After a service visit for the boiler last Friday, it was suggested that the cause of pressure loss from the boiler may be due to a leak in the heating system. Although no physical signs of a leak from piping were detected, thorough scrutiny over the weekend by Derek revealed a damp patch on the lounge wall.
A further visit by GasFix on Monday evening to put pressure back into the boiler revealed a hidden leak in the lounge wall, adjacent to a radiator. Gas Fix then arranged for engineer Darryl to rectify the leak on 6 July. On initial inspection and having cut away part of the wall next to the radiator, it could be seen that a microbore pipe connecting to the radiator had been acutely bent during the building of the house and this was suspected to be causing the leak.
Although initially thought be a straightforward repair, Darryl had to work with minimal flexibility in the piping making it a difficult manoeuvre to cut out and replace the faulty piping. With the patience of a saint, he finally achieved the repair and thought the job was done. However, further droplets of water were found coming down a covering pipe leading from the ceiling down the wall, which had been put in by the builder to protect the microbore piping against wear. Upon tracing the metal pipe up the wall to its end upstairs, which finished within the lounge ceiling and under the bedroom floor, Darryl then had to take up floor boards in the bedroom to access the piping. It was found that on the bend of the microbore piping going into the metal cover pipe, a leak was evident and thus causing water to drip down insIde the pipe to the lounge wall. Again, with very limited flexibility of pipe movement, Darryl showed a cool head in cutting away the offending section and rejoining it with a new piece of microbore.
After a very long day in cramped working conditions, the repair was finally completed. What had appeared on the face of it to be a straightforward repair job, turned into a nightmare which required all the skill, diligence and professionalism of a quality tradesman. Derek and I are extremely grateful to Darryl and to GasFix as a company for a job well done!
