TMC wrote:
"TheScullster" wrote in message
...
Hi all

Tricky one this.
Four years ago I bought a 1970s dump and discovered that a damp patch
(believed to be a leaking patio door) was actually a fractured water pipe.
A copper 15mm elbow had split on its internal "corner?" on a buried hot
water feed to a sink and was showing as a damp-to-wet area of floor.
On further investigation, water had obviously saturated the sub-base and
travelled along all heating channels rising in places to rot skirtings
etc.
I lifted all the plastic? tiles that had been bitumened over the ground
floor and a film of water was found under most of them.
As I say, that was four years ago and since then, all the upper surface of
the ground floor slab appears to have dried out (sorry, forgot, solid
concrete ground floor).

snip

If I recall correctly there is a problem with deterioration of copper pipes
buried in concrete (Isn't this why copper gas pipes are clad in plastic?) If
that is the case do you have any more buried water pipes that may be
leaking?

Tony

IUC the risk of corrosion is higher, but still very low. Lots of gas
pipes are buried in crete up and down the country, and resulting leaks
are not a significant prolbem.

NT