Who Do I Contact For Expert Slab Leak Repair In My Area? | Mansfield, TX
Owning your own home means that once in a while you will have to deal with an unsavory surprise in your home’s plumbing. Maybe you will start noticing that your water bill is increasing month after month, regardless of how much you try to reduce your water use. You check the most obvious places in which you might find leaks, such as under the sinks and the walls, but you can’t find anything. So, what could be going on? If your water bill keeps going up there should be a leak somewhere, right? Well, yes, but it might be in a place you never even thought to check, under a concrete slab. Read on to find out what slab leak repair is and what kind of danger a slab leak can represent to your property in Mansfield, TX.
So, what is this slab leak we are referring to?
To put it in the simplest manner, a slab leak is one that comes from the water pipes that can be found under the concrete slab in the foundation of your home. Sounds bad, doesn’t it? While many slab leaks are usually detected when they are only a small trickle, there are cases in which there are important cracks in the pipes, making it a problem that needs to be evaluated and repaired as soon as possible. Allowing a slab leak to run freely for a long period of time can cause severe damage to your home and a problem that is definitely more expensive than an increase in your monthly water bill.
How to tell if your home has a slab leak
Is there any way to know if your home has developed a slab leak? Yes, there is, but you have to be on the lookout for the telltale signs, which are the following:
- The floor feels hot and your water heater is constantly running – slab leaks can happen when either the cold or the hot water pipes under the concrete slab crack. When the problem is located in the hot water pipes your floor will start feeling hot because the leaking water will warm it up, and the water heater must run continuously to keep up with the water lost through the leak.
- You keep hearing the sound of water running – constantly hearing water run even when you aren’t in a room with water fixtures or hearing a sort of humming noise in areas such as the bathroom or near your kitchen sink is a good indicator that you may have a slab leak. These sounds come from water rushing into the pipes to replace what is lost through the leak.
- Your water bill keeps increasing month after month – when you start noticing a constant increase in your water bill, even if it’s just a couple of dollars every month, it can be a good indication that there might be a problem with your water pipes. The increase can happen suddenly or little by little over a period of time, but if you’re not using any more water than usual or are trying to save water, you should start suspecting a leak.
- Your floors are wet for no apparent reason – the most obvious sign of the slab leak in need of repair is a wet floor. This happens when the water coming out of the pipe starts accumulating until it finds a way to escape from under the slab. This can lead to wet floors and mysterious puddles in places where you wouldn’t expect them to be, such as your living room or bedroom.
- The water pressure in your house gets worse and worse by the day – when your pipes leak, the water pressure in your home tends to be reduced, so, if you notice your home’s water pressure decreasing, it could mean you are going to have to start looking for a leak and possibly slab leak repair.
What causes a slab leak?
Unfortunately, there are many things and situations that can cause a slab leak to appear, from the natural movement of the ground to human error. Let’s take a look at the most common causes of slab leaks, so you can take them into account and prevent another leak of this type from appearing in the future.
- Your home’s foundation wasn’t built the right way – this one is especially common in new homes. In this case you might want to have a plumber and a specialized inspector to check whether your foundation was built the way it should have been. Once you have the correct diagnosis you should start looking into a good repair service.
- Earthquakes and ground shifting – sometimes an earthquake can cause a slab leak, but the majority of cases in Mansfield, TX are due to the ground shifting from natural erosion and the movement created by underground water deposits. All of these causes put a lot of pressure on your home’s pipes, which can lead to cracks and leaks in the foundation, which could require slab leak repair.
- Corrosion – let’s face it, soft water can cause almost as much damage to water pipes as hard water does. Corrosion can lead to the weakening of your pipes and cracks that can lead to bad slab leaks if given enough time.
- Friction of your home’s pipes – there are times in which your home’s pipes rub against the concrete of your foundation. This is more often seen in hot water pipes because they expand and shrink more than cold water pipes do. The friction will then lead to the pipe weakening and cracking, which can result in the need for slab leak repair.
- The age of your home – while slab leaks can happen in newer homes due to human error at the time the foundation is laid, older homes tend to develop these types of leaks as a result of a combination of all the causes we have already mentioned, simply because old pipes tend to become weaker as they age, which could lead to needing slab leak repair.
Are slab leaks common in Mansfield?
Slab leaks are a common occurrence all over the United States, and Mansfield, TX is not the exemption, especially in areas in which there are older homes that were built on concrete slabs. The good news is that a good plumber can easily detect and perform slab leak repair without too much hassle.
Keep in mind that ignoring even the smallest leak can cause you a lot of grief and result in much more expensive forms of slab leak repair. If left for too long, slab leaks can cause mold and they can get bad enough that your entire foundation could collapse. So, make sure you address slab leak repair as soon as you possibly can.
What should you do if your home has a slab leak?
Slab leaks require highly trained plumbers to fix, so, if you suspect a slab leak contact us at SlabLeak.com right away and we will be happy to help you with your home’s slab leak repair as soon as possible.