One price. Everything you need to find the leak and prove it to your insurer. Most homeowners reclaim the cost in full under their buildings insurance.
What's Included
The £495 + VAT covers everything you need to identify and prove the leak:
- Same-day engineer attendance in Barnes (booked before noon, usually)
- Full non-invasive detection survey using thermal imaging, tracer gas, acoustic microphones, endoscopic camera and moisture meters as the property requires
- Pressure testing to confirm and isolate the leaking circuit
- Pinpointed location of the leak to within a few centimetres
- First-fix repair where the leak is accessible and we can complete the work that day
- Written trace and access report with photos, thermal images, findings, and an itemised invoice — formatted for your buildings insurer
- 12-month leak-free guarantee on any repair we carry out
- Direct liaison with your insurer or claims handler, if you'd like us to
Insurance Reimbursement
Nearly every UK home buildings insurance policy includes a "trace and access" clause that covers the cost of locating a leak — typically with its own claim limit of £5,000 to £10,000, separate from the damage repair itself. The survey fee is exactly what that clause is designed to reimburse.
In practice, most of our customers pay £495 + VAT to us up-front, submit our report to their insurer, and are reimbursed in full within a few weeks. Some insurers will pay us direct — we're happy to arrange that where the policy allows.
If you're not sure whether your policy covers trace and access, give us a call before you book. We'll talk through the wording and tell you honestly whether it'll be reimbursed.
Out-Of-Scope Work
The £495 survey covers detection and first-fix repair. The following are quoted separately, and only after we've finished the survey:
- Larger repairs — replacing a section of pipework, repressurising and bleeding a heating system, fitting new valves, re-running buried mains
- Reinstatement — making good plasterwork, screed, tiling, flooring or decoration after a repair
- Emergency / out-of-hours callouts — surveys outside our standard hours, on bank holidays, or with under 4 hours' notice. Premium agreed before we attend.
- Complex commercial premises — multi-floor buildings, plant rooms, district heating, or restricted-access sites. Priced on inspection.
You'll never get a surprise on the invoice. Anything outside the £495 scope is quoted, written down, and confirmed by you before any extra work starts.
Why £495?
The price reflects what professional non-invasive leak detection actually costs to deliver: a trained engineer, several thousand pounds of specialist equipment per visit, the time to do the job properly, and a written report that holds up to insurer scrutiny.
Anyone quoting significantly less is usually doing one of three things: skipping methods (only using a moisture meter, for example), guessing where the leak is and recommending you "open up and have a look", or planning to charge extras once they arrive. Our price is fixed at £495 + VAT and what's included is what we hand over.
The Two Guarantees
No-Find, No-Fee
If we attend to investigate a leak that genuinely exists in the pipework and we don't locate it, you don't pay for the survey. This guarantee has reasonable exclusions (set out in our terms and conditions) — for example, it doesn't apply where the symptom isn't actually a leak (condensation, sealant failure) or where access is blocked.
12-Month Leak-Free
For repairs we carry out, the specific repair is guaranteed against recurrence for 12 months. If it fails, we come back and re-fix it at no charge. Excludes new leaks elsewhere in the system, third-party damage, and fair wear and tear.
How To Pay
- Card (Visa, Mastercard, Amex): taken on the day, in person
- Bank transfer: account details on the invoice, payment within 7 days
- Insurer direct payment: where your policy allows and the claim is pre-approved
We invoice the same day the work is completed. VAT is shown separately on every invoice.
Ready To Book?
Call us on 020 8050 4690. We'll agree a price, book your slot, and stop the damage spreading.