Top Most 8 Tips For Finding Leak Detection Under A Concrete Slab
There’s no significance in replacing the plumbing system before its allotted lifespan. It is best to take periodic maintenance of your water pipelines to enhance the performance of plumbing systems and to prevent a water leak under the concrete slabs or elsewhere in the house.
Every home needs a robust plumbing system for efficient functioning. Therefore, regularly taking care of the water pipelines seems crucial to prevent significant disruptions. A majority of homeowners have faced some water leakage problems at any point in their lives. Certain precautions are mandatory to ensure safety and prevent substantial issues. The more you keep the water leak issues for the future, the greater you have to spend on the repair costs.
Leaks, if not cared for timely, can cause significant problems. If you want your plumbing in good condition, thoroughly check the floors with a water leak detector regularly.
Slab leaks are one of the most common issues every homeowner faces due to chemical reactions, defective installation, poor water lines, and other factors. Most times, the leakage seems challenging to identify, thus can further damage the sewer lines. Therefore, you must keep in contact with professional plumbers to deal with the slab leaks and maintain the structure of your home.
How to find a water leak inside a wall?
Do you suspect water leakage coming from the wall? If that happens seriously, it can damage your property and affect your family’s health. To avoid spending thousands of dollars on repairing the damage, it is best to pay close attention and find water leakage inside the wall as soon as possible. The most probable signs of water leakage are:
- Musty smell
- discolored ceiling and areas
- Wet wall
- Formation of brown or black molds
- Peeled wallpaper or paint
- Dripping water sound
Before you take any drastic step on your own, it will be all worthwhile to take advice from the most trustworthy plumbing professional and let them repair and replace the pipes to save time and money.
8 Tips for Finding Leak Detection under a Concrete Slab
Now, how would you identify a slab leak in your home? The underground water and slab leakage sound similar to you, although they are pretty different. Without proper identification, the repair process will go in vain.
Here are some of the most prominent ways of leak detection that you should be aware of:
Spotting damp areas
The simplest way to identify slab leakage is by finding damp areas or water spots on the floor. Due to the dripping of hot water, these spots usually appear. While walking barefoot on the floor, you will either feel them or see the spots. Not only that, you can even hear the rushing sound of water beneath the floor.
Elevated water bills
If you suddenly discover that the water bill is going up drastically within a short period, it will indicate the potential leakage under the concrete slab. If you can’t locate any leakage over the ground, the rising water bills will make you aware of the slab leak.
Swelling of slabs
In case the slab sewer lines start leaking, it will be difficult for you to spot the leakage visibly. This type of leak is, generally, not visible, and thus you don’t get aware of any damage to your foundation. Due to the heaving, areas with expansive soil cause the slab to puff up. You have to keep your eyes on the raised sections of the floor to pinpoint the potential leaks.
Examine the water meter
Examining the water meter is the most acceptable way of detecting water leakage. Choose a time and shut all the fixtures to see whether the water dial is moving. Check the dial and put down the entry. Don’t let anyone use the water from taps. After some time, again inspect the number shown on the water meter. If you see an increased number, it could be because of water leakage under the slab this time.
Cracked floors and bubbles in tiles
Finding bubbles or cracks in your linoleum flooring indicates water leakage under the concrete slabs. The formation of mildew in covered areas also detects water leakage.
Warmer floor
If you feel that one of the flooring spaces is warm, there’s a leakage in ten hot water pipelines under the slab. Going by the statistics, hot water lines are more exposed to rupture.
Decreased water pressure
Since water lines stay under heavy pressure, it leads to forceful flow. Whenever the pipeline starts leaking, it will affect the water pressure, and there’s a visible loss of water flow.
The background sound of flowing water
Even after not using any fixture or tap water, if you hear the echo of running water in the background, that indicates probable signs of underground slab leakage or wall pipe leakage.
Have you seen any of these signs mentioned above?
If you find signs of water leaks, you should immediately call an expert company that offers water leak detection services in Orange county. With advanced level inspection, the professionals find out the leakage spots and ensure effective repairing to reduce your overall expenses. If they think that your foundation or some specific walls need quick servicing, they will inform you during the process.
Causes of a water leak under a concrete slab
Every home needs a well-structured plumbing system to do the daily functions effortlessly. When the house becomes old and degraded – the water pipes start to get leaked underneath the concrete slab. Water leakage gradually damages the structure of a home and can cause serious health issues for the residents. Therefore, the first step to preventing the leaking is locating the signs and calling professional plumbing services to get help for long-term solutions.
Multiple factors cause leakage under the slabs:
- Poor construction of the house
- Pipe rupture during slab settling
- Corrosion over the pipes
- Degraded pipes are caused by friction between gravel, pipes, and concrete
- Sub-standard and low-quality pipe installation
- Forceful water flow
- Movement of expansive soils
- Concrete segregation
- Improper artistry
- An extreme variation in temperature
- Emergence of honeycomb
- Earth tremor
Aftereffects of Slab leaks
If you can’t locate the slab leaks on time or cannot repair them as soon as possible, it can cause costly damage to your property. Take a look at some of the consequences that you can face due to slab leakage:
- Cracked tiles, overflowed carpeting, and drenched floors
- Weakened home infrastructure
- Emission of musty odors
- Yard flooding
- Upper respiratory infection among the family members
- Mold growth and damage
How long does it take to fix a slab leak?
For most homeowners, slab leakages are dangerous! These water leaks can result in massive damage to the overall infrastructure. However, never make the mistake of fixing the leakage on your own. When your home is seriously threatened, you should call the most qualified leak repair experts to get the job done.
To know the fixing process in detail, you must acknowledge the duration of repairing your slab leaks. As soon as you contact a reliable plumber, they come to your place and pinpoint the accurate location of the slab leakage. Since they employ the most advanced tools like video pipe cameras, pressure sensors, and other equipment, they can easily detect the leakage and starts repairing accordingly.
Usually, fixing the slab leakage takes between one to three days. The fixing duration might vary due to factors like the plumber’s repair method and the damage scale. After thoroughly examining the damage, the plumber will select the most suitable repairing method and handle the mishap.
Three practical ways of fixing the slab leakage
Opening up the foundation
Among all the repairing methods, this is pretty common. Under this method, the plumbers cut the foundation, dig through the slab, and replace the ruptured pipe with the new one.
Reinstalling the plumbing system
In old houses, slab leakage is a recurring problem. Thus, the most efficient plumbers decide to eliminate the old ones with the new plumbing system.
Foaming treatment
To fix the leakage in concrete slabs, professionals often inject a special foam into the burst pipe to secure it. As a result, water can’t break out from the pipe or outreach the surface.
If you neglect to repair the water leaks early, you will experience significant damage in multiple forms like floor deterioration, mold forming, cracked foundation, and many others.
Looking at all these hazards, it is recommended to take proper actions and prevent slab leakage from occurring in your building. Calling upon the most diligent leak detection services will help you get rid of any emergencies and prevent any disruption. Regular maintenance of the overall plumbing system with the highly skilled team of Calli’s Choice Plumbing and Restoration enhances the pipelines’ lifespan and avoids leakage damage. Reach us immediately and ward off further damage.
