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Discuss UFH Leaks 1 year after installation in the Water Underfloor Heating Advice area at PlumbersForums.net

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Hi - I little insight and guidance would be much appreciated.
My wet UFH was installed over a year ago by a qualified heating engineer, he went through all stages and did the pressure test as well, everything has been working nicely without any issues.
Now here is the unlucky coincidence - I had a leak in the copper pipes running from the boiler upstairs which was fixed by a plumber last week. The night the plumber fixed it, 2 bubbles appeared in the joints of my laminate downstairs, close to where the manifold is.

I don't think it was a coincidence but I am not knowledgeable enough to call the plumber and talk through what happened, and I dont want to offend anyone either by questioning their work. I am thinking, maybe during the pressure testing the manifold got too pressurised and it caused leaks? I know he didn't isolate the system and I am not even sure he was supposed to do that - however surely if the UFH system was pressure tested it should have resisted another pressure test?
We normally switch off the boiler during the night - and now every morning once we switch it on the UFH connections start making a trembling clacking noise.

I don't know what to do or who to call - the heating engineer who installed it (who I suppose will likely point to the plumber who fixed the leak) or the plumber directly but, what to say? I checked the plumber's company and they do not work with UFH so not sure they can even fix it!

What could have happened, any ideas?
We have closed the UFH system for the time being to avoid further damage to the laminate/screed as it has been about 5 days since the leak upstairs was fixed.
 
What could have happened, any ideas?
The symptom of a real leak in a sealed system is the pressure regularly dropping in the system to the point the boiler cuts out until the system water is topped up. I don't think this is what you have.

It's almost inevitable that some air got into the system while the plumber was dealing with the leak in your copper pipes. Should be just a matter of bleeding it out in the usual way.
 
The leak may be on the pipework around the manifold. Then it’s pooled on the floor and got into the laminate. It’s unlikely you have a leak “under” the floor. Much more common for it to be above floor level
 
The symptom of a real leak in a sealed system is the pressure regularly dropping in the system to the point the boiler cuts out until the system water is topped up. I don't think this is what you have.

It's almost inevitable that some air got into the system while the plumber was dealing with the leak in your copper pipes. Should be just a matter of bleeding it out in the usual way.
Thank you Chuck - you could actually feel the bubbles were moist and had water in between the joints of the laminate so the water must have come from somewhere. The boiler did shut down as well the following day and we topped up the water to make it restart.
Could a leak happen spontaneously like that in a system that was not leaking at all before? Aside from having air getting into the system as you say?

We have isolated the UFH system now to prevent further damage until we can decide what to do next. The boiler pressure seems ok for now.
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The leak may be on the pipework around the manifold. Then it’s pooled on the floor and got into the laminate. It’s unlikely you have a leak “under” the floor. Much more common for it to be above floor level
Thank you Jones82 - this is what we are hoping otherwise having to dig out pipes from screed sounds no good news and very pricey...
 
Thank you Chuck - you could actually feel the bubbles were moist and had water in between the joints of the laminate so the water must have come from somewhere. The boiler did shut down as well the following day and we topped up the water to make it restart.

I misread your original post. I thought you were seeing bubbles inside a transparent part of the pipework or manifold. Obviously if there is water and bubbles outside the pipework some sort of leak is likely.

I apologise for any confusion my answer, which not entirely relevant, has caused you.
 
I misread your original post. I thought you were seeing bubbles inside a transparent part of the pipework or manifold. Obviously if there is water and bubbles outside the pipework some sort of leak is likely.

I apologise for any confusion my answer, which not entirely relevant, has caused you.
Hi Chuck - absolutely fine you do have a point about the air - I was worrying about the noise it was making too but your point is very likely!
 

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