Slab leak detection in Sacramento is a plumbing service that can save you thousands of dollars in foundation repair, but most people don’t ever schedule this service. It’s likely because most people don’t know what a slab leak is or how it affects their home. Keep reading to learn more about what this plumbing leak is and what causes this destructive leak.
What Is a Slab Leak?
This is a leak that happens in the water pipes installed under a home’s concrete slab. It’s a plumbing leak that happens in homes with and without basements. That’s because all homes, regardless of if they have a basement, have concrete foundations. When it comes to leaks, this kind of leak is one of the most destructive because it’s not noticeable to the naked eye—at least, it’s not noticeable until it’s broken through the concrete. By this point, your home could be flooded, have severe structural foundation issues, and require extensive plumbing repairs. These three reasons are why it’s so important to get regular Sacramento slab leak detection and know what causes these leaks to form in the first place. Knowing the causes means you have the power to take precautions against this basement plumbing leak.
Causes of Slab Leaks
Water pipes run under your home. These pipes carry clean water into your house, and the sewer pipes take wastewater away. If one of these pipes breaks under the foundation, this is a big problem. Some of the most common reasons for these costly basement plumbing leaks include:
Old pipes
Many homes in the Sacramento area were built 50 or more years ago. The main water pipes could be nearing the end of their lifespan depending on the kind of material they were made from and how well they were maintained. When pipes age, they become brittle and susceptible to pinhole leaks.
Bad water quality
If your home has hard water, you have bigger problems than the staining in bathtubs, sinks, and toilets that hard water leaves behind. Hard water has calcium and magnesium in it, which isn’t unsafe to drink, but it’s not great on pipes. Over time, these minerals coat the interior of pipes and cause corrosion that leads to holes.
Poor installation
New homes aren’t immune to slab leaks, especially if the pipes weren’t installed well. All it takes is lose joints and weakened pipe conditions to cause a leaky issue.
Earthquake
It’s not unusual for a slab leak in Sacramento, CA, to form after a seismic event. Even small movements of Earth and changing soil conditions affect pipes and cause punctures that lead to water issues.
Now that you know the main causes of slab leaks, there’s one more question: How do you know if you need slab leak repair in Sacramento? Stay alert for sudden changes in water usage like a higher-than-normal water bill, hot spots or puddles on the floor, or cracks in the foundation floor.
If you think you have an underground pipe leaking beneath your home’s foundation, you need to call for leak detection services right away. Don’t wait because that only causes more problems. For questions concerning a slab leak in Sacramento, contact Bullseye Leak Detection, Inc., right away.
Symptoms That Indicate You Have a Slab Leak
No homeowner wants to deal with slab leak repair in Sacramento. Fortunately, there are some telltale signs that you may have a slab leak. Early detection and a fast response could save you from more serious and costly problems.
Water Bill
It’s always a good idea to keep an eye on your water bill. If your water bill suddenly spikes without explanation, there’s probably a leak somewhere. Obviously, the next step is checking for where and how the water is being lost. If you can’t find a faucet or pipe that provides an obvious culprit, it may be your slab. Have it inspected for a leak as soon as possible.
Water Pooling
As water escapes, it has to go somewhere. Unfortunately, water can pool either inside or outside, so it isn’t always easy to spot. Have you seen water pouring out of an area without any clear source? The water typically pools near cracks, crevices, or seams, but it could accumulate in your kitchen or bathroom. First, look for other sources, such as a malfunctioning washer or other appliance. Once you’ve eliminated the usual suspects, you should get your slab checked.
Damp Carpet or Warped Wood
No one wants damp carpet, but it can be a helpful indicator that something’s wrong. As water travels and accumulates, it has to find some sort of path to take. If it can’t go out, it’ll go up instead. This sometimes leads to visible flooring damage. Even if you didn’t feel your hardwood floors getting damp, the water can do harm underneath it and out of sigh. Over time, the hardwood will bow or separate.
With carpet, it’s frequently more obvious. If you don’t feel the moisture in the carpet, it may produce an odor. A smell or mildew is a common symptom of a leak. As usual, you should try and find any source for the water. If there are not burst pipes, leaky faucets, or malfunctioning appliances, you may have a slab leak.
