Leak Detection Brisbane, Same Day Service
Concealed water leaks found under slabs, walls and yards across Brisbane. Detection from $89, fixed price up front.
Leak Detection
Your Water Bill Doubled & Nothing Looks Wrong
A water bill that has jumped for no reason anyone can point to. A patch of lawn that stays green through a dry week. A warm spot on the tiles, or the sound of water running in a house where every tap is turned off. Concealed leaks give themselves away in small ways for months before anything visible actually fails.
The old way of dealing with that was a guess and a shovel. Lift a few pavers, cut a hole in the gyprock, trench along the likely run of pipe and hope you land on it. That approach does find the leak eventually, and it leaves you paying to put your house back together afterwards. We would rather narrow it down first and open one spot.
So we test before we touch anything.
Our plumbers start at the water meter, then work through acoustic listening gear, pressure testing on isolated sections, and moisture or thermal readings, until the leak has a real position we can mark on the ground rather than a general area. You get one fixed price in writing covering the detection and the repair, and the call-out that got us there is $0*. Detection starts from $89. The work is carried out by QBCC licensed plumbers under licence 15578913, with 20+ years of Brisbane plumbing behind it, and the repair itself is covered by our Lifetime Workmanship Guarantee.
Not every leak is a slow one. Where a pipe has already split and water is visibly going somewhere, that becomes a job for our burst water pipe repairs in Brisbane, and we will tell you which of the two you are looking at rather than selling you the wrong service. Houses, units and commercial sites, right across Brisbane. Find it properly once, and the bill goes back to what it used to be.
Not every leak sits somewhere convenient. A slab leak under polished concrete, a pipe running inside a rendered cavity wall, a service line crossing beneath a driveway or a mature garden, an upstairs bathroom weeping into the ceiling below: each of those changes how we look and how we get to it. Units and townhouses add another layer, because the leak may sit in common property rather than yours, and the body corporate needs to know before anyone starts cutting.
Commercial sites bring their own version of the problem. A cafe cannot lose pressure through lunch, and a warehouse slab is not something anyone breaks up on a hunch. Where the fault turns out to be a cracked or root-damaged drain instead of a pressure line, we can often deal with it using no-dig pipe relining in Brisbane and leave the surface above it alone.
How We Find a Leak Without Digging
There is no single tool that finds every leak, so we work through them in order, least invasive first, until the leak has a mark on the ground instead of a rough area. Here is what each method is good for.
The Meter Test
Everything off, then we watch your water meter. A dial that keeps turning proves a leak on your side before we go looking.
Acoustic Listening
Ground microphones and listening sticks pick up the hiss of water escaping a pressurised pipe through concrete, soil and tiles.
Pressure Testing
We isolate sections and put them under test pressure, which tells us which line is losing water and roughly how fast.
Thermal & Moisture Readings
A hot water leak shows up as a warm track. Moisture meters map how far the water has spread through walls and flooring.
CCTV Drain Camera
Where a drain is involved we send a camera through it, so a cracked or root-filled pipe is seen rather than assumed.
Locating Before Excavating
Pipe and cable locating marks the run and the depth first, so if we do open the ground it is one small spot.
Our Leak Detection Services
A price agreed before we start, a fast response, and workmanship guaranteed for life.
Leak detection is not one job. It runs from proving there is a leak at all, through pinpointing where it is, to fixing the pipe and checking the meter has stopped moving. These six cover almost everything we get called out for, and the same licensed team handles the finding and the repair rather than handing you to someone else.
Concealed Leak Detection
Pinpointing underground leaks in the pipework you own, from the meter into the house, before anything gets opened up.
Slab Leak Location
Leaks under concrete floors traced acoustically, so one small section comes up instead of a whole room of flooring.
Water Leak Repairs
Once it is found we fix it. Repair or replacement of the failed section, then tested before we pack up.
Shower & Bathroom Leaks
Water tracking through walls or into the ceiling below from a failed waterproofing membrane, a grout line or a shower drain.
Toilet & Cistern Leaks
The quiet ones that never puddle. A cistern that keeps refilling can waste more water than a dripping tap ever will.
