On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 09:57:51 +0100, "mich" wrote:

Hi folks help me out here - the saga of the water leak.

big snip!

I'd agree that it's worth getting a second opinion.

Also one way of locating leaks in a buried pipe is to shut one end
off, and freeze it somewhere, while pressurising the other end with
some air.

If it can't hold pressure then there is a leak (or more than one
leak!) is between the frozen bit and where it's pressurised from, if
it can hold pressure that section is OK.

It might be best to test it near a point where it enters the house, as
replacing it up to the house boundary shouldn't be too hard and the
pipe is more likely to have failed or fail in that area, especially if
it's under a driveway.

Once a leak has been found, patch it temporarily then pressurise the
pipe to a bit more more than it's maximum working pressure for a while
to check for any other leaks.

If the second leak is near the first then that section could be shot
and worth replacing.

In any case replacing the whole lot might be unnecessary. It might be
better to get hubby to do the diagnosis then get someone in to do the
work if he's busy. That way he won't get the blame if it takes too
long or other jobs get in the way.

Sorry for waffling on a bit...

cheers,
Pete.