Leak Detection and Repair

Start at the meter. Turn off every fixture and appliance that uses water, then watch the meter's low-flow indicator. If it is still moving, water is going somewhere. That tells you there is a leak but not where it is, which is the part that needs equipment. Other signs point the same way: an unexplained rise in the bill, running water you can hear but not see, a warm patch on the floor, or damp appearing at a wall base.

Usually a combination, because no single method works everywhere. Acoustic listening equipment picks up the sound of water escaping under pressure. Thermal imaging finds the temperature difference a hot water leak creates in the surface above it. Pressure testing isolates which line is losing water by shutting sections off and watching what holds. Tracer gas is used where a leak is small or quiet. Using several narrows the position to a small area before anything is opened.

Often, and sometimes it is the better option. Rerouting abandons the failed section under the slab and runs a new line through walls, ceilings or the attic to the same fixtures, avoiding the concrete entirely and replacing pipe that was likely to fail again. Where the rest of the system is sound and the leak is a one-off, a spot repair through a small opening is reasonable. Where a house has already had a slab leak or two, rerouting usually costs less over any sensible horizon.

That pattern points at pressure rather than at any individual pipe. If a pressure reducing valve has failed or was never fitted, static pressure can run far above what domestic fittings, connectors and appliance hoses are built for. The leaks are the symptom. Measuring static pressure at a hose bib takes a moment, and until it is brought back into range, fixing each joint in turn just moves the failure to the next weakest point.