Water through the ceiling
Water coming through a ceiling or a wall in a unit block can come from a long way away. It might be a shower above, a pipe in the slab, a balcony, a box gutter or a cracked stack. Guessing gets expensive, because every wrong guess is another hole in someone's ceiling.
We trace the source before anything is opened up, then tell you where it is, what caused it and what fixes it.
How we trace it
- Nitrogen pressure testing to prove whether a water line is leaking
- Thermal imaging to follow moisture through walls and ceilings
- Electronic pipe tracing to map where the pipes actually run
- Acoustic listening gear to pinpoint a leak in a wall or slab
- Drain cameras for stacks, wastes and stormwater
Reports you can send on
When it matters, we put it in writing. Findings, photos, camera footage and recommendations, in a report you can send to the committee, the insurer or the loss assessor, or use in an NCAT matter.
We write it so someone who wasn't on site can follow it: where the water is coming from, how we know, and what needs to happen next.
Common property or lot owner?
Repair responsibilities in strata buildings are often a sore point. We trace the problem properly and tell you where it actually is, so it's clear whether it's common property or the lot owner's responsibility before anyone gets a bill.
As a rough guide, pipes that serve more than one lot, or that run through common walls, floors and the slab, are usually common property. A tap, a cistern, a flexi hose or the branch line inside one unit that only serves that unit is usually the owner's. The strata plan and by-laws decide in the end.
For strata managers and insurers
Send us the work order with the unit numbers and an access contact for each, and we'll book in with the tenants and owners ourselves. Loss assessors can talk to us directly if they want more detail. More on how we work with buildings on our strata plumbing page.
Common questions
Water is coming through my ceiling from the unit above. Who pays?
Depends where the leak is. A shower or bath waterproofing failure is usually the lot owner above. A pipe in the slab or a common wall is usually common property. We find it, put it in a written report with photos, and the strata manager or insurer sorts out who pays.
Can you find a leak without opening walls?
Most of the time we can narrow it right down first. Pressure testing, thermal imaging, pipe tracing and acoustic gear let us find the spot before anyone cuts in, so the hole goes in the right place.
What goes in the report?
Where the water is coming from, how we confirmed it, photos and footage, whether it looks like common property or the lot, and what we recommend doing next.
Can the report be used for an insurance claim?
Yes. Insurers and loss assessors ask for exactly this kind of report, and we're happy to talk to them directly.
Can you provide a report for an NCAT matter?
Yes. We provide written reports with photos and findings that can be used in NCAT matters.
Is there a cost for the investigation?
Tracing a hidden leak takes time and gear, so there can be a cost for the investigation itself. We'll tell you up front, and once we've found it you get a fixed price for the repair.
Where we do water ingress reports work
Based in Randwick and working right across the Eastern Suburbs, including: