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Started By
Message
I have a slab leak
Posted on 1/11/24 at 1:06 pm
Posted on 1/11/24 at 1:06 pm
I can see the water coming out of the slab below the brick line. There is a hose bib within 5' of the slab leak. It is on an exterior wall.
How intrusive of a repair am I looking at? I've always fixed everything in my house but I've never dealt with plumbing in the slab. Is there anything I can do myself to fix the slab leak or is this best left to a professional? Also, does insurance usually cover this kind of fix?
Will this be affected with the freeze that is supposed to happen this weekend? The plumbing company I called said that with the water actively running out of the slab, it's like a dripping faucet and won't freeze into the water tunnel.
I called 6 or 7 plumbers in the area and all of them are booked up until the middle of next week.
How intrusive of a repair am I looking at? I've always fixed everything in my house but I've never dealt with plumbing in the slab. Is there anything I can do myself to fix the slab leak or is this best left to a professional? Also, does insurance usually cover this kind of fix?
Will this be affected with the freeze that is supposed to happen this weekend? The plumbing company I called said that with the water actively running out of the slab, it's like a dripping faucet and won't freeze into the water tunnel.
I called 6 or 7 plumbers in the area and all of them are booked up until the middle of next week.
6
Posted on 1/11/24 at 1:30 pm to WhiskeyThrottle
Biggest worry is wetness inside the home. If its dripping outside, you will be fine with the freeze.
Posted on 1/11/24 at 1:32 pm to WhiskeyThrottle
What kind of flooring do you have on the inside? you see the water actually running? Or just a very small drip? Have you tried shutting the water off to the house and seeing if it stops? Just to confirm its actually your supply?
Your options are basically to cut open and repair that pipe, or to cap it off and potentially run a new one. Copper in a slab is not really possible to cap usually.
Your options are basically to cut open and repair that pipe, or to cap it off and potentially run a new one. Copper in a slab is not really possible to cap usually.
Posted on 1/11/24 at 3:48 pm to baldona
depending on where the leak is located and the size of the pipe, you may be able to run PEX through the pipe.
Posted on 1/11/24 at 4:00 pm to WhiskeyThrottle
Post pics
Is the inside area accessible to remove baseboards and cut a 4-5” tall strip of drywall out. Then pull insulation out and investigate.
The freeze will be awful. Most likely will create an ice dam outside forcing the water to flow inside.
Is the inside area accessible to remove baseboards and cut a 4-5” tall strip of drywall out. Then pull insulation out and investigate.
The freeze will be awful. Most likely will create an ice dam outside forcing the water to flow inside.
Posted on 1/11/24 at 6:58 pm to baldona
Have tile flooring throughout most of the house including where it’s leaking but no water at all around the leak inside. It’s visibly moving water. I wouldn’t call it gushing but it’s not a drip either. 2-4 gallons per hour is what I’d roughly guess. House was built in 2018 and I’m confident copper wasn’t used anywhere.
Called a plumbing company and they are coming Monday to deal with it. He said that they can cap it and reroute with pex.
I’m on a well, and I put an irrigation system in right around where the leak is. But I’ve ruled out the irrigation job as a source of the issue since I can see the water running from the slab. I don’t have a shut off past the pressure tank easily accessible so it’s going to run till Monday.
If all I have to do is replace some Sheetrock in the end, that’ll be a win. I originally thought it was going to be a jackhammer job.
Called a plumbing company and they are coming Monday to deal with it. He said that they can cap it and reroute with pex.
I’m on a well, and I put an irrigation system in right around where the leak is. But I’ve ruled out the irrigation job as a source of the issue since I can see the water running from the slab. I don’t have a shut off past the pressure tank easily accessible so it’s going to run till Monday.
If all I have to do is replace some Sheetrock in the end, that’ll be a win. I originally thought it was going to be a jackhammer job.
Posted on 1/11/24 at 8:50 pm to WhiskeyThrottle
Without pictures, it’s kind of hard to follow along and understand. I’m a plumber and when we do residential houses we loop pex through the slab with a conduit ell and head up to the attic. Other people do the same thing but sleeve copper in and take off with pex in the interior wall. Maybe they did something like that if you’re confident it’s not copper.
That leak would bug me all weekend. Could you break the slab a little and investigate further? Maybe you could expose the leak and temporarily cap it off with a shark bite fitting until the plumbers show up.
