A slab leak is the plumbing industry’s term for a pinhole leak that has developed in a copper water line below the concrete slab or floor of your home. They are also known as a foundation leak and concrete slab leak. Here are the most common slab leak symptoms:
- High water bill
- Hear water running but nothing is on
- Wet planters near the house
- Hot spots on the floor
- Wet base boards
- Water on the floor or carpet
- Water coming out below the water heater but the platform is dry
If you think you have a slab leak you should contact a professional water leak detection service as soon as possible. Failure to act fast can result in further damage to your home or office and the risk of insurance claim denial increases. The goal of a water leak detection service is to locate the leak quickly, creating the least amount of damage to the property as possible. Often times plumbing companies lack the proper equipment needed to locate a slab leak. Plumbing companies without the proper leak detection equipment often create as much damage as the actual slab leak by cutting holes in walls and ceilings searching, at random, for the water leak. There are four basic options for slab leak pipe repairs / slab leak repair.
- Direct Access: This is the insurance company’s term for jack hammering up the concrete slab or floor to make a spot repair on the leaking line. This is the quickest solution but not always the best solution due to the chances of another slab leak arising down the road. Most of the cost associated with this solution are covered by the standard insurance policy. This method generally coast between 1,000.00-1,500.00 dollars.
- Pipe Re-route: This is currently the industry standard for repairing a slab leak and the solution generally recognized by the insurance companies as the best. However this method is not covered by insurance policies and can run between 3,000.00 – 10,000.00 dollars depending on the size and area that needs pipe re-route. This method is done by cutting the water pressure off to the copper pipes below the concrete slab and running new plumbing lines through the walls and ceilings of your home or office. Other than the high cost associated with this method of repair, the biggest issue is the new plumbing lines are now running through your ceiling and, if you have plumbing failure, the damage to the home or office can be severe.
- Epoxy Restoration: This method of repair is only offered by a few companies and has its advantages and disadvantages. This method utilizes non-metallic PEX piping and can cost less money than the traditional pipe re-route method. It usually runs between 3,000.00 -4,000.00 dollars but is not covered by insurance policies. Epoxy restoration method does come with a 10 year warranty but this method has been known to fail much sooner and is only as good as the quality of PEX piping used.