Leak Detection Reports
Written findings for insurers, a body corporate or an Urban Utilities remission claim, including the invoice the application needs.
Need a Leak Detection Plumber Today?
Call Vanguard Plumbing & Gas and we will get a plumber out to you for a $0 call out fee*. We will test the meter, trace the leak and put a fixed price on the repair before anything is opened up.
Signs You Have a Concealed Leak
Most concealed leaks are quiet. They do not flood a room, they just run under the slab or through the soil for months while the bill climbs and the ground softens. These are the things Brisbane homeowners notice first, usually one or two at a time.
- Unexplained jump in water usage
- Meter moving with everything off
- Damp or discoloured wall patches
- Lawn greener over one strip
- Warm spots underfoot on tiles
- Running water you cannot see
- Pressure dropping at the taps
One of those on its own can wait a week. Two or three together usually means water has been going somewhere for a while, and the meter will show it. Tell us what you have noticed and request a call back before the next bill lands.
Common Leak Problems We Get Called For
Symptoms are what you notice. This is what is actually happening under the surface, and why. Knowing the cause matters, because a corroded copper joint and a root-cracked drain are two very different repairs, and we would rather quote the right one.
Failed Slab Penetration
Copper pipe rubbing against concrete where it passes through the slab. Movement and grit wear a pinhole straight through the wall.
Corroded Copper Joints
Old soldered joints and reactive soil eat through the pipe from the outside in. Common in Brisbane houses plumbed decades ago.
Perished Rubber Seals
Flexible hoses and cistern seals harden and split with age, then weep quietly behind a vanity or inside a wall for months.
Ground Movement
Reactive clay swelling and shrinking with the seasons pulls buried joints apart, usually at a bend or a fitting rather than mid-run.
Tree Root Damage
Roots follow the moisture, find a hairline crack and widen it season by season until the pipe is properly broken open.
Failed Waterproofing
A shower membrane or grout line that has given up. The water never reaches the drain, it goes into the wall instead.
Catch It While It Is Still Cheap
A leak does not get better on its own. Left running, it softens the ground under a slab, lifts flooring, and turns a single joint repair into a much bigger job with a much bigger bill behind it. If your usage has crept up across two or three bills, that is worth a look now rather than after something moves.
Leaks in Homes & on Commercial Sites
A leaking house and a leaking factory are the same physics and a different job. In a home we are working around flooring, cabinetry and a family that needs water on tonight. On a commercial site there is trading time, tenancy boundaries and a slab nobody wants opened. Either way, the price is agreed before a single tile comes up.
How a Leak Detection Job Runs
You should know what you are agreeing to before we arrive. Six steps, in the same order every time, from the first phone call through to the paperwork you may need for a remission on your water bill.
1. You Call Us
Describe what you are seeing and what the meter is doing. We book you in and give you an arrival window.
2. We Confirm the Leak
We shut the house down and read the meter, which tells us whether water is being lost on your side of it.
3. We Pinpoint It
Acoustic gear, pressure testing and moisture readings narrow it to a spot we can mark, not a general area.
4. Fixed Price in Writing
One price for the detection and the repair, agreed in writing before anyone lifts a tile or turns a shovel.
5. We Repair & Retest
The failed section is replaced, then the meter goes back on to prove the leak has actually stopped.
6. Guarantee & Paperwork
You get our Lifetime Workmanship Guarantee, a tidy site, and an itemised invoice you can put behind a remission claim.
Book Your Leak Detection Today
Book today and you get same-day service, guaranteed. If we do not make it, $65 comes off the invoice. Tell us what your meter is doing and we will get someone out to you.
Leaks found From
$89*
Find the leak first, then fix it once. Pinpointed properly before anything gets opened up.
Why Choose Us
What You Get When We Find Your Leak
Leak work rewards patience and punishes guessing, so it matters who turns up. No subbies, no surprise bills. Just a licensed local team, an honest quote, and a repair you can ring us about years from now.
Same Day, Guaranteed
Book today and we come today. If that slips, $65 comes off the job, so the promise costs us and not you.
Priced Before We Start
You agree one number for the detection and the repair. The price we quote is the price you pay, weekends included.
