Slab Leak Detection and Repair
A slab leak is a leak in a water line under your concrete floor. You cannot see it, so the first job is finding it without guessing. We locate the leak, show you the options, and give you the price before anything gets cut.
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Shut off the main water valve if you can reach it safely, especially if the floor is wet or warm. Then call and tell us what you noticed. Do not break the slab to look for it.
Find It, Then Fix It
Many homes in the Triangle are built on a concrete slab, and the water supply lines run through or beneath it. When one of those lines leaks, the water has nowhere obvious to go. It soaks the soil, lifts flooring, runs up your water bill, and keeps going until someone finds it.
The signs are easy to miss at first. A water bill that jumps with no change in how you live. A warm spot on the floor, which usually means a hot line is leaking. The sound of running water when every fixture is off. Damp carpet or flooring, a musty smell, or pressure that has dropped for no reason.
Detection comes first. We use listening equipment on the floor and the lines, pressure-test the system, and isolate the hot side from the cold side to narrow down which line is leaking and where. Guessing is how floors get opened in the wrong place, and we would rather spend the time up front.
Once the leak is located, you get options and a price. A spot repair through the slab is the most targeted fix. Rerouting the line overhead or through the walls avoids the slab altogether and often makes sense when the old line is likely to fail again. If the whole system is failing, a repipe may be the better answer, and we will tell you plainly when that is the case. Nothing starts until you approve the price.
Slab Leak Repair by Town
Most slab leaks are found because something in the house changed. These are the signs we hear about most often in Apex, Cary, Raleigh, and Durham.
If your usage went up and nothing about your household changed, water is going somewhere. A slab leak is one of the places it can hide. We check the meter and the system to see whether the loss is inside the house, under the floor, or somewhere else.
A floor that is warm in one place with no heater or vent nearby often means a hot water line is leaking under the slab. It is one of the clearer signs, and it also tells us which side of the system to test first.
Hearing water when every fixture is off is worth acting on. It can be a slab leak, a leaking fixture, or a water heater issue, which is why we check the whole picture before recommending a repair.
Damp carpet, lifting flooring, baseboards that swell, or a smell of mildew can all come from water moving up from below. The sooner the leak is found, the less of the floor is affected.
A supply line that is losing water can drop the pressure at your fixtures. Low pressure has other causes too, so we test before we assume a leak.
Homes built in the Triangle between 1978 and 1995 may have gray polybutylene supply piping, and older copper can develop pinhole leaks. Slab homes with either are the ones where a leak is most likely to show up, and where we look at the condition of the whole system, not just the one spot.
Clear Answers
Tell us what changed: the bill, a warm spot, a sound, damp flooring. We ask when you first saw it and whether the hot or cold side seems to be involved.
We listen along the floor and lines, pressure-test the system, and isolate the hot side from the cold. The goal is to know where the leak is and which line it is on before any work is proposed.
We explain the options: a spot repair through the slab, a reroute overhead or through the walls, or a repipe if the system is failing. You get the price for each before we start, and nothing happens until you approve it.
Sweetwater Plumbing serves homeowners in Apex, Cary, Holly Springs, Morrisville, Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill.
Helpful Details
A slab leak is a leak in a water supply line that runs under or inside a concrete slab foundation. Because the line is buried, the leak is hidden until it shows up as a high water bill, a warm floor spot, the sound of running water, or damp flooring.
We use listening equipment on the floor and the lines, pressure-test the water system, and isolate the hot side from the cold side to narrow down which line is leaking. The aim is to pinpoint the spot so that any opening in the floor is small and in the right place.
There are three common ones. A spot repair through the slab fixes that one section. Rerouting the line overhead or through the walls avoids the slab. A repipe replaces failing supply lines throughout the house. We explain which one fits your home and give you the price before work starts.
It depends on where the leak is, how many lines are involved, how the flooring is finished, and which option you choose. We give you the real price before we start, and nothing is done until you approve it.
Triangle clay soil swells and shrinks with the weather and can move lines under the slab. Copper supply lines can develop pinhole leaks with age. Homes built roughly between 1978 and 1995 may also have polybutylene piping, which can fail at the fittings. Any of these can show up in a slab home.
Sometimes. A leaking water heater, a running fixture, or a leak in a wall can look like a slab leak. We check those first because they are simpler to fix. See our water heaters page, or our leak repair page for other kinds of leaks. If you would like a second opinion on a slab leak or repipe quote, call (919) 679-1275.
“Matt was amazing! I've worked with many plumbing companies, and I will definitely contact Sweetwater Plumbing for all my plumbing needs moving forward.”
Keila Feracho
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“Sweetwater saved the day! I had an active leak from a water pipe in the ceiling. They fixed the leak promptly and did a great cleanup job.”
Sandy Alex
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“Chris arrived on time and made an assessment. A most conscientious and capable young man — the quality of his work was outstanding.”
Bodin Schexnayder
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“Great job. Punctual, professional, took time to explain the work, what my options were, and let me choose.”
Krista Summitt
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“Joseph was a great technician. He investigated the problem and walked me through every step of the way. So kind and patient.”
Connie Knox
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“I needed repair work done on short notice after a house inspection. Excellent work and great folks to work with.”
Jack Frankenfield
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