A slab leak doesn’t fix itself

A leak under the foundation runs all day and all night. You pay for every gallon on the water bill, and the water goes into the soil under your house the whole time. The longer it runs, the more floor usually has to come up to fix it.

If water is coming up through the floor right now, shut off the main valve. Then call.

How slab leaks get fixed

First the leak has to be found. A slab leak plumber confirms it, figures out which line it’s on, and pinpoints the spot under the floor, usually without breaking anything to look. See slab leak detection.

Then there are a few ways to fix it, and the right one depends on where the leak is and how old the rest of your plumbing is.

Spot repair. The plumber opens the floor right over the leak, fixes the pipe, and patches the concrete. It’s the most direct fix when the leak is in an easy spot and the rest of the pipe is in decent shape. The catch is the flooring. Tile, wood, or carpet over that spot comes up, and matching it isn’t always easy.

Reroute. The leaking line gets abandoned under the slab, and a new one runs through the walls or attic instead. No jackhammer, and no second leak on that same line down the road. See pipe rerouting.

Repipe. If you’ve had more than one slab leak, or the house still has its original pipes, replacing the whole system can cost less than chasing leaks one at a time. See whole-house repipe.

Drain and sewer lines under the slab are a different animal. They don’t show up on the water meter, and they’re tested a different way. See sewer and drain under the slab.

What can we help with?

Local to North Tarrant County

Pick your city to see who to call at the city and what your water utility offers when a leak runs up your bill.

We also cover Trophy Club, Westlake, Grapevine, Haslet, Watauga, Saginaw, Haltom City, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, and Richland Hills.

How it works

1. Call, or fill out the short form with what you’re noticing and your ZIP code.
2. A local slab leak plumber gets back to you about finding the leak.
3. You hear where it is, how they’d fix it, and what it’ll cost, and you decide.

Not sure it’s a slab leak?