The leak under the floor

Request a callback

A slab leak is a pipe failure under the concrete foundation, supply or drain, and it's the kind of problem that stays hidden until the meter, the floor, or the water bill reports it.

How do you know it's the slab?

• A warm spot on the floor, a hot supply line leaking under the slab
• The water meter moving with everything off
• Damp carpet edge, buckled flooring, or a musty smell near a wall base
• Sound of running water with every fixture shut

What are the three ways to fix it?

• Spot repair: open the slab at the leak, fix that section, patch the concrete. Cheapest fix, works when the rest of the line is sound
• Reroute: abandon the under-slab line and run a new one through walls or the attic. No slab gets opened; often the right answer for older homes
• Repipe: when one leak means the system is done, replacing the supply lines beats chasing them one at a time

Detection comes first, acoustic or thermal locating pins the leak so the conversation is about a marked spot, not a guess. A big share of the county's 1980s and 90s suburban stock sits slab-on-grade, so this is a routine job for the pros who cover those towns.