---
id: KB-CN-024
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/construction/the-one-who-leaves-pipe-under-the-floor
idioma: en
categoria: sector-construccion
subcategoria: fontaneria
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-CN-023, KB-CN-021]
citadoPor: [KB-CN-025]
---

# The one who leaves pipe under the floor

_Yours gets tested once, with nobody watching, and then it is covered in screed. That test is the whole of your defence._

**Responde a:** how to document a pressure test · photos before screeding the installation · leak claim years later · what to record before covering the installation

What you install is tested and covered the same day or the next. **The test exists for a few hours and the result, if nobody writes it down, exists only in your head.** And unlike other trades, when yours fails it does not fail discreetly: it turns up months later on the ceiling of the flat below, with the floor already laid and a claim under way.

## What can be proved at each moment

| When | What can be shown | With what |
| --- | --- | --- |
| At the test | That it held | A dated record |
| Before covering | What is there and where it runs | Photos by area |
| Covered | Nothing | — |
| **When the damp appears** | **Only what was recorded** | **The first two** |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> **Recording the test is not the same as doing it, and in a claim only the first counts.** It is a harsh distinction but it is exactly how it works: an installer who did it and did not record it is, in practical terms, in the same position as one who did not. And since the test is done in an empty building with nobody watching, there are no witnesses worth anything.

## The four records that change a claim

1. **The test result, dated** — And who did it. A photo of the gauge is a perfectly valid record.
2. **The routing before covering** — By area, with something identifying the room.
3. **The singular points** — Joints, penetrations and junctions: that is what gets argued later.
4. **And whatever was outside your scope** — If you connected to something already there, say so at the time.

> [!WARNING]
> The typical claim does not arrive on the day of the leak: **it arrives after an insurer has commissioned a report and somebody has decided where the water comes from**. By then a section of floor has been lifted, there is a written expert opinion and a version of events formed without you. Arriving at that conversation with a dated test and photographed routing completely changes where the argument starts.

> [!NOTE]
> What tests must be carried out on each type of installation, how they must be documented and who certifies them **is determined by the applicable rules and the supervising team, and settled by your adviser or professional body**. Here we cover the operational part: how to record the test and the routing without it becoming a task separate from the work.

**Does a photo of the gauge count?**

It is a perfectly reasonable record, especially if it is dated and stored.

**What if an apprentice ran the test?**

Record who and when. That is half a question in any expert report.

**How long should I keep it?**

At least as long as the warranty runs, and your adviser settles that.

## Ejemplos

**The test is run and no record of the result remains.**

- Allows recording the test with a date from the workface

→ Having tested is demonstrable rather than remembered.

**Months later damp appears and someone is sought to blame.**

- Keeps the routing photographed before covering

→ You contribute something rather than a version of events.

**The expert report is written without the installer's input.**

- Stores the record with the project and accessible

→ The contribution arrives in time to count.

**The apprentice ran the test and nobody knows who or when.**

- Records author and date on every capture

→ The expert's question has an answer.

**Joints and penetrations are not photographed as routine.**

- Makes capturing several points in one visit easy

→ The record covers what actually gets argued.

**The claim arrives two years on and there is no file.**

- Keeps captures beyond the end of the project

→ The warranty period is faced with the record from the time.