As a property owner, there are essential maintenance and repair issues you have to be on top of. One of these is a slab leak repair.
Essentially, a slab leak is a break in the pipeline system running underneath the concrete slab or foundation of a property. When you have a slab leak, you may be looking at a costly leak repair.
If not addressed quickly and adequately, it will only lead to a more severe plumbing issue.
When Do I Need a Slab Leak Repair?
While many home maintenance issues are easily discernible, the need for a slab leak repair is more covert.
You wouldn’t realize you need this service until the problem is severe enough that it could cause significant damage to the foundation of your property.
In today’s post, we’ll look into this type of repair service. We’ve put together some helpful information you need about slab leaks, so you can respond proactively when you need to call for repair service.
Texas Homes
Most Texas homes are built on either pier and beam foundation or poured concrete slab. The latter is comprised of concrete slab poured over a gravel surface or soil.
Contrary to what most people assume, a slab leak does not mean there’s a leak on the foundation. If there is a slab leak in your property, it means the leak is happening in the plumbing system beneath the foundation.
Slab Leaks: Three Main Causes
The three leading causes of this type of leak are:
- Corrosion
- Excess Pressure
- Abrasion
Many homes are prone to slab leaks caused by corrosion. This scenario usually happens in homes with older plumbing.
These plumbing systems are typically made from galvanized steel pipes or copper.
Also, water flowing through plumbing systems and pipes are prone to abrasions and leaks.
You can’t easily see if there is a leak in your property’s slab. As such, you should familiarize yourself with the signs to look for in a slab leak.
Symptoms of a Slab Leak
- As we mentioned above, slab leaks happen underneath the foundation of the property. Because of the placement of the slab, you wouldn’t see any visible evidence of a leak.
- However, there are signs you can look out for. Here are they are:
- Mold under the carpet.
- Puddles or water pooling inside and outside of the house.
- A heated floor.
- A higher-than-normal water bill.
- Cracks in the flooring, walls, or foundation.
- Listen if you can hear the water running from underneath the floor even if you don’t have the faucet on.
Keep in mind that these minor symptoms don’t necessarily mean you need a slab leak repair. They could be a sign of another plumbing issue altogether.
Don’t try to self-diagnose a plumbing problem. The best thing you can do to confirm a plumbing diagnosis is to consult an experienced professional.
Call on the Slab Leak Repair Experts
While you may see signs that indicate a slab leak, you still need concrete evidence. Don’t be that person who breaks open their concrete slab foundation with a jackhammer without complete verification of the plumbing issue.
With today’s more advanced plumbing methods, plumbing professionals don’t need to crack open walls, floors, or foundations to look for a water leak. There are reliable and innovative water leak detection methods nowadays that are not destructive and intrusive.
From acoustic systems to ground mics and other sonic devices, experienced slab leak detection experts can verify if you have this type of plumbing problem.
These sonic devices can pick up noise coming from different vibrations of water traveling through pipes. If they determine a leak in the pipeline, they can then deploy a video inspection device to specify the slab leak location.