You also talk about the hose bibb. The hose Bibb is probably fed from your attic. Who knows? Maybe there’s a leak where the fitting connects in the wall and water is taking the route of least resistance to where you’re seeing it.
Again, I wish I had more information but good luck.
That leak would bug me all weekend. Could you break the slab a little and investigate further? Maybe you could expose the leak and temporarily cap it off with a shark bite fitting until the plumbers show up.
You also talk about the hose bibb. The hose Bibb is probably fed from your attic. Who knows? Maybe there’s a leak where the fitting connects in the wall and water is taking the route of least resistance to where you’re seeing it.
Again, I wish I had more information but good luck.
Posted on 1/11/24 at 9:03 pm to sledgehammer
Yeah I agree, but I’m not a plumber.
OP pex usually comes from above, not from your slab. So there’s a good chance the water is coming from above not below your slab? Water follows the path of least resistance and gravity, it can do some crazy shite.
If it’s in your walls leaking, it’s not great for it to be leaking all weekend. I’d be feeling around twice a day to see if you feel any wet drywall.
But as already stated it’s really hard to say how the plumbing is ran there’s a lot of options.
Have you looked to see if the lines run in the attic or ceiling? Some homes have a shut off to each fixture or to parts of the house. I’d try to shut it off or shut off the home water and see if that stops it, it may not even be a supply issue.
OP pex usually comes from above, not from your slab. So there’s a good chance the water is coming from above not below your slab? Water follows the path of least resistance and gravity, it can do some crazy shite.
If it’s in your walls leaking, it’s not great for it to be leaking all weekend. I’d be feeling around twice a day to see if you feel any wet drywall.
But as already stated it’s really hard to say how the plumbing is ran there’s a lot of options.
Have you looked to see if the lines run in the attic or ceiling? Some homes have a shut off to each fixture or to parts of the house. I’d try to shut it off or shut off the home water and see if that stops it, it may not even be a supply issue.
Posted on 1/11/24 at 9:38 pm to baldona
quote:
Some homes have a shut off to each fixture or to parts of the house.
Yes, sometimes there will be a manifold bullet fitting with a valve for each run. OP needs to get up in the attic first and investigate.
Posted on 1/12/24 at 8:20 am to WhiskeyThrottle
When I got an under-slab leak the wet area next to slab was quite far away from the bad pipe. Get it traced then reroute with PEX. While the leak detectors did locate the leak ($600 at the time), the plumber said he could have done the same without any extra fee.
Try and get a plumber who charges by the hour (individual plumber) rather than use an inflated fixed rate (large plumbing outfits).
My leak was in a line doing nothing than feeding the ice maker.
Try and get a plumber who charges by the hour (individual plumber) rather than use an inflated fixed rate (large plumbing outfits).
My leak was in a line doing nothing than feeding the ice maker.
Posted on 1/12/24 at 9:28 am to WhiskeyThrottle
Call 2 more, get 3 quotes!! We had same situation where they capped and re ran pipe through the attic. Wasn’t too expensive from what I recall but the first quote we got was double the price of the other two. It’s a job some plumbers probably don’t want so you may get a ridiculous quote.
Posted on 1/12/24 at 12:32 pm to WhiskeyThrottle
They'll have to find where the manifold us that feeds your hose bibb, cut it loose and cap it. Then reroute from anywhere in the attic or nearby.
It's pretty much guess work as to where the manifold can be. I've seen people with 9 or 10 holes cut in their sheet rock before a plumber found where the original plumbing was routed in a random wall nowhere near any other fixtures.
It's pretty much guess work as to where the manifold can be. I've seen people with 9 or 10 holes cut in their sheet rock before a plumber found where the original plumbing was routed in a random wall nowhere near any other fixtures.
Posted on 1/12/24 at 3:44 pm to MrBobDobalina
i had something similar happen at my old house. the copper between the 2 sinks in the master bath started leaking. that was an easy one we cut out the wall and the plumber cut the copper going down that we thought was going to the other sink and he ran a new copper in the back of the cabinet to replace the underground copper that ruptured.
I guess what i am getting at is if there are any sinks, tubs, or other water supply lines anywhere near the spot that is leaking more than likely it is connected to the nearest source.
I guess what i am getting at is if there are any sinks, tubs, or other water supply lines anywhere near the spot that is leaking more than likely it is connected to the nearest source.
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