Commercial Leak Detection
In a commercial building a hidden leak damages finishes, disrupts tenants and drives utility costs before anyone sees water. Locating it precisely is what keeps the repair small.
Commercial Leak Detection
When to call
What usually brings people to this
Decades of hard water leaves scale in every fixture, valve and heater it passes through, and it does not undo itself.
These are the symptoms that usually prompt the call. Any one of them is worth a conversation, and most of them get cheaper to deal with the earlier they are looked at.
Unexplained increases in water consumption
Damp or staining in tenant spaces
A meter running outside operating hours
Damage appearing on a lower floor
Pressure loss with no visible cause
The difference between a planned repair and an emergency call is usually a few weeks of noticing something and doing nothing.
How we work it
A waterproof high-definition camera goes down the line so we can see the problem instead of guessing at it.
Confirm and isolate
Meter analysis and isolation testing narrow it to a zone or riser.
Locate precisely
Acoustic and thermal equipment, plus pressure testing, to pin the point.
Assess the repair options
In an occupied building the access route matters as much as the repair.
Repair with minimum disruption
Scheduled around the tenants affected.
Worth knowingWhat commercial leak detection actually involves
We separate what needs doing now from what is worth planning for, because those are different conversations and different budgets.
In a multi-story building the leak is frequently not where the damage is. Water travels along structure, follows conduit and pipe runs, and appears at the first place it can escape, which may be a floor or more below and some distance horizontally. Chasing the stain rather than locating the source is how ceilings get opened repeatedly without finding anything.
Diagnostic gear earns its keep by ruling things out. Most of the value is in the repairs you do not end up paying for.
We are based in Yucaipa and work outward across San Bernardino County, Riverside County and the eastern edge of Los Angeles County. If you are outside the usual radius, call and ask. We cover more ground than most shops our size.
A waterproof high-definition camera goes down the line so we can see the problem instead of guessing at it.
Keeping it from happening again
The difference between a planned repair and an emergency call is usually a few weeks of noticing something and doing nothing.
The cheapest plumbing is the kind that gets looked at before it fails. An annual walk of the visible plumbing, checking under sinks, around the water heater and at any exposed pipe, catches most problems while they are still small and dry.
Keep grease out of drains, and that includes running hot water after it. Hot water simply carries it further down the line to somewhere less convenient.
Look behind and under appliances once in a while. Washing machine hoses, dishwasher connections and ice-maker lines are common leak sources and they are all hidden from normal view.
Knowing your own system is worth real money. Where the main shutoff is, where the sewer cleanout is, how old the water heater is, and whether the property is on sewer or septic. Those four facts shorten every future service call you will ever have.
Who you are calling
Booking is simple and the quote is free, so there is no cost to finding out what you are dealing with.
We are veteran-founded and family-run, which in day-to-day terms means the accountability is personal. There is nowhere for a bad job to hide in a company with your father's name on it.
Carrying plumbing, sanitation and general engineering licensing is what lets us say yes to the jobs other shops split between two contractors.
We answer the phone at two in the morning because the problems that need us most do not happen at noon.
Big Mike's · Yucaipa, California
Questions we get about commercial leak detection
If yours is not here, call and ask. We would rather talk it through than have you guess.
How do you find a leak in a large building?
By isolating zones first to narrow the search, then using acoustic and thermal equipment to pinpoint it.
Can you work without disturbing tenants?
Detection itself is largely non-invasive. The repair is scheduled around occupancy.
How much does a hidden leak cost?
Usually far more than finding it: the water itself, the damage to finishes and structure, and the disruption when it finally shows.
Do you provide documentation?
Yes, which owners and managers typically need for insurance or tenant discussions.
Do you pull permits?
Where the work requires them, yes. Permits and inspections are handled as part of the job rather than left to the customer.
Do I need to be home?
Usually yes, or somebody who can make decisions about the work. We will not authorize additional work ourselves without talking to you.
Does a real person answer when I call?
Yes. The line is answered live around the clock, so you are talking to somebody who can send a truck, not leaving a message for the morning.
Do you work nights and weekends?
Yes. Nights, weekends and holidays are ordinary working hours in this trade, and emergency calls are answered around the clock.
How this fits the rest of the system
Compliance is a live concern in commercial plumbing in a way it is not residentially. Backflow assemblies need annual testing and certification. Grease interceptors need servicing and records. Health inspections look at drainage. Keeping the documentation straight is part of the service rather than an administrative afterthought.
Before we come out
Knowing the age of the house and roughly when the plumbing was last worked on narrows what we are looking for.
Forty-four years of work in one region builds a footprint that covers a lot of towns, and the trucks are on the road across it every day.
Related work and where we do it
Other commercial work
- Commercial Water Line Installation
New commercial water services.
- Plumbing Products and Fixtures
Supplying and installing fixtures.
- Office Building Plumbing
Multi-tenant office systems.
- Apartment Complex Plumbing
Multifamily plumbing across many units.
- Commercial Water Line Repair
Failed commercial water services.
- Commercial Leak Repair
Commercial leak repairs.
Where we go
We run commercial leak detection out of Yucaipa across Hemet, Highland, Colton, Rancho Mirage, Rancho Cucamonga, West Covina and Montclair, and the rest of San Bernardino, Riverside and the eastern edge of Los Angeles County.
Call the shop. A person picks up.
Tell us what it is doing and we will tell you what it takes to fix it. Plain language, no sales pitch, and the number before we start.
Yucaipa, California · Serving San Bernardino, Riverside and eastern Los Angeles counties · Open 24 hours