Tracer gas leak detection
Find the leak under your floor, and lift less of it.
Your water bill has jumped, or the meter keeps turning with every tap closed, but nothing in the house is dripping. When the leak is hiding under a slab, a tiled floor or the paving, tracer gas detection helps us find it, so less of your floor or driveway has to come up. This is a water leak service: we don't work on gas lines or gas appliances.
When to call us
Signs of a leak you can't see
- The water meter keeps moving when every tap in the house is off.
- Your municipal water bill has jumped, and nothing has changed at home.
- A damp or warm patch on a tiled floor, or tiles that have started to lift.
- Wet paving, a soggy patch of lawn or a driveway that never quite dries.
How it works
How tracer gas finds the leak
First we isolate the water line we're testing and drain or empty it. Then we fill it with a safe tracer gas, typically a nitrogen–hydrogen mix. The gas escapes where the pipe is damaged and rises through the tile, concrete or paving above it, and a sensitive detector picks it up at the surface. That tells us where to open up, instead of searching across the whole floor.
Finding it, fixing it and putting the floor back
Finding the leak is the first step. Once you've seen where it is, we quote the pipe repair and the tiling or paving that goes back over it, so you know the full cost before anything is lifted. No method can promise there will be no damage at all, but knowing where to open keeps the mess and the cost down.
For your home
Getting your home ready for the test
The line we're testing has to be off for a while, so pick a time when the house can manage without water. Show us where the meter and the stopcock are, and tell us about any floors or paving you're especially worried about.
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Your meter and bills
A recent water bill, or a note of the meter reading over a few hours with all the taps off, helps confirm there is a leak.
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Where the pipes might run
Building plans help, but so does simply knowing where the geyser, kitchen and bathrooms are. It helps us decide which line to test first.
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Floors and finishes
Let us know about spare tiles, underfloor heating or new paving, so we can plan the repair around them.
How pricing works
The cost depends on:
- How many lines need testing, and how long they are.
- How easy it is to reach the meter, the stopcock and the floor above the pipe.
- The pipe repair, and the tiles, screed or paving that go back over it.
There's no call-out fee. The first hour of labour is charged, and if the job is done within that hour without materials, that's all you pay for labour. After-hours and weekend surcharges apply, and our quotes are valid for 7 days.
We accept EFT, Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay. See how our pricing works.
Before we arrive
- Turn off every tap and check whether the meter still moves.
- Have your latest municipal water bill handy.
- Clear furniture, rugs or cars off the area where you think the leak is.
Photos of damp patches or wet paving are welcome on WhatsApp at 082 403 3450.
Before you book
Questions about tracer gas leak detection
Is this a gas leak service?
No. Tracer gas is simply the tool we use to find leaks in water pipes. Amptex doesn't work on gas lines, gas geysers, gas stoves or any other gas appliances.
Is the tracer gas safe in my home?
Yes. It's a safe tracer gas, typically a nitrogen–hydrogen mix, and it only goes into the water line we've isolated and drained.
Will you have to break my floor?
Usually a little, to reach and repair the pipe. Because tracer gas narrows down where the leak is, the opening is smaller than it would be if we had to search for it.
Can you fix the leak once you've found it?
Yes. Our own plumbers repair the pipe, and we quote the repair and the making good before we start, so there are no surprises.
Do you work in my area?
We serve Johannesburg and Gauteng from our base in Randburg. Pretoria, Soweto and outer Gauteng are by arrangement.
A clear next step
Think there's a leak under the floor?
Send us your suburb and what you've noticed, and we'll tell you whether tracer gas is the right test.