Common signs that you have a leak
Your water pressure is reduced to a weak trickle. You now have a swamp for a front lawn. There are worrying new soft patches and depressions in the ground. Your lawn might be looking much healthier in some areas than others, despite your efforts at watering evenly.
Popping Sounds
If you hear one or more loud “popping” sounds coming from a wall in the residence, this noise could indicate pipes bursting. When water freezes, it expands in size. Consequently, chunks of ice in a frozen plumbing system sometimes press against pipe, blocking the flow of water.
If neglected, slab leaks can cause serious problems, including wall and foundation cracks, high water bills, bad odors, low water pressure, uneven floors, and might even cause your house to shift and sink. To help prevent slab leak damage, it's important to schedule regular plumbing maintenance once a year.
If you suspect a water leak, you should contact a professional plumber as soon as possible. Don't delay – ignoring a leak can lead to more damage to your property. If you have a leaking or burst pipe in your home, you should turn off your water immediately.
Your homeowners insurance policy should cover any sudden and unexpected water damage due to a plumbing malfunction or broken pipe. However, most home insurance policies exclude damage to your home that occurred gradually, such as a slow, constant leak, as well as damage due to regional flooding.
With a burst pipe, water goes directly through the hole rather than the faucet, which lowers your water pressure. Wall stains. Stains occur for a few reasons, but large water stains on walls usually indicate a problem with the pipes. These stains also appear on the ceiling.
To make matters worse, loud noises coming from your piping can actually be an indicator of a bad plumbing problem or series of plumbing problems in your pipes. If left untreated, these clogging and drainage issues can become disastrous over time.
The banging noise you hear is the result of vibrations in pipes. The vibrations are caused by a surge of pressure in the plumbing system when a tap or valve is opened. Sometimes, water hammer can be created when a vacuum is formed behind water.
Use a metal detector or water leak detector
If you suspect that your leak is underground, you can use a metal detector to help you find the location of the metal pipes potentially leaking underground.
The shifting earth can crack concrete slab foundations and break pipes within or underneath that foundation. Anyone who owns an older home should also be on the lookout for any signs of a slab leak. Over time, the copper piping commonly used in these homes can corrode, causing leaks.
Water companies are responsible for the maintenance of communication pipes and mains which includes leak detection, repairs and replacement where necessary.
Most insurance policies will cover sudden or unexpected water damage caused by a leak, burst pipe or plumbing emergency. However, some do not cover damage that occurred gradually from a slow, long leak. Make sure you read your insurance policy carefully to see what kind of water damage you are covered for.
If the water damage has been caused by a damaged appliance or pipe that is still leaking, you may need to contact a qualified plumber or relevant technician to repair it. It's worth speaking to your insurer before making any repairs. Your insurer may send someone to visit your home and assess and report on the damage.
If you own your home, you're responsible for the water pipe that runs from the boundary of your property into your home, and the internal pipes and fittings. If you're a tenant, this is your landlord's responsibility to fix and maintain.
You only need to call the police if your unable to get access without breaking an entry or any other type of force.
The average slab leak repair cost, which includes having a professional come to your home to find a leak, ranges from $150 to $400, depending on how difficult it is to determine where the leak is. On top of that, the cost to rip out concrete and repair the damage to the pipe can cost around $2,000.
Considering all of the above 6 factors, most sewer repairs take 1 to 3 days. Other factors include if permits and inspections are required.
The slab repair specialists will use epoxy pipe liners to seal the broken pipe. They will do a camera inspection to see the extent of the damage. If trenchless repair is viable, they will clean the pipe, place the epoxy pipe liner and inflate it, and then let it cure. The entire process can be completed in a few hours.