Mold or Mildew
Mildew or mold doesn’t always end up in the carpet. Damp drywall or moisture in your insulation makes for a great environment as far as mold and mildew are concerned. Moldy drywall or insulation might not be immediately obvious to your eyes, but the smell could give away the presence. People often detect the scent before they actually see it. There are many health-related symptoms that could indicate the presence of mold, although a mold inspection is the most accurate and reliable way to identify it. Although mold remediation might be necessary, it won’t treat the underlying cause, which is the leak. Identify the source of the leak as quickly as possible. A slab leak doesn’t go away on its own.
Water Pressure
A leak allows for water to constantly escape. Ultimately, this means that there’s less water available when you turn on your faucet. A loss of water pressure could indicate that a slab leak is depriving you of your usual water pressure. Do your best to track down the source of the leak yourself. Any burst pipes or dripping faucets should be relatively easy to identify. Otherwise, you could be looking at a leaking slab.
Top Problems Associated with Slab Leaks
Any leak in your home can be problematic, but slab leaks are especially insidious because of where they occur and how often they go undetected. A slab leak is simply a leak that occurs in your plumbing within the concrete slab beneath your home or business. They’re typically difficult to detect without the help of a leak detection service in Sacramento, CA, and once they’re found, repairing the problem can involve extensive cost and time.
Once you’re aware that you have a slab leak, there’s little time to waste in remediating the problem. That’s because slab leaks can result in a litany of negative consequences that can begin not long after the leak erupts. There are many signs that indicate that you may have experienced a slab leak, including damp carpeting, mold or mildew odors, warped flooring, a dramatic increase in water bills, or flooding in the yard around the edges of the slab. If you’ve noticed any of these tell-tale signs of a slab leak, your next step is to contact a slab leak detection service to find the leak’s origin. Failure to do so can cost you time and money in the long term. Continue reading to learn about some of the top problems associated with slab leaks and why speedy repair is necessary.
Severe Structural Damage
If your home sits on a slab, that slab represents the solid foundation upon which every structure in your home depends. The slab supports the weight of the building and keeps everything square, which is an integral part of the structural stability of your home or business. A slab leak undermines that stability significantly. Water pressure can erode the concrete in the slab and weaken the entire structure over time. In some cases, the runoff from the leak will permeate beneath the slab, washing out the soil under it and creating cavities beneath the slab. Though your slab may be built to withstand the forces that rest on it when properly constructed and reinforced, once the soil is removed from beneath the slab, it becomes compromised. That can lead to cracks in the foundation, and those weaknesses will be telegraphed into other structures in the home, such as the floors, walls, and roof.
Significant Repair Costs
A slab leak that’s detected quickly and repaired in an expeditious fashion can be mitigated before it does severe damage to your home. In those cases, the cost of repair may be comparable to the pricing for other moderate plumbing repairs. However, if that same slab leak persists in the slab beneath your structure, a simple and inexpensive repair can quickly get out of hand. Slab leaks that damage the foundation of your home quickly escalate the cost of repairs the longer they remain. The cost of long-term slab leak remediation can quickly rise to more than $5,000, depending on the extent of the leak and the subsequent damage. And that doesn’t even account for the additional cost associated with rising water bills caused by the leak. In some cases, your home may even be condemned totally, which can create great hardship and financial loss for the homeowner.
Any leak in your home can be problematic, but slab leaks are especially insidious because of where they occur and how often they go undetected. A slab leak is simply a leak that occurs in your plumbing within the concrete slab beneath your home or business. They’re typically difficult to detect without the help of a leak detection service in Sacramento, CA, and once they’re found, repairing the problem can involve extensive cost and time.
Once you’re aware that you have a slab leak, there’s little time to waste in remediating the problem. That’s because slab leaks can result in a litany of negative consequences that can begin not long after the leak erupts. There are many signs that indicate that you may have experienced a slab leak, including damp carpeting, mold or mildew odors, warped flooring, a dramatic increase in water bills, or flooding in the yard around the edges of the slab. If you’ve noticed any of these tell-tale signs of a slab leak, your next step is to contact a slab leak detection service to find the leak’s origin. Failure to do so can cost you time and money in the long term. Continue reading to learn about some of the top problems associated with slab leaks and why speedy repair is necessary.
