What is a Slab Leak?

It is not a very good descriptive name. The slab isn't leaking, the pipe is.

Leaks in piping under the concrete in a home can be devastating if left unchecked. As soon as you suspect that a pipe is leaking under your concrete slab...warm spot on the floor…water running in the walls…wet ground outside the home that never dries…make sure to have it checked out. It’s probably nothing, but it is far better to catch a small problem now rather than a big one later.

A slab leak is a leak in a pipe under the slab foundation of a home. Often we are called for what appears to be a slab leak and it is not. We often find that, after performing electronic leak detection or even visual examination, the leak is not under the slab foundation.

What Types of Pipe Are Used Under the Slab Foundation?

The number one pipe used in residential concrete slab on grade construction is copper pipe or copper tubing. The copper tubing comes in 100 foot roles of soft annealed copper that is easily unrolled. During the new construction phase of a home the underground water piping is typically completed in a single day. The most difficult thing is making sure that the walls have been marked and measured correctly.

Plastic Piping Under the Concrete Foundation

Other piping such as CPVC, chlorinated poly vinyl chloride, and galvanized steel have been used. It has been a long time since galvanized steel was used and I haven’t seen this type of material in a home under the slab foundation in many years. CPVC is very similar to the white plastic piping used for water sprinkler lines. It is yellow or gold in color and is rated for hot water. Fixing it is very much the same as lawn sprinkler piping although a different glue and primer is used. CPVC should not be used under the foundation slab as it expands too much and this expansion causes tension in the piping at the joints.

CPVC pipe rarely breaks under the slab. The joints, 90’s and tees, often break causing flooding. In a track of homes that were only 6 years old in Coto De Caza we re-piped 89 homes that experienced failure under the slab due to expansion and contraction. The average damages to each home exceeded $40,000 with the most amount of damages topping $250,000. The re-piping was a small fraction of the total dollar amount. Wood floors, kitchen cabinets and refinishing were the largest sections of damage pie.

Our job is make sure that your water leak repair is easy and painless. We will work with you and your insurance company to help ensure that your investment in leak detection and pipe repair is an easy one to make.

Our primary focus is your convenience and safety. With two hour service windows 6 days a week, no overtime ever, we can meet you at your home at the appointed time for your water pipe repair. We will meet your time table for your slab leak repair service, guaranteed.