A slab leak is when a water line located underneath a concrete slab develops a hole or breaks, resulting in water leaking out under the slab. This type of leak can be quite serious in warmer climates like Arizona, where a large percentage of homes are built with a slab-on-grade foundation instead of having a basement or crawl space foundation.
What Causes a Slab Leak?
Slab leaks can occur for various reasons, such as the home’s foundation shifting or settling, abrasion, improper installation, or even just because of the age of the pipe. These leaks can be notoriously difficult to spot since they occur underground.
What are the Signs of a Slab Leak?
They also have the potential to cause severe damage to the underlying structure of a home as well as parts of the interior. That’s why you should make sure you know what signs to watch for so you can spot a potential slab leak and get it fixed as soon as possible.
Sudden Increase in Your Water Usage
The most obvious sign of a slab leak, or really any type of leak, is if your water usage suddenly jumps, resulting in your water bill being much higher than usual. While a household’s water usage can obviously fluctuate from month to month, you typically won’t ever see any major spikes. Even a tiny pinhole leak typically wastes anywhere from 3,000 to 6,000 gallons in a month, resulting in a substantial increase in the house’s water bill. If you have a larger slab leak, it can easily waste several thousand gallons of water in a single day.
Water Meter Dial Continually Spins
Most water meters have a leak indicator, which is a dial that spins any time water is currently being used. You can easily use this dial to check for leaks by first making sure no water is running inside or outside and then checking to see if the dial is spinning. If it spins when all of your plumbing fixtures are shut off, you should immediately schedule a professional leak detection service.
Water Pooling Next to Your Home’s Foundation
Depending on the location of the underground pipe that’s leaking, it could soak the soil near the edge of the foundation to the point where water begins pooling up next to the house. This may not happen if the pipe is closer to the middle of the home, but it can if the pipe is near the edge of the foundation. In cases of a small slab leak, the ground may not get so waterlogged that water pools up next to the house. Nonetheless, you may still notice that the ground in one area feels soft and spongy or that vegetation in an area is growing more quickly as a result of all of the additional water it’s getting.
Wet or Damaged Flooring
Concrete is more porous than many people realize, meaning water can seep through it fairly easily. That’s why another thing to watch for that can indicate a slab leak is if there’s a wet spot on the carpet or flooring in one area on the ground floor. As the water seeps through the concrete, it can also result in one section of flooring getting damaged and starting to warp or peel up. If the water is leaking out near any walls, you may end up with visible wet spots or water stains at the base of the sheetrock. Water damage to a section of baseboard is also a common indicator of a slab leak in that area. In many cases, you’ll eventually notice mold spots on the sheetrock or baseboard as well.
Hot or Cold Spot on the Floor
If you’re walking across the ground floor with bare feet or socks on and come across an area that’s noticeably warmer or colder than the rest of the floor, it’s yet another fairly good sign there’s a slab leak under that area. Cold spots may not be as noticeable except in winter when the water is quite a bit colder than the temperature of the floor. A hot spot is something you’ll almost always be able to feel since the water leaking out of a hot water pipe is usually somewhere between 120 degrees and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. That said, the water will only ever be that hot when the plumbing fixture the leaky pipe supplies hot water to is in use or was used fairly recently.
You Can Hear Running Water Under Your Floor
In some homes, you can occasionally hear the sound of water running through a pipe underneath the slab foundation when certain plumbing fixtures are in use. Hearing the sound of water running underneath your floor when no one is using your plumbing is a sure sign there’s a fairly substantial slab leak in that vicinity. When facing this situation, we’d recommend shutting off your water until the plumber arrives. That way you can hopefully avoid major damage and prevent additional water from being wasted.
Foundation Is Cracking, Settling, or Shifting
If you have a major slab leak or even a minor leak that goes undetected for a long time, all of the water can eventually cause your foundation to crack or your home to shift or settle. Shifting or settling often results in high and/or low spots on the floor. This sort of issue will often be more noticeable on an upper floor as a result of a beam on the ground floor sinking or upheaving. Diagonal cracks extending from the top corner of window and door frames almost always indicate part of the foundation has settled. The same is true if you have windows or doors that suddenly stick and are hard to open and close.
How Do Professional Plumbers Detect and Repair Slab Leaks?
Professional plumbing companies have several tools or methods that allow them to quickly detect slab leaks and accurately pinpoint their location. The two most effective methods are acoustic leak detection and thermal imaging.
Acoustic leak detection involves using a highly sensitive device known as a listening disc that allows the plumber to detect the sound of water dripping or running underneath the concrete slab. A thermal imaging camera allows the plumber to spot any spots in the concrete that are hotter or colder than the rest of the area. The temperature difference indicates that water is leaking in that vicinity.
The only way to repair a slab leak is to remove the section of concrete above the leaking pipe. The good news is that the plumber will be able to determine exactly where the leak is, allowing them to minimize the amount of demolition necessary to reach the pipe. Once they have access, they can then just cut out the damaged section and splice a new piece of pipe in its place. Other than when dealing with severe damage or multiple slab leaks, the repair process can usually be completed in less than a day.
Schedule a Plumbing Inspection Today!
Cal’s Plumbing is a local, family-owned business that’s been helping Tucson area homeowners with all of their plumbing needs since 1946. We specialize in leak detection and slab leak repair and can ensure that any plumbing issues in your home are taken care of properly. If you’re concerned your plumbing system is leaking, contact us today to get prompt, expert assistance.
