The Problem
A heritage city hall (1912) had a musty odour in the council chamber. Preservation rules prohibited any drilling, cutting, or demolition.
Detection Method
Tracer gas injection into plumbing lines. Identified a slow leak at a soldered joint in a 50mm galvanized line. Accessed via attic above — no historic finishes touched.
Results
Joint repaired from attic. Odour gone within a week. Heritage commission approved methodology. Documentation became part of conservation record.
“The tracer gas method found the leak without touching a single historic finish.”