Slab Leak Detection & Repair in Phoenix

Slab Leak Repair in Phoenix

Most Phoenix homes built from the 1950s through the 1990s have copper water lines running under the slab. Copper that sits against soil and concrete for 40 years, carrying some of the hardest water in the country, eventually develops a pinhole. The water goes down into the ground instead of onto your floor, which is why a slab leak can run for months before the bill or a warm patch of tile gives it away. Do It Right Plumbing has been finding and fixing slab leaks in Phoenix since 2006. We handle the whole job: locating the leak, opening the slab or rerouting the line, the plumbing repair, and the concrete patch, with a one-year warranty on parts and labor.

Signs You Have a Slab Leak

• A water bill that jumped with no change in how you use water
• The meter's leak indicator moves with every fixture and appliance off
• A warm spot on the floor, usually a hallway or near a bathroom (hot-side leak)
• Damp carpet, cupped wood or laminate, or tile that sounds hollow and lifts
• The sound of running water when nothing is on
• Water pressure that has slowly dropped through the whole house
• A musty smell or mildew at the base of a wall with no visible source

If two of these fit, do the meter test: turn off every fixture, the ice maker and the irrigation, then watch the small dial on the meter. If it moves, call us. The full list of warning signs is in our post on the 7 signs of a slab leak.

How We Find a Slab Leak

We don't guess and we don't start breaking floor. A pressure test on the hot and cold sides tells us which line is leaking. Acoustic listening equipment picks up the sound of water escaping under the slab, and thermal imaging finds the warm track of a hot-side leak. Where the leak is small or deep, we charge the line with tracer gas and follow it to the surface. The result is a mark on the floor within a foot or two of the leak, so the repair is one opening, not a search. Leak location is a flat diagnostic fee that we quote when you call, and we tell you exactly how it applies to the repair if we do the work.

Three Ways to Fix It

Spot repair. We open the slab at the mark, repair that section of pipe, pressure-test it, and pour the concrete back level with the floor. Least disruptive, and the right call when the rest of the line is sound.

Reroute. We abandon the leaking line in the slab, cap it, and run a new line overhead through the attic and down the wall to the fixture. No floor is opened. This is our usual recommendation once a line has leaked, because copper that has failed in one spot is usually in similar shape a few feet away.

Whole-home repipe. For a house that has had more than one slab leak, or has galvanized or polybutylene lines on top of the copper, replacing every water line once is cheaper than chasing leaks one at a time. See whole-home repiping.

We show you the leak location, explain which option we'd choose for your house and why, and give you a written price for each before anything is opened.

Slab Leaks and Homeowners Insurance

Many Phoenix policies cover the cost of getting to the leak and repairing the damage it caused, even when they don't cover the pipe itself. We document the leak location, the cause and the repair in writing, with photos, so your adjuster has what they need. If you're not sure what your policy covers, call us first to stop the water, then call your insurer.