LEAK DETECTION — STRATA
One ceiling stain, three flats, and a leak nobody could find.
01 — PROJECT OVERVIEW
A ground-floor owner in a fourteen-lot Bondi block had lived with a spreading ceiling stain for two years. Two plumbers had inspected the flat directly above, found nothing, and left. The owners corporation and the upstairs owner had been arguing about it ever since.
02 — THE CHALLENGE
Nobody could produce evidence of where the water came from, so nobody would accept the cost. Opening ceilings on a guess in a heritage-era block risked damaging original plaster cornices for nothing, and the building's plans showed the risers only approximately.
03 — OUR APPROACH
1Acoustic listening gear traced pressurised water noise through the wall cavity, which immediately ruled out the flat directly above.
2Thermal imaging up the riser wall showed a cold plume originating two floors higher than anyone had been looking.
3A single 400mm access patch confirmed a corroded joint on the common-property cold water riser.
4The failed section was replaced in copper and pressure-tested, and the cavity left open to dry before patching.
04 — THE OUTCOME
✓Leak located in three hours after two years of guesswork.
✓One small access patch rather than three opened ceilings.
✓Written findings identified the pipe as common property, ending the dispute between the owner and the owners corporation.
✓Insurer accepted the claim on the strength of the report.