Leaks within your home can be very damaging not only to the pipes but also to your foundation, floors, and ceilings. Slab leaks are especially dangerous, as they are located in a hard-to-reach area that is not easily detected.
WHAT IS A SLAB LEAK?
A slab leak is a leak in the water line that occurs underneath the concrete slab of the floors of your home. Water leaking in this location causes severe damage to the foundation and floors of the residence, however, these leaks can go unnoticed for some time, as they are underground and therefore difficult to detect.
Slab leaks are caused by:
- Ground shifting underneath the home
- Copper piping of your water line reacting with the concrete surrounding it, causing it to become worn and corroded
After several years of this wearing and erosion, pipes become weak and prone to cracks and leaks.
WHAT ARE SIGNS YOU HAVE THIS PROBLEM?
A slab leak can be hard to detect, as they occur underground, but there are some telltale signs that indicate a slab leak is present:
- Unexplained puddles of water in the yard
- Puddles accumulating on the floors inside your home
- The floor being warm to the touch
- A unexpected high water bill
- Movement on your water meter while the water inside the home is turned off. If the meter is still moving, you most likely have a slab leak.
HOW DO WE FIX IT?
We either route new piping above the first floor of the home or dig into the slab to repair the pipe. Rerouting the water pipes is a good temporary solution that can actually last for several years, but it is likely that this repair will become necessary again in the future.
Digging into the slab is a scary thought since it involves tearing up the floors of the home, but there are ways of doing this that minimize the damage. There is a method that uses several small holes as access points to the pipes in the slab. Fixing the root of the problem is generally more expensive than rerouting pipes, but it tends to yield better results.
If you suspect you have a slab leak in your home, get in touch with us right away to avoid further damage to your home.
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