What is a slab leak?

What is a Slab Leak?

A slab leak is a hot or cold water line leak which is located somewhere under the concrete building slab. Here in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho slab leaks are found mostly on the west side of Albuquerque and anywhere in Rio Rancho where poly butylene piping was used to plumb the house. There are also occasional slab leaks found in the far north east heights close to the mountain where there is a lot of decomposed granite in the ground.  These houses are plumbed in copper and the granite combined with electrolysis is responsible for the breakdown of the pipe.

How do I know I have a slab leak?

The most obvious indication is water surfacing inside the house or around the edge of the concrete slab outside.

A leak under the concrete slab can also run for weeks or even months without a single drop of water showing up above ground. Usually the home owner will find out they have a slab leak after they receive an unusually high water bill. Sometimes the water company will call and let you know they have detected high usage also.

Other signs are:

•  A hot area on the floor.
•  A sudden drop in your hot water temperature.
•  Hot water heater running all the time.
•  A sound of water running inside a wall but no visible signs of any water.

How do I know where the leak is?

A leak almost always needs to be professionally located. The lines are pumped up with a gas, holes are drilled in different areas around the house and special gas detection equipment sniffs for the gas underground.  Gradually the source of the leak is narrowed down and a good location company can pinpoint a leak within a few square feet.

How is a slab leak fixed?

Once the leak has been located the flooring needs to be removed.  Carpet can usually be pulled back but tile or laminate needs to be broken out. After that a hole is jackhammered through the concrete slab above the location of the leak. Once an adequate hole through the concrete has been made the plumber will dig down to the source of the leak. When leak is found and the pipe is exposed and the bad section is cut out of the line and replaced. The water is turned on the repair is pressure tested. If there is no sign of anymore leaking the sand is backfilled and compacted and the concrete is replaced. The process can take 3-4 hours for an easy leak to over a day for more difficult repairs.