Slab Leak Repair
If your home or business has a slab leak, it’s important to get the repair taken care of right away. Over time, a slab leak can end up costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Prevent major damage with a slab leak repair in San Diego from Bill Howe Plumbing.
What are Slab Leaks?
Slab leaks are pressurized water leaks in the water lines underneath concrete slab foundations. Slab leaks can occur in hot and cold-water lines, with small pinhole leaks or larger bursts. Most slab leaks Bill Howes’ plumbing technicians run across are in copper lines, but any water line in a home with a slab foundation is subject to a slab leak. If you need slab leak repair in San Diego, you can rely on the Bill Howe team to get the job done.
What Causes Slab Leaks?
Slab leaks can happen in both residential and commercial settings wherever a slab foundation exists. Slab leaks occur for a variety of reasons, including fluctuating water pressure, foundation shifting, and the age of the building and water lines.
Water pressure is one of the leading causes of slab leaks. Pressurized water servicing the home or business comes in from the city water supply and can have a pressure anywhere between 50 and 150 psi. Since homeowners and businesses cannot regulate city water pressure, it’s something that can affect the property’s pipes without the owner knowing until it’s too late.
Fluctuating water pressure, or water pressure that is too high, enters the home and, as it’s heated and cooled, causes the plumbing supply lines to expand and contract. This expansion, often called thermal expansion, can cause the water lines to create friction against the foundation.
Over time, repeated expansion and contraction can eventually wear small holes, known as pinhole leaks, in the pipe. Most homes in San Diego that are more than 30 years old will experience a slab leak at some point. Water pressure that is too high or constantly fluctuating also leads to plumbing fixture leaks in toilets, faucets, showers, and hose faucets.
Pressure regulators and thermal expansion tanks are preventative plumbing measures that can help with high water pressure, and they are now required by Uniform Plumbing Code. If you have an older home, Bill Howe can install and replace pressure regulators to help prevent a plumbing slab leak.
Signs of a Slab Leak
Signs and symptoms of a slab leak can vary depending on the location, severity, and whether the leak is coming from the hot or cold line. One of the most common signs is warm spots on floors. These warm spots on floors in any room can indicate a slab leak in a hot water line. As the leak occurs, the flow of water leaves the pipe and can travel up through the foundation, creating warm spots near the leaking pipe.
Check Water Bills
High water bills or sudden spikes in the water bill are also symptoms of slab leaks. Once the pipe develops a leak, water will continue to run even when no fixtures are in use, which will run up the water meter. You want to determine where the water is leaking from as soon as possible to prevent additional costs from water loss.
See Mold and Mildew
Mold and mildew in corners, especially carpeted areas, can indicate a slab leak and the need for a slab leak repair in San Diego. Over time, water moisture can build up and cause mold growth before a small leak is even noticed.
You may notice a musty smell before you see the mold and mildew. You may also see black spots on the floor or along the walls that continue to expand. Breathing in mold and mildew can be harmful, so it’s important to get slab leak service in San Diego as soon as you see signs of a problem.
Hear Running Water
The sound of running water can also be a sign of a slab leak, though it may be challenging to determine where the sound is coming from. The sound can appear to be coming from one area of the house or business, or in the walls, yet it is happening beneath the slab. This is the time to reach out to a professional at Bill Howe, who has specialized detection equipment and experience that will help you with your slab leak repair in San Diego.
If you notice any of these signs of a water leak, contact Bill Howe right away for a San Diego slab leak repair. The longer you wait before getting help, the more damage you may have to your foundation and home or business. Leaking water will also cause inflated water bills.
Precise Electronic Leak Detection Services
Many customers wonder if slab leaks can be detected using thermal imaging or moisture readings. While this can be an effective method to determine if slab leak symptoms such as moisture are present, it doesn’t accurately locate the slab leak. Slab leak detection must be precise, as repairs can change significantly even within inches.
Bill Howe uses electronic slab leak detection to precisely locate the leak. Electronic leak detection works much better than sonar; an expert slab leak plumber will use technology to listen for the leak location, which has distinct sound features from general running water.
Once our plumber has located the slab leak, they can begin a repair estimation. There are different options when dealing with an active slab leak, but it’s important that the right fix is chosen for the particular circumstances of the slab leak. Some will directly repair the leaking pipe, while there are other options to consider that will eliminate future leaks and ensure the whole home’s water supply is in top shape.
If the Bill Howe team detects a slab leak when you call for slab water leak repair in San Diego, they will let you know where the leak was found and the options available for repair. We’ll help you get it taken care of to avoid major costs in the future.
How We Fix Slab Leaks
Once a slab leak has been detected through electronic slab leak detection, plumbers will make recommendations for slab leak repairs. Slab leak repair San Diego costs can vary, depending on the method of repair. Not all methods are suitable for all locations. But our plumbers will give you your best options.
Direct slab leak repair is the least expensive and usually covered by homeowners’ insurance companies. With a direct slab leak repair, the plumbing technician will open the floor and make a repair on the pipe. This is done by cutting the section of leaking pipe, installing a new section and then backfilling the hole.
If it is underneath flooring such as hard wood, laminate or carpet, many insurance companies will cover the costs to put the floor back to pre-leak condition. Direct slab leak repair in San Diego is only covered by a 30-day warranty, and many plumbing technicians will advise that once a slab leak has occurred, customers are likely to experience another leak along the pipe.
Rerouting slab leaks is another option that allows customers to have peace of mind that they can eliminate further slab leaks in the line that has been rerouted. A slab leak reroute terminates the leaking line, then reroutes the water line above the slab foundation. Depending on the location of the line, sometimes reroutes are done through walls, or exposed behind cabinets or on the exterior of the home or business. Rerouting the line is usually only done with the leaking line, and it is possible that a separate water line, whichever is left under the slab, will develop a slab leak in the future.
Re-piping all water lines is the most recommended method of slab leak repair, but also the costliest and usually not covered by homeowners’ insurance. When re-piping water lines, plumbers eliminate all water lines in the slab, then re-pipe all the lines behind walls, cabinets, or on the exterior of the home just like with a slab line reroute, only more extensive.
There are times when rerouting the water supply or re-piping are the only options, such as when slab leaks are located underneath a post-tension slab foundation. Because of the build, it is not an option to go through the foundation to make a direct repair.
#1 Slab Leak Repair Services in San Diego, CA
Customers experiencing a slab leak should contact Bill Howe for leak detection services to understand what they may be dealing with, and their options. Our expert plumbers can assist in making recommendations and providing estimates to assist with insurance claims.
Bill Howe offers water damage restoration services to help mitigate damage, and reconstruction services to help put the home or business back to pre-leak condition or better. Bill Howe Restoration & Flood will also work directly with insurance companies for all water mitigation and reconstruction services.
We’ll send our team to your home or business to determine the source of the leak and the best repair method. Our goal is to provide fast and accurate slab leak service in San Diego for all our residential and commercial customers.
Bill Howe’s Plumbing Slab Leak Repair Near Me
For over 35 years, Bill Howe’s San Diego slab leak team have been the experts at slab leak detection and repair. Don’t wait if you suspect you have a plumbing slab leak. Contact Bill Howe Plumbing, one of the premier slab leak repair companies in the area, right away. Call 1-800 BILL HOWE (245-5469) if you have an unknown leak and want to learn more about scheduling, leak detection and slab leak repairs.