Severe Structural Damage
If your home sits on a slab, that slab represents the solid foundation upon which every structure in your home depends. The slab supports the weight of the building and keeps everything square, which is an integral part of the structural stability of your home or business. A slab leak undermines that stability significantly. Water pressure can erode the concrete in the slab and weaken the entire structure over time. In some cases, the runoff from the leak will permeate beneath the slab, washing out the soil under it and creating cavities beneath the slab. Though your slab may be built to withstand the forces that rest on it when properly constructed and reinforced, once the soil is removed from beneath the slab, it becomes compromised. That can lead to cracks in the foundation, and those weaknesses will be telegraphed into other structures in the home, such as the floors, walls, and roof.
Significant Repair Costs
A slab leak that’s detected quickly and repaired in an expeditious fashion can be mitigated before it does severe damage to your home. In those cases, the cost of repair may be comparable to the pricing for other moderate plumbing repairs. However, if that same slab leak persists in the slab beneath your structure, a simple and inexpensive repair can quickly get out of hand. Slab leaks that damage the foundation of your home quickly escalate the cost of repairs the longer they remain. The cost of long-term slab leak remediation can quickly rise to more than $5,000, depending on the extent of the leak and the subsequent damage. And that doesn’t even account for the additional cost associated with rising water bills caused by the leak. In some cases, your home may even be condemned totally, which can create great hardship and financial loss for the homeowner.
Surprising Facts You Should Know about Slab Leaks
A slab leak in Sacramento can be one of the most sinister plumbing problems the average property owner can experience. They will elevate utility bills astronomically, they are difficult to detect and locate, and they can do a tremendous amount of damage to the foundation of your structure in a small amount of time. When they are located, it’s often difficult to repair them, which means the cost to remediate these leaks can be high.
In Sacramento, slab leak repair can be a massive undertaking that can be as inconvenient as it is expensive. However, with the help of a slab leak detection service, you can determine the location of the leak and its subsequent repair to minimize the damage and disruption it can cause you. If you think you have a slab leak, contact a leak detection service and a specialist in slab leak repair in Sacramento as soon as possible. Read on to learn a little more about slab leaks, their causes, and the damage they can do if left unchecked.
Concrete Won’t Stop a Leak
Some homeowners may mistakenly believe that the plumbing embedded in and located beneath the slab of their homes is protected. That, however, is untrue. Pipes can leak at any time, no matter whether they’re located in a wall, ceiling, or slab. In fact, there are leak causes that are specific to pipes located in slabs, such as leaks created by vibrations that cause abrasion between the pipe and concrete. If you don’t see visible evidence of a leak but see a spike in your utility bills, there may be a leak percolating within your slab.
Slab Leaks Can Be Detected
While slab leaks may be more difficult to locate than a leak that occurs in a wall or subfloor, that doesn’t mean there won’t be telltale signs of a slab leak. Some of those signs include wetness or puddling in the floor, water that seems to leak from the edges of the slab, a significant and sustained drop in water pressure, cold or wet spots on the floor, a recently-formed crack in a wall, or the sound of gushing water. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms of a leak and can’t find it in the usual places, it could be coming from your slab.
Slab Leaks Are Destructive
Slab leaks are incredibly destructive to structures because they can undermine the foundation upon which a building rests. If the leak is in the slab, it can cause even the most resilient concrete to crumble over time, which will make the structure above it less stable. If the leak is beneath the slab, it can wash away the clay beneath the concrete and cause a cracked or collapsed slab. In either event, a house is only as sturdy as the foundation beneath it, so a slab leak has the potential to take down a building if it is not located and repaired properly.
Your Insurance May Not Cover a Slab Leak
Some insurance companies exclude coverage of slab leaks in homeowners’ policies, especially when the effects of the slab leak are the result of a leak that has been ongoing for some time. Many policies will cover a slab leak if it is repaired as soon as it is detected, but that’s not a given. That’s one reason that it is critically important to locate and repair a slab leak if you suspect there is one beneath your home.
