Handling Slab Leaks in Your Home
What Causes Slab Leaks?
Slab leak is the name given to leaks in pipes that run beneath slabs of concrete. Houses are sometimes built on foundations of concrete with the pipes running below the slab, which can make detecting the leaks difficult.
There are multiple causes for slab leaks but one of the most common is shifting soils below the concrete. If you have material such as clay in your soil, which expands and shrinks with water and dryness, often it will shift and crack the concrete itself which can damage the pipes and fixtures beneath.
How Do I Know If I Have a Slab Leak?
There are several signs that can point to slab leaks. If your water bill rises unexpectedly that could be a sign that your pipes are leaking. If you can hear the sound of running water through pipes when no one is using the water system, this could also be a sign of slab leaks. Additionally, if you notice there is a particular spot on your floor that is significantly warmer this could mean there’s a slab leak in your hot water line.
Water leaking from the pipes under your concrete will also likely leak out and saturate the ground around your home, so a slab leak will sometimes cause wet, damp and muddy spots in the area around your house.
However it’s important to remember that any of these symptoms could occur without slab leaks being the cause, so you should always have a professional perform an inspection.
How Long Does a Repair Take?
It may take a day to detect the leak, but most of the repairs themselves can be accomplished in about another day. Depending on how easy it was to access the pipes, whether walls had to be opened or furniture moved, it may take a couple more days to put everything back in order, but the house will almost always be livable during that time except in very rare and extreme cases. We always try and do everything we can to make things as convenient as possible for you.
Don’t let a Slab Leak take over your home! Call Metro Sewer and Plumbing at (423) 855-0967 right away for the best services in the Chattanooga area.