Are you experiencing the symptoms of slab leak foundation damage? Maybe you’ve never experienced a slab leak before, and have no idea of the tell-tale signs or where to start. Whether you’re dealing with a slab leak in your current home or looking for signs of slab leak foundation damage in a future home, we have all the information you’ll need to get you started.
Possible Causes of Slab Leak Foundation Damage
So what exactly causes slab leak foundation damage? The answer isn’t necessarily cut and dry. In reality, your slab leak can come from a variety of sources. One common cause of a slab leak is shifting soil or clay beneath your home. As the earth shifts and settles, your slab moves around with it. In some cases, this movement can cause your slab to become vulnerable to damages such as cracks. More often than not, you don’t even know you have a slab leak because you can’t see it on the surface. And a slab leak is not something to ignore or take lightly.
How to Detect Slab Leak Foundation Damage
If detecting slab leak foundation damage is so important, what signs and symptoms are you supposed to be on the lookout for? Luckily, there are a few obvious things to watch out for if you suspect a slab leak in your home.
- Increased water bills.
This is usually one of the first things our customers notice. It might take you some time to uncover the source of your high water bill, but you’ll definitely notice a difference when comparing a bill pre-slab leak with a bill where the slab leak is active.
- Hot spots in the floor.
As hot water leaks from your slab, you’ll start to notice hot and cold spots in your floor. To test for this, simply place a bare hand or foot on the floor and see if you notice a temperature difference that is otherwise unexplainable.
- Musty, dank odor.
Slab leak foundation damage, unfortunately, also means the potential for water damage, mildew, and the bad odors that come along with them. Don’t ignore your nose – call a professional plumber to have the investigate and uncover the source of the smells.
- You hear water running.
If you hear water running even when all the water in your home is turned off, then you’ve likely got an underground slab leak.
- Cracks in the floor or walls.
As the soil beneath the slab shifts, it causes the slab itself to shift and settle differently. This can cause visible cracks in your floors or walls.
How to Repair Slab Leak Foundation Damage
Once you or your plumbing contractor have determined that you do indeed have slab leak foundation damage, it’s time to investigate the best way to repair it. There are several options for repairing slab leak foundation damage, each of which depends on how severe the leak is, where it is located, and other important factors.
- Repipe – a repipe is a more drastic measure where the entire pipe is replaced. Sometimes this is required if your pipes are particularly old or outdated.
- Reroute – similar to a repipe, a reroute involves routing the old pipe to a different location via a new network of pipes. This bypasses the leak and solves your problem.
- Spot repairs – spot repairs are ideal for easy to find and fix slab leak foundation damages. This method is cost-effective and can be completed in a timely manner.
- Pipe coating – you can also have a plumber coat your pipes with epoxy to resolve the slab leak foundation damages. This is great if you have a series of small, fixable cracks in the slab and are working on a tight budget.
