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Plumbers of Grand Rapids
Plumbers of Grand Rapids
Plumbing · Michigan
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Slab Leak

Water escaping under a slab keeps washing out the fill beneath it, so shut the main and have the line located before the floor starts moving.

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When this becomes an emergency

What a pro does

Slab leaks are a minority of the work here, because most houses in this ring have basements and their pipe is out in the open where you can see it. The exceptions are consistent: a ranch built on grade, a garage converted into living space, an addition poured flat onto a corner of the lot, or a house with radiant heat in the floor. The plumber isolates the hot and cold sides and watches the meter. Acoustic gear then traces the sound of escaping water through the concrete to a spot worth opening. On radiant floors the heating loop may be the leak rather than a domestic line, and that's a separate repair. Then comes an honest choice between breaking the floor at the located spot or abandoning the buried run and rerouting overhead. Sandy fill argues for the reroute, because once water has moved sand around under a slab the support is already compromised and a second failure nearby wouldn't be a surprise. Whichever way it goes, the section gets pressure tested before the floor is patched or the wall is closed.

Frequently asked questions

If the house has radiant heat in that slab, a warm patch may be perfectly normal, which is why the meter test comes first. Movement at the meter with everything shut off is what separates a heating loop doing its job from a hot line leaking under concrete.
Because it moves. Water escaping under a floor washes sand out of the way and leaves voids, so the slab loses even support. That's what eventually shows up as a crack or a floor that feels different underfoot, well after the leak itself started.
It's a real fix, and often the better one. The new run sits in a heated, reachable space instead of buried in concrete, which means the next repair is straightforward. The trade-off is that the line takes a longer path and you live with a patched wall or ceiling rather than a patched floor.

Slab Leak?

Get connected with a local pro now.

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Keep going

Plumbing in MichiganBurst PipeClogged DrainDrain CleaningEmergency PlumberNo Hot WaterOverflowing ToiletPlumber Near MeSewer Line RepairSump Pump RepairWater Heater RepairWater Leak Repair

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