Please can anyone help

[maxwell64]

We have a major problem in the house we have lived in 2 years. We recently noticed an alarming whoosing/hissing noise from in side a wall in the kitchen. We checked in the boiler room and the floor in there was wet as well. We then noticed that the grout between the floor tiles in the dining room (next room to boiler room) was darkening as though very damp. We called out a plumber who said that there was a leak under the floor and that it was nothing to do with the boiler as the pressure was fine. We have contacted our insurance agents who have been out. The problem now is that the hot water is very hot and the radiators only get very hot at the top. My questions are these:
If there is a leak under the floor could this be from the boiler?
If it is from the boiler why is the pressure OK?
Why do the radiators only get hot at the top (they can't all need bleeding can they?)
Why is the hot water red hot?
and finally........
Is the boiler going to blow up before anyone gets around to helping us!
The boiler is a worcestor combi oil boiler and it has been a right royal pain in the a..e since we bought the house despite the servcers saying it is only about 5 years old.
Any help very much appreciated.

 

[barkie1]

I would think that the mentioned leak is from the cold Mains pipe (to the boiler maybe). Hot water due to a reduce in flow of the cold(due to leak) over the plate heat exchanger. Cold rads at the bottom of rads could be sludge.

Just my assumption. If you can hear the leak try turning the main stop tap off see if noise stops? If not is the boiler constantly alight due to hot water demand, with no open hot tap?

 

[Burnerman]

If the pressure in your boiler remains stable, then the leak isn't from the central heating circuit. I would imagine that there is significant sludge in your system, causing the radiator heating issue.
So, there is a multitude of problems, unfortunately...to check if its a mains inlet leak, buy a cheap pressure gauge, and connect it to a washing machine tap. Once you turn the mains off at the stopcock, the pressure will quickly drop.
Is there an excess of condensation anywhere? If so, the leak could be the hot water supply to your taps from the combi. If no particular condensation the leak is likely to be the boiler supply, as suggested.
Copper pipes, buried in concrete, will eventually perforate unfortunately if they aren't wrapped.
John

 

[maxwell64]

Thanks for this. There was loads of condensation on the pipework coming from the boiler originally. So much so that the pipes were dripping. It's not there now though. We are going to contact the people who service our boiler today. Should they be able to tell if the whole problem is due to boiler malfunction? Could this also be responsible for the dampness coming through the dining room tiles. And what could be accounting for the noise of escaping water deep in a wall?
Many thanks

 

[HERTS P&D]

You need a competent plumber, from what you say, you have at least 2 problems. One being a burst/leaking pipe in the wall.

Andy

 

[Heat4input]

check the dial on your water meter if you have one,is it spinning?

 

[Agile]

The longer you leave a leaking pipe the more damage its going to cause.

Explain to whoever you choose that its a leaking mains water pipe which is buried in the wall.

Expect to need to get a builder/decorator to replaster and redecorate after the pipe has been repaired. Some plumbers would prefer that you get a builder to expose the leaking pipe first.

Tony

 

[maxwell64]

Thanks everyone. Plumber came and there was a burst pipe under the tiled kitchen floor. The sound in the walls was echo. The problem was due to copper pipes set into concrete that had eroded. The house is a bit of a mess and destined to get worse as the whole floor has to come up to replace all old piping but at least the leak is fixed. Thanks everyone for the advice it was really useful. Now I know where to come with any other probs.