GB2515782A

GB2515782A - System and method for leak detection in buildings

Info

Publication number: GB2515782A
Application number: GB1311934.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anatoly Shulyak
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2013-07-03
Filing date: 2013-07-03
Publication date: 2015-01-07
Also published as: GB201311934D0

Abstract

Method of detecting and locating leaks in a building which comprises depositing different water-soluble substances or combinations of substances as trace materials in different parts of the building which may be effected by water leaks. The trace materials may for example be deposited on the surfaces of membranes (2), (3), (4) located in cavities (7) under floating floors (9), or in wall cavities (14). A record is kept of the location within the building of each different trace material, so that water from leaks can be analysed for such trace materials and the results compared with the record for the building to trace the path likely to have been taken by the water leak and hence trace the source of the leak.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LEAK DETECTION IN BUILDINGS

The present invention relates to a system and method for detecting leaks in buildings.

Water leaks in buildings can be difficult to detect and locate, particularly in multi-storey buildings where water may run down through several floors following a circuitous route through wall cavities and under floating floors, so as not to be detected until it appears several floors below the source of the original leak. By this time it may have travelled many metres horizontally as well as vertically. In order to stop the leak it is necessary to locate where it first entered the building, which often will not be apparent from the location at which the leak is detected. As well as roof leaks, leaks from water pipes and storage tanks can be damaging and difficult to locate.

US-A-4317996 discloses a method for detecting the presence of water leaks in building roofs and tracing such leaks to their origin, which comprises applying to the roof water containing a fluorescent dye, so that water leaking into the building can subsequently be traced by means of a fluorescence-inducing light.

US-A-581 1152 discloses a forensic method for detecting and identifying unauthorised activities such as theft, vandalism or trespass, which comprises applying to a surface of an article a plurality of trace materials used to establish a database in which a unique combination of trace materials is assigned to a unique source. A composition is formulated containing the unique combination together with an indicator material and their solvent system, the solvent evaporating to leave a combination of solid materials on the surface. Subsequent detection of that unique combination, for example on a suspect's hands or clothing, can then provide evidence of the surface in question having been touched.

LJS-A-2008/0163706 discloses a method of identifying leaking water pipes which comprises injecting a different coloured pigment into each pipe passing through the area of the leak, and seeing which colour emerges at the site of the leak.

The present invention provides a method of detecting and locating leaks in a building which comprises depositing different water-soluble substances or combinations of substances as trace materials in different parts of the building which may be affected by water leaks. The invention also provides a building wherein different compounds, or combinations of compounds, in water soluble form, are deposited on different surfaces throughout the building as leak trace materials.

By keeping a record of which trace materials are located in which parts of the building, the source of a leak, and the path that it has followed from that source, can be detected by testing water emerging within the building to determine the contents of different substances derived from the different compounds located throughout the building.

The trace materials may be located in various ways, but are preferably installed as coatings on membranes positioned in parts of the building likely to be in the path of leaks. The trace materials may be coated or the membranes in powder or crystalline form, for example using a water-soluble binder. Since water passing through the building will also carry dissolved binder, different binders can be used in different parts of the building to increase the number of different combinations used.

Alternatively the trace materials may be incorporated in sheets or strips of fibrous material which can absorb water to dissolve the trace material. Such membranes, sheets or strips are preferably installed during construction of the building, since many of them will be located in relatively inaccessible parts of the building, but the invention also envisages post-installation in existing buildings.

A wide variety of trace materials can be used, the main criteria being that they be water soluble, stable over long periods of variable temperature and humidity, non corrosive and relatively non-toxic. They should also be compounds that are not present in significant quantities in standard building materials, for example carbonates or silicates. The preferred materials include water soluble salts of various metals, such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, aluminium and zinc. The metal salts may be of organic or inorganic acids, for example chlorides, sulphates, sulphites, bisulphites, nitrates, nitrites, acetates, sorbates, propionates, benzoates and borates. Among preferred salts, those whose cations and acid radicals can be detected by simple chemical tests are preferred, but spectrographic and chromatographic methods of analysis can also be used.

As well as inorganic materials such as salts, soluble organic materials such as sugars may be used as trace materials.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, which shows in cross section a part of a building including a floating floor and a cavity wall partition.

The drawing shows in cross section a concrete floor 1 which on which are laid water-detecting membranes 2, 4 positioned under floating floors 9 which are supported on wooden batons 8.

Between the two floating floors shown is a cavity partition wall comprising plasterboard wall surfaces 12 supported by metal studs 13, with a cavity 14 between them. At the bottom of the cavity is a further water detecting membrane 3.

Flexible or acoustic sealants are provided below the wooden studs 8 and plaster board panels 12 respectively. Resilient flanking strips 10 are provided between the plaster board panels 12 and abutting edges of chipboard flooring 9, these edges being surmounted by skirting boards 11.

The membranes 2, 3, 4 are suitably made of water resistant material so that water dripping onto them runs over them rather than through them.

The membranes 2, 3, 4 each carry a layer of a water soluble compound such as one of the metal salts or other compounds discussed above. Each of these membranes may be coated with a different compound since water crossing each of them may come from a different part of the building.

The membranes 2, 3, 4 may be located throughout the building at the time of construction, or may be installed subsequently in an existing building. At the time of installation, a record is made of the position of each membrane, with an indication of the tracing compound with which it is coated.

Water leaks in multi-story buildings often travel down through the building unnoticed until they emerge several floors below the source of the leak, often in a basement or underground car park. Water that has travelled that distance is likely to have crossed a substantial number of membranes coated with trace materials, and analysis of water collected can indicate over which membranes the leak has flowed, enabling the leak to be traced back to its source.

One way of distributing trace material might for example be to allocate a different acid radical to each floor, for example chloride in the roof space above the top floor, sorbate under the top floor, benzoate on the floor below that, sulphites on the floor below that and so on down to ground level, and on each floor to allocate a different metal for each area. If analysis showed a substantial content of chloride irons, it would be apparent that the leak had passed through the top floor rather than for example coming from a leaky water pipe lower down. The more different acid radicals were found in the water, the more floors the leak would have travelled through. Once a floor has been identified, the predominance of one metal cation would indicate the area of that floor from which the leak was most likely to originate.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method of detecting and locating leaks in a building which comprises depositing different water-soluble substances as trace materials in different parts of the building which may be affected by water leaks.
2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the trace materials are installed as coatings on membranes.
3. A method according to claim 2 wherein the membranes are water-resistant.
4. A method according to any preceding claim wherein the trace materials are located in cavities between walls and/or under floating floors.
5. A method according to any preceding claim wherein the trace materials include soluble metal salts.
6. A method according to claim 5 wherein the metal salts include salts of sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, aluminium and/or zinc.
7. A method according to claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the metal salts include chlorides, sulphates, sulphites, bisulphites, nitrates, nitrites, acetates, sorbates, propionates, benzoates and borates.
8. A method according to any preceding claim which includes the step of analysing water from a leak within the building to determine the trace materials present therein, and checking the detected materials against a record of trace materials located throughout the building to ascertain the source of the leak.
9. A building wherein different compounds or combination of compounds, in water-soluble form, are deposited on different surfaces throughout the building as leak trace materials.
10. A building according to claim 9 wherein the leak trace materials are coated on membranes.
11. A building according to claim 9 wherein the leak trace materials are incorporated in fibrous sheets or strips.
12. A method of detecting and locating leaks in a building, substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawing.