If you suspect your home has a slab leak, trust the BC Team to fix it. A slab leak can lead to serious damage to your home and foundation, so it is important to find a plumber you can trust to repair the damage.
What Is a Slab Leak?
A slab leak is a leak in a pipe, normally a copper pipe, that developed under your home’s foundation. They can occur on either the pressure side or the drainage side of your plumbing system. Depending on the location of the leak, the damage can be catastrophic.
If the slab leak is on the pressure side of the drains, they’re easier to spot before significant damage occurs. However, only a professional can find a leak on the drainage side of your home.
What Can Cause a Slab Leak?
Slab leaks can happen anywhere in the United States, but residents in areas commonly hit by earthquakes, such as California, are more prone to them. Older homes are likely to develop them as well due to corroding pipes.
Outside of that, a slab leak can be caused by numerous things, including:
Poor Installation
Damage to the Pipes Prior to Installation
Foundation Shifts
Abrasion
Do I Have a Slab Leak?
In many cases, you can detect a slab leak without a professional — though you should call one right away if you think you have one.
Here are a few things to look out for.
A Sudden Spike In Your Water Bill
If you notice your water bill skyrocketed, it’s possible that it was caused by a slab leak. This is because the pipe is always running. Listen for running pipes around your home and check all of your faucets — indoors and out. If all of the faucets are shut off (and not dripping), and you hear moving water, then call a professional to see what is happening.
Check Your Water Meter
Turn off every faucet in your house and look at your water meter. If it’s moving, then you have water running in some part of your home. This could be a slab leak!
Standing Water Around Your Home
This could be difficult to spot if you have grass or live in a warm climate that soaks up moisture, like in Arizona. The key is go outside in the morning before your sprinklers come on and before the sun has a chance to dry anything up.
Walk around the perimeter of your home (you don’t need to be right next to the walls, a few feet away is fine), and pay attention to any wet spots in your yard. If you notice any wet spot — one that wasn’t caused by rain, runoff, or water naturally pooling in a lower point of your yard — it could be a sign of a leak.
If you don’t have grass, the leak will be easier to spot. You should be able to see a dark line in the rocks, gravel, or dirt, which will indicate where the leak is. If the water is settling in a straight line, call a plumber right away. This usually indicates a large hairline crack in a pipe
Other Signs of Running/Standing Water
If you notice any of the following in your home, investigate it immediately. All of the signs listed below are commonly caused by leaks within the walls or under your home.
Unusually low water pressure
Cracks in your baseboard or walls
Damp or warm floors
Mold Problems / Moldy smell
Warm spots on the floor
A raised dome in the floor -- These are caused by water damage warping your floor
Slab Leak Repair
A slab leak isn’t something you can repair without experience. In many cases, a slab leak will cause more damage than just to your pipes too — it can lead to cracked, heaved, and warped foundations and floors, mold, cracks in the walls and baseboards, and more. Because of this, it’s imperative they’re detected and fixed early.
The good news is that a slab leak repair is a quick job. A plumber will cut into the floor, replace the leaking section of the pipe, and repair the floor. However, if you have an older home, it’s likely that another leak will happen.
The only way to completely prevent the need for any future slab leak repairs is by eliminating all of the water lines in the foundation and repiping them through the home. The BC Team can do all of that for you at an affordable price, a quick timeline, and amazing service. Schedule an appointment today to experience the better choice of plumbers.
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