If your house or business premises are built on concrete slabs, unless you have rerouted them above ground, there will be several pipelines going through or under the slabs. A good robust slab plumbing will last for a long time, but at one time or another, due to one reason or another, they will start developing leaks. If there is a water pipe leaking under the concrete floor, it will most likely not get noticed soon enough. When it does become visible, sometimes it has already caused quite some water damage to areas of the concrete slabs, your flooring, sides of walls, and even carpets, and parts of furnishing.
How could you avoid water damage from leaking pipes in concrete floors? This blog is about helping you control such scenarios so that you do not eventually spend $10,000 or much more to repair the water leaks in concrete slabs.
This has happened to hundreds of people without their ever thinking it likely. Aging pipes, seismic activities, extreme weather conditions and changes over the year, and many causes sometimes combine in a way that a major slab pipe leak or burst happens. When a lot of water forms puddles, penetrates walls and flooring and creates mold, carpet damage, and various other things, the cost of repairing the water leaks in concrete slabs will not be just limited to inspection and pipe repairs.
You will be spending on advanced pipe leak detection, or might have to repipe the entire pipelines, get the flooring repaired, remove mold, cleanup, repair damp walls, etc. All that waste of water also hikes your water bills too. Insurance might put a lot to negligence or cut corners severely.
Many times, not doing some simple things, and in trying to save a few bucks, plumbing disasters happen and demands you to spend a lot more than you ever predicted. This blog is also about helping you understand slab plumbing leaks in a way that you can prevent them and prevent a lot of plumbing disasters from happening.
Time plays a crucial role in determining the quality of pipes, but other factors also accelerate the wear and tear of pipes. If your house or commercial building was built on slabs and were constructed in the 1990s or before, the slab pipes would have experienced a lot of wear and tear. Reconstruction work happening in and around the house and seismic activity also puts a lot of pressure on these pipes.
A lot of kinks and dents and a combination of rust and pressure on pipes weaken their structural integrity. Damaged pipes leak at multiple places and might be close to developing major cracks. Such cases of water pipe leaking under concrete floors could demand a whole-house slab repiping, allowing you no other options but abandoning the existing pipes altogether and repipe the entire lines, routing it above ground into walls and ceilings. The water damage could also be quite considerable. You can imagine the resulting repair and restoration costs!
How can you avoid such disasters? Get the slab plumbing checked and inspected. A slab water pipe leak detection might only cost you a couple of hundred dollars, which, although not a very small amount, is quite minuscule in comparison to potential risks. An established, reliable slab pipe repair service provider will give you evidence-based pipe condition reports and guide you in a way that the slab plumbing disaster does not happen
Corrosion is another cause of a leaking pipe under the concrete floor. When pipes are built of metallic materials like copper, aluminum, and some steel, they often are prone to corrosion due to moisture, water quality, and several environmental conditions.
The shifting pressure on concrete floors due to earth or soil shifts can be caused by anything from extreme weather, construction in and around the house, seismic activities, etc. Over a period of time, the rubbing of pipes against the concrete floor or against each other will fast forward its wear and tear. Hot water pipes under slabs are much more susceptible to such abrasion.
How can you avoid such disasters? Going for a plumbing inspection every year is a great thing, especially if your pipes are older by 10 years or more. You can also opt for a video pipe inspection to get an accurate picture of the pipe conditions, leaving you a lot of room to control pipe damage and leak repair costs.
The most common reason for slab leaks in houses constructed not many years ago is often due to the poor quality of material or installation. In such cases, pipes undergo much more abrasion and high pressure over certain areas, and leaks occur.
How can you avoid such disasters? The best way to avoid it is to not let it happen, but that is not always in our hands. The second way is to get a video pipe inspection done in a minimally invasive way. If the pipes have dents, bends, and other damage in various areas, some trenchless repair options can sail you out of any slab plumbing crisis.
Water needs to be maintained at a certain PH level. A very high PH level can make the water alkaline or soft, thus introducing the problem of mineral deposition and clogs. On the contrary, if your water level lies very low on the PH scale, the water might turn acidic, corroding the pipes.
How can you avoid such disasters? The best way to avoid it is to get water quality issues checked. A knowledgeable, experienced, and licensed plumber will offer excellent guidance on the steps to take that can ensure long-term plumbing solutions.
Floods, earthquakes, extreme cold in certain parts of the year, and heat at other times, all these, also affect the pipes under the concrete floors. Winters are the time when most slab plumbing disasters happen.
How can you avoid such disasters? Schedule your slab plumbing inspection before October, check the condition of pipes and take the right measures to avoid problems.
Direct access repair is often used for leaks that occur underneath the concrete slab. The process involves jackhammering the concrete floor and drilling right through to access and repair the water leaks. For initial instances, direct access or spot repair is considered the best way to repair water pipe leaks in concrete slabs. It is also, at most times, covered by insurance. But if the leak source is under your newly installed bathroom tub and or if you need to dig through complex plumbing systems and fixtures, it is often not worth the effort.
An experienced and licensed plumber will suggest to you the best alternative options to repair the water leak in the concrete slab. This would definitely minimize the restoration costs too.
As a homeowner, you might often fear carrying out any kind of repairs if it involves a lot of demolition and damage restoration work. It is worth exploring the trenchless repair options to repair water leaks in concrete slabs. These are minimally-invasive methods of repairing water pipe leaks in concrete slabs.
Rerouting works best for pipes that have severe damage, and are prone to leak frequently and at multiple places. It does not work well for all kinds of pipes and in all conditions. A 100% reliable plumbing service provider needs to be consulted.
Repiping can be the solution to all your leak problems, be it corrosion or aging, but it is often quite expensive. It is essential to consult a plumbing services company with the resources to bring the costs down and suggest solutions that last decades.
Check if the plumbing company you are hiring offers the services of a licensed plumber who has undergone hundreds of hours of training and has a good deal of advanced leak detection and repair experience.
Plumbers who are backed by a company offering slab leak repair services for decades and who themselves have repaired several hundreds of slab leaks could get you the most efficient solution in no time.
This ensures that you are exposed to fewer risks.
This means you do not end up having to pay for any error or flaws occurring during repairs or as a result of repairs.
EZ is a family-owned business run by fathers, uncles, cousins, and friends that are family and now into the third generation. Our goal is to provide our customers with the services of knowledgeable, dedicated, and honest plumbers and technicians. We hire only the highest qualified plumbers, and our teams are background-checked. Many of our plumbers have 10-20 years of experience and have seen every kind of plumbing problem that could occur. We pride ourselves on working as a team, and when in doubt, we always have someone to lean on for help. For customers, this means 100% secure, reliable, neat, honest, and expert plumbing repairs and solutions.
Are you looking for advice on slab pipe leak detection or inspection? Contact us anytime! We are open 24/7 throughout the year.
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