Plumbing leak in the slab--what to do?
We've been hearing running water in one of our bathrooms, but there is no sign of any moisture. Narrowing down the possibilities, we figure it is probably a slow leak from a cold water pipe into the slab.
Has anybody had experience getting this fixed? Should I call radiant heat people and try to locate the leak, before bringing in a plumber? Are there any plumbers that specialize in this type of repair?
Thanks,
Gina
I had your experience and found water running slowly from an outside faucet. The pipes go through the slab and can sometimes be heard. Also, try turning off the valve to the toilets. If you can still hear the noise, turn off all water everywhere and watch your water meter for an hour. If it doesn't move, you have just saved a bundle on a plumber. If you are not sure whether the meter is moving or not, crack a faucet open slightly and watch the difference it makes in the meter movement. We hardly ever use plumbers, and it may be difficult finding a trusted plumber through friends, neighbors or this site. In a situation like this, I have used Bay Area Consumer Checkbook and especially Diamond Certified with great success.
After doing what Randy says above and you find the water meter is still running, I would call a radiant heat company. They are experienced at getting at slab pipes and repairing them.
I've had the same experience several times. Twice it was a leak in the cold water line right where it came out of the slab and into the wall. The third was in the slab in a water line that ran between bathrooms. None were radiant leaks although all were pretty easily fixed by one the area's radiant experts.
