Call 0333 567 2615

Leak detection for restaurants and cafés

Kitchens, cellars, washrooms and the ceiling of whoever is downstairs. We find the leak between services, without closing the kitchen.

Call 0333 567 2615

A kitchen is the wettest room in any retail building. Dishwashers, sinks, ice machines, combi ovens and floor gullies run for hours a day, and the pipework serving them is usually under a tiled floor or behind stainless steel. Below is often a cellar with the beer lines and stock, or another business whose ceiling is now stained. Above may be flats. Leaks here spread fast and get expensive quickly.

We locate leaks in kitchens, washrooms, cellars and the floors between units with thermal imaging, acoustic listening and tracer gas, with the equipment in place and the kitchen open. We do not need the kitchen shut down, and the report supports your insurance claim and any conversation with the landlord or the tenant above.

Where leaks hide in a restaurant.

The usual suspects for this format, in the order we tend to find them.

Kitchen floor gullies and drains

Cracked gullies and traps under the tiles that let waste water into the screed and the ceiling below.

Dishwasher and sink feeds

Hot and cold supplies behind the pass and under the sink run, disturbed every time equipment is moved.

Ice machines and coffee machines

Small-bore feeds and drains with push-fit joints that weep slowly for months.

Cellars and beer stores

Below-ground rooms with mains, drains and tanking that let water in from outside as well as from above.

Customer toilets

Cisterns, concealed frames and flush pipes behind tiled walls, over someone else’s ceiling.

The flat above or the unit below

Leaks that cross demises in both directions, where the stain and the source belong to different people.

How we work on your premises.

The same non-invasive methods as every job, planned for the way this kind of premises actually runs.

  1. Kitchen stays running

    Hand-held kit and no floor-lifting, so we work around the equipment and the team without shutting the kitchen down.

  2. Equipment stays in place

    Thermal imaging and acoustic listening work around fitted equipment. We move nothing heavy and we do not dismantle the line.

  3. Hygiene respected

    Engineers work cleanly, use no dust-producing methods and leave surfaces as they found them.

  4. Landlord, neighbour and insurer

    The report describes the source and the route so it is clear which demise is responsible and what the insurer needs to see.

What you get from a survey.

Every job ends with the same things: the location, the cause, the evidence and a report you can hand to someone else.

  • The leak located under the kitchen floor or behind the tiles without opening them
  • A clear cause: supply, waste, appliance or drainage
  • Evidence of source and route where another demise is involved
  • A report written for an insurance claim
  • Same-visit repair where the job allows

Restaurants & cafés: your questions.

What managers in this sector ask before they book.

More questions
The unit below says our kitchen is leaking into their ceiling. Can you check?

Yes. We survey the kitchen floor, drains and appliance feeds, and the void between the floors, and report where the water is coming from and where it is going.

Do we have to close the kitchen?

Usually not. Detection is non-invasive, so we work around the equipment and in most cases the kitchen keeps running.

Is it the drains or the water supply?

We test both. A pressure test on the supply and a test on the drains and gullies tell us which is losing water before we start locating it.

Will the survey affect our hygiene rating?

No. The work is clean and non-invasive, and we leave no debris or open floors.

Can you attend at short notice?

We have engineers across England, Scotland and Wales and we aim to find and repair on the same day wherever the job allows. Call 0333 567 2615 for availability.

Related services.

Drains & CCTV surveys

Blocked, cracked or leaking drains in service yards and beneath units, surveyed with CCTV drain cameras and pressure testing.

Find out more

Washrooms & staff areas

Customer toilets, staff kitchens and cleaners’ cupboards. Small rooms with a lot of pipework, and the source of most damp patches next door.

Find out more

Under-floor & slab

Pipes buried in screed beneath tiles, vinyl and timber. Located from above, so the shop floor stays whole.

Find out more

Damp & structural ingress

Penetrating damp, basement stock rooms and party walls. Moisture mapping shows what is a leak and what is condensation.

Find out more

Speak to the team about your leak.

One call gets a leak engineer moving. Our methods are non-invasive, so there is usually nothing to dig up, and you get a written report ready for your insurer.

Call 0333 567 2615

Engineers across England, Scotland and Wales. £5 million public liability insurance.