Water damage in your home can range from a quick fix to a full-blown emergency. You’re probably aware of typical pipe leaks, like a burst pipe or an annoying dripping faucet, but there is another kind of leak that can leave your home and its foundation in devastatingly dangerous condition. Understanding the difference between a standard pipe leak and a slab leak can save you thousands of dollars in repairs. We at PDS Plumbing have devised this handy, informative guide below to spot the difference and know when you need slab leak repair.
What Is a Slab Leak?
A slab leak occurs when the water or sewer pipes below your home’s concrete foundation crack, leaving holes or complete breaks. Because these pipes are below or embedded within your home’s foundation, they are impossible to access without a full excavation. When a crack occurs, water or sewage can seep into the home’s ground soil or the foundation itself.
Why They’re More Serious Than Regular Leaks
It’s difficult to detect slab leaks, and some can go unnoticed for months. When a slab leak occurs, the moisture has nowhere to go except for the concrete. Over time, this buildup of moisture quickly degrades your home’s foundation, causing it to shift, crack, or settle unevenly. This poses a structural risk throughout your home and creates an environment for mold and mildew buildup, posing serious health concerns.
While a burst pipe is easy to see and requires immediate attention, slab leaks cause serious damage in the dark.
Slab Leak Symptoms and Signs
Knowing the symptoms of a slab leak can save you the headache of a full-blown home renovation nightmare. Below are a few slab leak signs to watch out for.
- Running water sound: If all of your home’s water fixtures are shut off and you still hear the sound of running water, you could have a slab leak.
- Hot spots: If you notice a warmer spot in your hardwood or tile flooring, this usually means there is a leak in your hot water line running beneath the slab.
- Damp spots on your floors: This one should be self-explanatory, but if you have unexplained wet spots on your flooring, it could be from a hidden leak.
- Higher water bills: A sudden, dramatic spike in your water bill without any major changes can point to a hidden slab leak.
- Low water pressure: If you notice the water pressure is low throughout your home, this could be due to a slab leak.
What Are Standard Leaking Pipes?
While slab leaks are unseen and in the dark, standard leaking pipes are easier to detect and accessible within your home’s plumbing system. All of these leaks occur in places like under your sinks, within your walls, basement flooring, and crawl spaces.
Usually, traditional pipe leaks occur from aging pipes, corrosion, freezing, or an influx of water pressure. These leaks are much more common and easier to fix. For signs of leaking pipes, you may notice water stains on ceilings, puddles under sinks, or the constant drip of a failing fixture.
Slab Leak vs. Pipe Leak: Key Differences
The primary distinction between slab leaks and standard pipe leaks is their location and accessibility. Standard leaks happen in visible or easily accessible areas, while slab leaks hide beneath your home’s foundation. This fundamental difference affects everything from detection time to the complexity of a repair and the cost for the homeowner.
Slab leaks require specialized equipment from licensed plumbers, like electronic leak detection devices, ground microphones, or thermal imaging cameras, to pinpoint their exact location.
The time of detection also differs dramatically between slab leaks and pipe leaks. Homeowners typically notice standard pipe leaks within hours or days after they happen. Slab leaks can go undetected for months, allowing extensive damage before you realize there is a problem.
Fixing a standard pipe leak might involve simple work like replacing a section of pipe, tightening a joint, or installing a new fixture. To save on water supply, the government of California is also asking homeowners to report all standard leaks.
Slab leak repairs often require breaking through concrete floors, removing ground soil, or completely rerouting plumbing lines around the foundation.
How to Tell If You Have a Slab Leak
If you suspect a slab leak, start by turning off all water fixtures and appliances in your home. Check your water meter. If the meter continues to register usage despite no water being used, you have a leak somewhere in your system. Dampness, or unusual softness in flooring materials, can indicate water pooling from below. Carpeted areas might feel squishy or develop musty odors.
Listen for the sound of running water during quiet moments of the day. If you hear it and there are no water fixtures on, you could have a slab leak.
How Do Plumbers Fix Slab Leaks
Plumbers use electronic amplification devices to listen for the sound of escaping water, thermal imaging to identify temperature differences in your floors, and other advanced tools to pinpoint the exact leak location without unnecessary excavation.
Once the slab leak is located, plumbers have several repair options depending on the leak’s severity and location. The most direct approach involves breaking through the concrete slab to access and seal/repair the damaged pipe section. While this method is invasive, it provides a permanent fix and allows for thorough inspection of surrounding pipes.
Plumbers may also recommend a pipe reroute, which involves abandoning the leaking section and installing new pipes through walls, ceilings, or around the foundation’s perimeter. This approach avoids extensive concrete work but may require modifications to your home’s interior.
For extensive damage or aging pipe systems, complete repiping might be the most cost-effective long-term solution. This involves replacing the entire plumbing system with new pipes through accessible areas, eliminating future slab leak risks.
Call PDS Plumbing for All Pipe Leaking Needs
Slab leaks are a costly expense for homeowners and require immediate attention. While you now know how to tell if you have a slab leak, you’ll need a reliable plumber like PDS Plumbing for all pipe and slab leaking needs. We work in the Clovis, Signal Hill, Murrieta, and Bellflower regions. Call us today for a consultation, diagnosis, and repair. Whether dealing with a simple pipe leak or a complex slab leak, PDS Plumbing’s professional diagnosis and repair guarantees the job gets done right the first time.
