Is your water bill too high? Can you hear a slight hissing sound in the wall or under a cabinet that sounds like water running? Is there a warm place on your floor that you can go to? Is the soil around your base unusually wet? If you have a slab base, both of these may be signs of a slab leak. A leak in the pressurized freshwater pipes that carry water to all of your house’s faucets.
Copper water lines are found in the majority of houses constructed before 2010. If your house is built on a concrete slab and is plumbed with copper water lines, the copper pipes would flow under the base. Since these pipes are not readily available, finding and repairing them when they leak can be difficult. This informative post discusses some of the various methods for repairing these leaks. The best option for you will be determined by the construction of your home and the location of the leak. You can also take help from a company who provides Best Slab Leak Repair in El Cajon to detect leaks fast and fix these kinds of issues.
Innovative ways to fix slab leaks
1. Jack-hammer the slab
The most important part of this form of repair is pinpointing the leak. If you miss it, you risk punching several holes in the concrete and creating a massive mess inside the building. Professionals use a variety of methods to locate the leak under the soil and asphalt. They use tracing equipment and Infrared thermometers to pinpoint any hot spots caused by a leak in a hot water pipe.
Once the proof points to a particular location, the flooring and concrete are jack-hammered out and the soil is excavated before the pipe can be accessed. A qualified Slab Leak Repair El Cajon professional would be able to complete this procedure with minimal mess and as little discomfort as possible. While jack-hammering, a less-skilled plumber can easily create a major mess inside the building.
This is also the best way of repairing a slab leak. It is the most invasive approach, however, and requires floor replacement. It also only fixes the leak in one place. In the future, another leak may occur on the same line.
2. Tunnel under the house
The most intrusive way of repairing is to dig a tunnel. In order to fix a leak, you must first point out the leak the same way you would when you hammer the leak across the slab.
You will need to find the closest exterior wall once the leak has been found. A 3-foot-deep access hole is dug at that point. After that, you tunnel horizontally under the slab before you enter the repair site. As you would expect, this is a significant amount of work that is normally completed by a full excavation team. There is no heavy machinery that is suitable for this role.
Tunneling has the benefit of allowing you to replace a larger portion of the damaged line if desired. However, the amount of information you can reveal in the tunnel is still minimal. Often the water leak is caused by a pipe that is encased in concrete, which must be chipped out with a small jackhammer before the repair can be completed.
3. Re-route through the attic
Finding and repairing a single water line leak isn’t the basis for a re-route. In contrast, a re-route is concerned with deciding the line is leaking under the slab and where the points emerge above the slab. The old copper line is then removed under the slab, and a new line is run through the walls and into the attic.
To determine which line is the leaking line and where it enters the wall, a professional Slab Leak Repair El Cajon company employs a range of materials, equipment, and methods.. When the manifold is revealed, pressure measurement techniques and methods are used to assess which lines are leaking.
Re-routing is a positive choice since it removes the entire line and eliminates the possibility of possible leaks. One of the drawbacks is that it normally necessitates making a few holes in the sheetrock wall. Wherever possible, it is commonly regarded as the best way of fixing a slab leak.
However, if the house has several floors, it can be difficult. A lot depends on how your house is built and how the water lines are laid out. To do the job correctly, you’ll need a clear understanding of plumbing systems and house design. It’s the most technically advanced method of fixing a slab leak, but it normally takes less than a day to complete with the help of a Slab Leak Repair El Cajon professional.
4. Pass-through the old line
Pass-through is an often-overlooked form of slab leak repair. It’s a lot like the reroute strategy. Even then, the entire leaking line is eliminated. Once the leaking line has been identified, a new, smaller line may often be routed through the old copper line as a sleeve. The line can be reconnected and the water can be replaced until it has been passed through from end to end.
However, you can’t do a pass-through unless the new line is large enough to supply water to the fixtures in accordance with plumbing codes.
Another disadvantage of pass-through is that it has a greater chance of failing. It may be difficult to run a new copper line through an old one that is kinked, twisted, or very long.
5. Pipe-lining
Pipe-lining is a relatively recent technique that has been touted as a viable solution for slab leaks. The technology’s foundation is often used in commercial environments in broad diameter sewage lines. It entails using epoxy to coat the inside of your copper water pipes, which seals any leaks or holes in residential pressurized water systems. The inside of the pipe is essentially lined with a new one, similar to the pass-through method.
Unfortunately, though it seems to work in principle, many people have been disappointed with the repair’s longevity and initial costs. It’s not a form of repair we suggest because it creates a major headache when the pipe has to be serviced later.
Summing it up
When it comes to slab leak repairs, several plumbers take a “one-size-fits-all” approach. As you can see, each method of fixing a slab leak has advantages and disadvantages. Depending on the circumstances and your preferences, one of the other choices might be preferable.
In any slab leaking case, you should Get in touch with a trusted slab leak repair company in El Cajon. Our honest affordable plumbers are experts at finding leaks in slabs, walls, ceilings and examines your condition and assists you in determining the next steps.
Author Bio:-
Karl is a marketing manager at EZ Leak Detection. He loves to write about plumbing services, slab leak detection, slab leak repair, water heater repair, and AC & Appliance Installation in San Diego.