Do you detect a low hissing, like water dripping, in the wall or perhaps from behind a cabinet? Is there an area on your floor that stays warm? Is the earth surrounding your foundation unusually saturated? If your home has a concrete slab for a foundation, you may experience any of these signs if there is a slab leak detection. Specifically: a leak on the pressure fresh water pipes that provide water to your residence’s faucets.
Homes constructed before 2010 typically contain copper water pipes. For example, if your home is plumbed with copper water lines and you have a concrete slab for a foundation, the pipes will be laid beneath the slab. Finding and repairing these pipes when they develop a leak might be tricky since they are not immediately accessible. This article talks about some of the numerous ways these leaks are fixed. The ideal remedy for you will depend greatly on how your property is designed and where the leak is located.
Leaks may be fixed in a few different ways. The quickest and easiest is to jackhammer the concrete slab away, reveal the pipe, and then repair the line. The second approach is to drill a tunnel through the ground beneath the slab from the outside to where the leak lies. The third method is to discard the leaking line beneath the slab and put a new line through the wall/attic. The final option is to set a new line through the current copper line, turning the old pipe into a sleeve. Learn more about these approaches by reading on.
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Jack-hammer the slab
This repair requires pinpointing the leak. If you miss it, you can punch many holes in the concrete and ruin the home. Professionals utilize several instruments to locate the leak under the dirt and concrete. Tracing equipment follows the copper line under the slab: they employ listening devices to find the loudest sounds. Infrared thermometers help pinpoint hot areas from hot water line leaks. After the evidence indicates a site, the flooring and concrete are removed with a jackhammer, and the ground is dug until the pipe is visible. A trained specialist will minimize damage and make floor restoration as painless as possible. Jackhammering by an inexperienced plumber might damage the house. This can fix slab leaks. The most intrusive option involves new flooring. It merely fixes the leak: that line may leak again. Even with the most significant equipment and ability, the leak may not be identified on the first try. Insulated wires and concrete foundation beams make it challenging.
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Under-house tunnel
Tunneling is the least invasive approach to restoring the home’s interior. Start by jackhammering through the slab to locate the leak. Find the external wall nearest the leak. Dig a 3-foot access pit. Then, you tunnel horizontally under the slab until you reach the site of your repair. This takes a lot of effort and is usually done by hand by an entire excavation crew. No heavy machinery can do this. Tunneling allows you to repair a more significant portion of a broken line. The tunnel limits what you may show. A tiny jackhammer must be used to chisel off the concrete to fix a water leak from a concrete-encased pipe.
It’s laborious, but sometimes this is the best repair approach. If rerouting is complex and the leak is close to an exterior wall, this may be a better alternative if limiting interior damage is a requirement.
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Retrace the Attic
Reroutes need to find and fix water line leaks. Instead, a reroute finds the line leaking under the slab and where the ends come up above it. After this, the old copper line is abandoned under the slab, and a new line is routed from “Point A” to “Point B” via the walls and attic. Plumbers use several instruments and procedures to locate the leaking line and where it enters the wall. (Manifolds are where copper pipes join in the division). Manifolds are found using tracing tools. After the manifold is exposed, pressure testing is conducted to identify leaky lines. Rerouting removes the line and prevents leakage. It requires cutting the sheetrock wall in a few spots, which is a drawback. It is the finest slab leak repair option when possible (especially if the house is one-story). However, a multi-story house makes it difficult—your home’s frame and water pipes matter. A firm grasp of plumbing systems and house structure is essential to executing the work correctly. It takes less than a day to fix a slab leak using current technology.
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Through the old line
Pass-through slab leak repair is often ignored; it resembles rerouting. It still eliminates the whole leaky line. After finding “Point A” and “Point B” of the leaking pipe, a new, smaller line may be run through the existing copper line as a sleeve. After passing end-to-end, the line may be reconnected and water restored. This option lowers the line’s diameter. Per plumbing regulations, a pass-through requires a new line large enough to supply water to fixtures. Experience and understanding of the plumbing code determine whether situations are pass-through candidates. Pass-through also fails more often. Running a new line through a kinked, curved, or lengthy copper line is tricky.
Alternatives
A new method called pipe-lining promises to fix slab leaks for good. The technology’s foundation is often used in commercial settings with big-diameter sewage pipes (that are not under pressure). It entails applying an epoxy coating to the interior of your copper water lines to prevent leaks and cracks in a home’s pressurized water system. The new pipe is effectively lined with the old pipe, creating an effect similar to the pass-through technique. While the concept is sound, many have been left dissatisfied by the lack of long-term reliability and the high expense of this repair. The next time the pipe requires maintenance, it will be a tremendous hassle if you choose this repair approach; thus, we don’t suggest it.
Conclusion
Plumbers often approach repairs for slab leaks with a “one size fits all” mentality. There are advantages and disadvantages to each approach to fixing a slab leak. In many cases, the most beneficial course of action is to change your original plan. However, the optimal choice will depend on your specific situation and personal preferences. This page may shed some light on the processes involved in jackhammering, digging, rerouting, and sleeving as they pertain to localized repairs. However, there is a plethora of additional information to be gleaned from any of these approaches.