QBCC Licence 15578913
Regulated plumbing work has to be done by a licensed plumber in Queensland. Ours is, with 20+ years behind it.
Guaranteed for Life
The repair carries our Lifetime Workmanship Guarantee. Years later, if that joint fails again, it is still ours to fix.
We Leave It Clean
Spoil, offcuts and floor protection leave with us, and our Clean-Up Guarantee means nobody is mopping up behind the plumber.
October Offers
What Comes Off the Price This Month
Nothing here is a limited-time trick to get you off the phone. The discounts below sit beside the $0 call-out* and the fixed quote you get on every job we do.
Clearing blocked sinks, toilets, showers and stormwater drains.
See the real cause on camera before anyone quotes a repair. Free with any paid service*
OFF
New customers save on their first job with us, any service.
Seniors save on every job, every day, no questions asked.
Our Reviews
Read the Reviews Before You Ring Anyone
16+ reviews on Google, written by people who had a plumbing problem last week. Worth two minutes of your time before you decide who to call about yours.
FAQs
Leak Detection Questions We Get Asked All the Time
Five minutes of reading here could save you a bill you did not see coming, especially the question about your water charges. Anything we have not covered, ring 0487 037 290 and ask.
Can you find a leak without digging up the yard?
Yes, most of the time. It starts with the meter, because that proves there is a leak at all before anyone goes hunting for it. From there we listen for the escaping water, put suspect lines under test pressure, and read the moisture and temperature around them, and we camera any drain that is caught up in it. Whatever gets opened is opened at a marked point, so a single small hole normally replaces the trench you were dreading.
What are the signs of a concealed leak in a house?
You usually notice the bill before you notice the water. Usage climbs with nothing changed in the house, one strip of lawn stays green through dry weather, tiles feel warm underfoot where a hot water line runs, or you can hear water moving with every tap shut. Damp skirting boards, a musty smell in one room, or a patch of ground that never dries out all point the same way. Any of those is worth a meter test.
Can I get money back on a water bill caused by a hidden leak?
Often, yes. Urban Utilities runs a concealed leak remission, and a concealed leak means an underground leak in your private plumbing on your side of the water meter. It covers 70% of the excess water usage charges, 100% of the state bulk water component for eligible pensioners, and 100% of excess sewerage usage charges where those apply. The application requires the plumber’s invoice or a statutory declaration, so keep the invoice we give you. Urban Utilities can be reached on 13 23 64.
How much does leak detection cost in Brisbane?
Leak detection with us starts from $89, and the call-out to get us there is $0*. What moves the number is access and how much testing the leak needs. A meter test and an acoustic trace on an exposed line is quick work, while a leak under a slab or beneath a driveway takes longer to isolate. You get one fixed price covering the detection and the repair before we start, so the invoice holds nothing you have not already agreed to.
How do I check my water meter for a leak?
Turn off every tap and appliance in the house, including the ice maker and any irrigation timer, then look at the water meter. If the small dial is still creeping around, water is going somewhere on your side of it. Note the reading, leave the house alone for a while without using water, then read it again. Any movement at all is worth a call. It is the same test we start with on site.
Who is responsible for a water leak, me or Urban Utilities?
The property boundary decides it. Urban Utilities is responsible for the water and sewer infrastructure outside your boundary, and the owner is responsible for everything inside it. So a leak out in the street or at the main is theirs to sort out, and a leak between the meter and your house is yours. If you are not sure which side of that line yours falls on, we will test and tell you before anyone starts lifting pavers.
Do you repair the leak as well as find it?
Yes. The same licensed team that finds it fixes it, so you are not chasing a second trade to do the repair. Once the failed section is replaced we put the house back under pressure and read the meter again with you watching, which proves the leak has actually stopped. Our Lifetime Workmanship Guarantee applies to the repair, and we tidy the site before we go.
Not sure whether that bill is a leak?
Give us the last two meter readings over the phone and tell us what you have seen around the house. We will say plainly whether it warrants a visit.
FOR A $0 CALL OUT FEE*, CALL 0487 037 290 TODAY!
Request your quote today and receive expert advice, competitive pricing, and quality service you can trust.