Leaks are never fun, but when they happen to your home it can be devastating. One type of leak that many people don’t realize is slab leaks – these occur deep inside the foundation and may not show externally for a very long time before you notice any water damage on walls or floors above ground level!
The need for repairs is never more critical than when you discover a leak, especially a slab leak. The reason is because these small leaks can lead to bigger problems. They may start as just inconvenient drips but can easily turn into major flooding in your house–or worse yet: mold growth!
The sooner you take care of them, the better chance there will be at preventing any further damage done by water intrusion beneath your homes’ foundation.
The best way to deal with the situation is by calling a professional plumber. They will be able to assess the situation and determine what needs fixing!
Are Slab Leaks Serious?
Slab leaks pose serious, structural threats to homes as water seeps into cracks or holes in any part below grade level. They are one of the most frustrating problems a homeowner can experience. Even if those leaks don’t seem too significant at first!
So be sure not only check for small issues but also call an expert when it seems like something bigger might need attention before more damage gets done.
If you’re noticing your water bill increasing, it could be because of a slab leak. You may have already felt the financial impact without even knowing that there was an issue with your plumbing – this can cause damage that is dangerous and cannot go ignored!
The Dangers A Slab Leak Can Cause Include:
- When water seeps into the structure of your house from below, it has no choice but to go upward and saturate every inch with wetness. One unfortunate repercussion is that this can cause cracks in tiles or flooring as well as carpets becoming soaking wet – ruined!
- A slab leak can cause the worst odors, and you might not even know they’re there until it’s too late.
- You don’t want water seeping up from below your house and soaking into the drywall. That could cause mold to grow in those areas, which would make you sick or even kill someone else!
- The slab of your house is the foundation, and if it’s leaking or breaking apart from water pressure then you might have problems with shifting foundations and even more severe issues like cracks in concrete that could cause collapse.
- Leaks can come from pipes under your yard, flooding it and ruining the landscaping or grass. Pools are also susceptible to leak damage; brick walkways will be weakened by leaking joints between bricks–and other landscape elements such as trees may fall over due an imbalance created when too much moisture seeps through deep roots near pavement level where there has already been some erosion.
How Long Can A Slab Leak Go Undetected?
A slab leak can go undetected for hours, days, weeks or even months. It is imperative to have an experienced plumber fix the issue as soon as possible because if water doesn’t get shut off then it will just keep leaking on and never stop!
Is A Slab Leak An Emergency?
Slab leaks are dangerous and can be a serious problem so the answer is YES – slab leaks are an emergency.
They often result in ruined floors, mold growth on the wall or flooring near the leak site which poses health risks for anyone who breathes it; as well as foundation problems that may require expensive repairs such replacement of flooring, drywall, furniture, landscaping and more.
What Are The Signs Of A Slab Leak
The 13 most common signs of a slab leak are:
- Cracks in the concrete slab is an obvious one
- Drywall cracks on your walls
- Soggy carpeting, deformed wood floors or any sign of a change in your flooring
- Baseboards are wet or moist
- Mold or mildew – even if you don’t see it you may smell it
- Interior doors that don’t close properly, but they used to
- An unexplained hot spot in your floor
- An unusually high water bill
- Your toilet(s) and/or showers and/or bathtubs back up
- Your water pressure decreases
- Your hot water heater is constantly running
- You hear odd sounds, running water but no faucets are turned on
- You notice that you are running out of hot water for no reason (this may indicate a leak in your hot water line)
Steps To Take If You Have A Slab Leak
You’ve just discovered that you might have a slab leak, what do you do first? Calling a plumber is the first thing on your list. The longer you wait to fix this problem in your home the most costly the project will end up being.
Once the plumber has identified where leaks are, then his job is to make sure that it’s fixed in a way which prevents more water damage.
The methods to fix the problem could include:
- Jackhammering – if the only way to gain access to the broken pipes are to jackhammer through the concrete slab then that is what will have to be done.
- Rerouting water lines – another solution may be to reroute the water lines and essentially close down the lines that include the broken pipes.
- Trenchless repiping – yet another solution may be to use the trenchless repiping method to repair the broken pipes.
Once you and your plumber have chosen a solution, it will be worth every penny. The alternative is much more expensive down the road.
If you have any questions about slab leaks or are having some problems with it, call Atlantis Plumbing today at 770-443-8229. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.