Signs and Causes of a Slab Leak in Fort Worth, TX
Are you experiencing a slab leak in Fort Worth, TX? It’s a liquid leak occuring beneath a concrete slab or inside cement. It often results in structural weakening of a building.
Now you may think that the pipes hidden beneath cement or concrete are protected, or at least very resistant to damage, but you’re wrong. If left unattended, they can cause major structural damage and strip thousands of dollars off the value of your property.
There are certain reasons why slab leaks recur in homes.
Why Do Slab Leaks Occur?
Since the majority of plumbing in a home, whether it is metal and lead plumbing, or polyvinyl chloride and plastic plumbing, is hidden inside walls and beneath floors. This means that detecting damages and leaks requires a subtle eye.
In most cases, the damage is undetected until it is too late. When a slab leak first occurs, there are almost no signs that can help us detect it. However, as it builds and is left unattended, those signs tend to grow until they are all but unobtrusive.
Slab leaks in Fort Worth, TX can occur in the foundation of floors in either hot or cold water lines, although the former has been seen to occur much more frequently due to hot water pressure that acts on pipes and wears them out much quicker than cold water.
There are specific causes for the frequent occurrence of slab leaks:
Abrasion
Plumbing pipes can rattle around if the water moves through them at great pressure or speed. This can cause abrasion, not mostly because of the movement of the water, but the movement of the pipes. These pipes can knock against the surface surrounding them and develop micro abrasions that can build over many years. This is similar to the process by which weathering carves out shapes in stones and rock. It takes time, but since the damage inflicts, sooner or later, the damage shows.
Hot water lines are more prone to this damage as hot water generally travels through pipes at a higher pressure than cold water and results in expansion and greater movement of pipes resulting in deeper, more serious abrasions. This is why 80% of slab leaks in Fort Worth, TX are found in hot water lines.
Corrosion
Corrosion usually occurs in pipes made of metal and lead. These pipes are usually found in older homes, built before PVC piping became the norm. These pipes are made of copper, which is corrosion resistant, but far from corrosion proof. The chemical traces in water can rub against the pipe’s surface and react with it, causing corrosion. This can result in a small wound being aggravated into a gaping hole in the pipe. Such types of slab leaks are the worst. They can cause substantial damage in many cases, the only long term solution is for complete re-piping to be done.
Ground Shifting
This is something beyond most people’s control. Ground can shift beneath your home and cause damage that you can’t control. Some areas are more stable than others, but most ground shifts over time. This can be due to two reasons: excessive rain loosening the soil and shifting the foundation of your home, or the natural shifting of land. The latter is called continental drift, which explains why the continents keep shifting over millions of years.
How to Detect Slab Leaks
Slab leak detection in Fort Worth, TX is a skilled man’s game. You can’t detect that a slab leak has happened without knowing the signs in advance and keeping a keen eye out for it. However, there are some telltale signs that even novices and beginners can detect. Here are a few.
Water Pooling
If your floors are damp or leaky, you should definitely consider calling someone to fix a slab leak. If you’re not sure, try drying up the floor with a cloth and then wait a while to see if the dampness or wetness reoccurs. If it does, you should know it’s a definite sign of slab leak.
Hot Floors
As mentioned above, a hot water line is prone to slab leaks. Hence, slab leak detection in Fort Worth, TX requires that you watch out for hot surfaces. If you notice that your floors are hot in certain place, that’s a definitive sign.
A great way to know is by checking whether the floors around your house are at the same temperature or cooler than the hot patch. If there’s a clear difference, you know it’s time to call someone to fix that slab leak.
Cracking Floors and Odd sounds
Expanding pipes and accumulating water can lead to increasing pressure and that can crack concrete. That’s something to remember during slab leak detection. You may also be able to hear the water running beneath the floor when a slab leak occurs. That’s a telltale sign that something is wrong.
High Water Bills
If nothing else convinces you, this should. Slab leaks really drive up your water bill. You can compare and contrast your bills for the current month with previous months and take an educated guess as to what’s happening. This is a very sleuth-like way of slab leak detection, but it’s effective.
Slab leaks are no laughing matter and slab leak detection in Fort Worth, TX can help save you thousands of dollars in the long run. If you need professionals to pay a visit and put an end to your fears and even offer you some great solutions at the right price, you should contact Benjamin Franklin-Slab Leak.