeen's water come from?

Aberdeen's water comes from the River Dee, treated at Mannofield and Invercannie, and Scottish Water looks after that network as far as the stopcock.

The mains run under the streets to each property's communication pipe, the short length that ends at the stopcock. On your side of that valve the supply pipe and the plumbing are yours, so a leak showing on a front path is usually the owner's to trace, unless it sits on Scottish Water's side. The rules on who is responsible for an underground leak settle which.