What To Do If You Suspect A Pipe Leak Underneath Your Slab Foundation

Plumbing leaks underneath your slab foundation can weaken the foundation, causing it to shift and crack. Eventually, a weakened foundation can compromise the structural integrity of your home and lead to costly repairs. Unfortunately, if you have water pipes installed under a slab, there's a risk of leaks due to ground movement, tree roots, and frozen pipes. You should fix the leak immediately to protect your foundation from damage. Therefore, take the measures below if you suspect a slab leak in your home.

Look for Signs of Pipe Leaks

Slab leaks can go undetected for a long time. However, there are signs you can look for to confirm the leak. For example, if there are unexplained wet spots in certain areas of the floors, a pipe underneath the concrete slab is broken. You may also notice a significant decrease in water pressure throughout the home. Severe leaks can spike your water bill despite usage remaining unchanged.

Employ Advanced Leak Detection Methods

Pipe leaks underneath a slab foundation are challenging to locate without tearing down the slab. Unfortunately, excavation can be invasive, destructive, and costly. Therefore, consider employing advanced leak detection techniques to pinpoint the location of the leak. These leak detection methods unearth the exact location of a leak without requiring excavation.

There are two effective methods of locating slab leaks: thermal imaging and acoustic leak detection.

Thermal imaging

Thermal imaging detects subtle temperature changes and patterns that reveal the presence of water. Thermal imaging cameras show where moisture has built up underneath the slab. The amount of moisture in the area can point out the severity of pipe damage.

Acoustic leak detection

Water creates noise and emits vibrations when it bursts through a broken pipe. Acoustic leak detection uses acoustic sensors to pick up these sounds and transmit them. For accurate results, the acoustic devices use filters to isolate other sounds, including noises from normal water flow through the plumbing system. 

Use Non-Invasive Pipe Repair Methods

After locating the leak in your piping, employ non-invasive repair techniques to prevent costly damage to your slab foundation. No-dig repair methods such as pipe relining and pipe bursting are minimally invasive, as they do not require extensive excavations. 

Pipe relining uses epoxy lining to create a new pipe inside the cracked one. The lining coats the old pipe's walls and creates a new, toughened pipe. The relining technique is ideal for minor and moderate pipe leaks. Conversely, pipe bursting uses a bursting tool to remove the broken pipe and fit a new one in its place. This method is ideal for severe damage, as it replaces the old pipe with a new one.

You don't have to tear down your concrete slab to repair broken plumbing pipes. Contact a local plumber for leak detection and non-invasive pipe repair services.

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