Slab Leak Detection In Texas

What A Slab Leak Is

A slab leak is a leak in a water line that runs beneath or inside a concrete foundation. In most Texas homes built since the 1950s, the main supply and branch lines were laid in the soil under the slab before the concrete was poured. When one of those pipes fails, the water escapes into the soil and the concrete above it.

Slab leaks can be on the hot side or the cold side. A hot water slab leak often makes the water heater run constantly and creates a warm area on the floor. A cold water leak is quieter and often shows first as a higher bill or a moving meter.

Why Slab Leaks Are So Common In Texas

Texas has some of the most expansive soil in the country. The official state soil, Houston Black clay, and similar clays across the Blackland Prairie and Gulf Coast swell when wet and shrink during drought. That constant movement flexes foundations and the pipes beneath them.

Add hard water that thins copper from the inside, pipes that rub against concrete or gravel as the slab moves, and decades of thermal expansion on hot water lines, and pinhole leaks under the slab become a regular problem across the state.

Slab Leak Warning Signs

• A warm or hot spot on tile, wood or carpet.
• The sound of running water under the floor with everything off.
• A water heater that runs much more than usual.
• Damp or mildew smelling carpet, or wood flooring that cups near an interior wall.
• New cracks in tile, drywall or the foundation.
• A water bill that keeps rising and a meter that moves when no water is used.
• Water pooling near the foundation outside on a dry day.

How We Pinpoint A Leak Under Concrete

First we confirm the leak and isolate it. Separating the hot side from the cold side and testing each line under pressure tells us which line is leaking, so we never search the whole slab.

Next we trace that line's route through the slab with a pipe locator. Thermal imaging shows heat patterns from hot water leaks on the floor surface. Acoustic ground microphones then listen along the line for the point where the sound is strongest. If the leak is too quiet to hear, tracer gas finds it.

The exact spot is marked on the floor so a repair can go straight to it.

Repair Options Once The Leak Is Found

• Spot repair: a small opening in the slab directly over the marked leak, the pipe repaired and the concrete patched.
• Reroute: abandoning the leaking line under the slab and running a new line through walls or the attic. Often preferred when pipes are old or have leaked before.
• Repipe: replacing the home's supply plumbing when there are several failures.
• Tunneling: reaching the pipe from outside under the foundation, sometimes used to avoid breaking interior floors.

The right choice depends on the age of the plumbing, the leak location and what flooring sits on top. You get a clear explanation of each option before any work begins.