ADI Leak Detection's four Liverpool engineers find hidden leaks in the flats, houses and converted buildings of Liverpool city centre (L1), pinpointing each one before any floor, wall or ceiling is opened. Plumbing, heating and water mains leaks can be repaired by the same engineer.
The original leak detection company, est. 2011
Four ADI Leak Detection engineers cover Liverpool city centre, and each of them has carried out leak detection jobs in Liverpool's L postcodes. Seven in ten households in L1's census output areas live in a purpose-built block of flats (Census 2021), where a leak in one flat can show up in the flat below, so the source is traced before anything is opened up.
Based in Swinton, Greater Manchester, 31 miles from L1 by road
Paul has 17 years in plumbing and heating and 6 in specialist leak detection. He holds a City and Guilds Level 3 in Plumbing and Heating, is Gas Safe registered and is particularly known for central heating and water mains work.
Based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, 62 miles from L1 by road
Brett has 25 years in plumbing and heating and 10 in leak detection, with a particular track record on central heating and water mains investigations. He holds a City & Guilds Plumbing & Heating Level 3 qualification and is Gas Safe Registered.
Based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, 77 miles from L1 by road
Matthew has 10 years as a qualified plumber and 4 in specialist leak detection, working on water mains, structural leaks and complex plumbing. He holds a Water Regulations Certificate and a CAA drone pilot qualification. In May 2025 he traced a leaking valve behind a boxed-in toilet cistern in an L1 flat and replaced it on the same visit.
Based in Cudworth, South Yorkshire, 80 miles from L1 by road
Robert has 25 years in domestic and commercial plumbing and 5 in leak detection, including water mains leak detection, and 10 years of powerflushing heating systems. He holds an NVQ Level 2 in plumbing, heating and gas.
Liverpool city centre's L1 postcode district falls mainly in the City Centre North and City Centre South wards. In the 2021 Census, about seven in ten households in its output areas lived in a purpose-built block of flats and one in ten in a converted building such as a former school, church or warehouse, and almost nine in ten lived in a flat of some kind. In a block, water escaping in one flat can show up as a stain in the flat below, so the source has to be traced before anything is opened up.
ADI Leak Detection's office team speaks to every customer before an engineer is booked.
The signs of a hidden leak in a Liverpool city centre flat are a boiler that keeps losing pressure, a stain spreading across a ceiling, water getting through below a shower or bath, damp with no obvious source, weak water pressure, and water that only comes in when it rains. The table matches each sign to the investigation that finds it.
| The sign | What it usually means | The investigation |
|---|---|---|
| Your boiler keeps losing pressure and needs topping up | Usually a leak on the heating circuit under a floor or inside a wall, sometimes a failed valve or expansion vessel | Central heating leak detection |
| A stain spreading across your ceiling | Usually a bathroom, a pipe or the roof above, which in a block of flats can be the flat upstairs | Ceiling leak detection |
| Water getting through below a shower or bath | Usually a failed shower tray, seal or trap, or the pipework behind it | Bathroom leak detection |
| A damp patch on a wall or floor with no obvious source | Often a hot or cold water pipe leaking inside the wall or floor | Hot and cold water pipe leak detection |
| Weak water pressure, or running water you can hear with every tap off | Can be a leak on the supply pipe, which several flats can share | Water mains (supply pipe) leak detection |
| Water coming in only when it rains | Usually the roof covering, the flashing or the gutters | Roof leak detection |
| Bad smells, low-level damp or repeat blockages | Often a cracked or displaced drain or waste pipe | Drainage leak investigation |
Seven ADI Leak Detection investigations are listed below, each with the equipment the engineer uses for that part of the property.
Traces a leak on the supply pipe between the stop tap at the property boundary and the stop valve inside, including a supply pipe shared by several properties.
Equipment: acoustic ground microphones and tracer gas
Finds where a heating system is losing pressure, from pipework under the floorboards to the pipes feeding radiators through walls.
Equipment: tracer gas, thermal imaging and pressure testing
Locates leaks on the plumbing that runs inside walls, under floors and above ceilings, so only the marked spot is opened.
Equipment: acoustic listening, thermal imaging, tracer gas and borescope
Tests shower trays, baths, seals and the concealed pipework behind them when water is getting into the floor or through to the room below.
Equipment: thermal imaging, moisture meters and borescope
Follows a ceiling stain back to its source, whether that is a bathroom, a pipe or the roof above.
Equipment: thermal imaging, moisture meters and acoustic methods
Finds where rainwater is getting in through the roof covering, flashing or gutters. ADI Leak Detection locates and reports roof leaks, and the repair is for a roofer.
Equipment: thermal imaging, moisture meters and drone inspection
Checks drains and waste pipes for cracks and displaced joints with a camera survey, which is how a drain leak behind damp or smells gets found.
Equipment: CCTV drain survey and acoustic listening
ADI Leak Detection finds a hidden leak with five non-invasive methods. In the L1 case study further down this page, moisture readings, a thermal survey and an endoscope camera led to a leaking valve behind a boxed-in toilet cistern.
Hydrogen tracer gas goes into the isolated pipe and is picked up at the surface where it escapes, through screed, timber, tile or soil.
Ground microphones pick up the sound of water escaping from a pipe under pressure.
The camera shows the heat pattern of a hot water or heating leak through plaster and screed.
Pin and pinless meters map how far damp has spread, which tells a live leak from an old stain.
A small camera on a flexible lead looks into floor voids, walls and ceilings through a small access point.
ADI Leak Detection repairs leaks on plumbing, central heating and water mains, and all ADI Leak Detection repair work is guaranteed. You can also have an independent plumber carry out the repair. Roof and structural leaks are located and reported, and their repair is for a roofer or builder.
Where you want the leak fixed, the engineer who traced it can carry out the repair, so one engineer sees the job through from the first test to the finished repair.
The engineer marks the leak on site and explains it to you before any repair is discussed, and the written report records where it is, so an independent plumber can go straight to it.
Who pays depends on where the leak is. United Utilities, the water company for Liverpool, is responsible for the communication pipe, from the water main in the road to the boundary of the property, and owners are responsible for the supply pipe from the boundary into the home and all the plumbing inside it. Where one supply pipe serves several properties, United Utilities says the owners it supplies are jointly responsible for it, and each owner for the branch to their own home. Tenants should check with their landlord.
Many buildings insurance policies include trace and access cover, which pays for finding the source of an escape of water and for the work needed to reach it. The limit is the part that varies, so check your own policy.
Every ADI Leak Detection investigation ends with a written report by the engineer who attended, supported by photographs and video and formatted for "Trace and Access" and "Escape of Water" insurance claims.
Not sure which investigation your leak needs? The office team will talk it through on 0151 380 0317.
Call 0151 380 0317Genuine Trustpilot reviews that name ADI's Liverpool engineers, shown word for word.
Matthew and Robert worked extremely hard to find our leak. It was not easy to find but they were determined and got there in the end. They both displayed high levels of expertise and knowledge, were very respectful of our home and polite and good humoured throughout their visit. If you have a leak Matthew and Robert are the men for the job!
Read on TrustpilotPaul was on time, friendly and very clear when explaining everything he was doing. Would highly recommend.
Read on TrustpilotBrett was lovely! Really helpful, and spent his time explaining thoroughly the issue of the leak in my property. He took time to asses where the leak had flooded too & explained next steps
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