Leak Detection & Slab Leak Repair
We find the leak before we open anything. Acoustic listening, thermal imaging, and pressure isolation - not a guess and a sledgehammer.
Signs you have a hidden leak
- Water bill jumped with no change in usage
- Sound of running water when every fixture is off
- Warm spot on the floor - classic hot-side slab leak
- Cracked or lifting tile / buckling wood floors over a slab
- Musty smell or visible mold at the base of a wall
- Low water pressure across the whole house
- Wet patch in the yard that never dries out
Quick self-test: Turn off every fixture in the house. Find your water meter and look at the small triangle or dial. If it's still spinning, water is going somewhere it shouldn't. That's the moment to call.
How we actually locate it
Acoustic detection
Pressurized water escaping a pipe makes a specific sound signature. Ground microphones and amplifiers let us trace that sound to within a foot or two through concrete, tile, and soil.
Thermal imaging
Hot-side slab leaks warm the concrete above them. An infrared camera shows the heat plume clearly, which combined with acoustics gives us a very tight location.
Pressure isolation testing
By isolating sections of the system and watching pressure decay, we determine whether the leak is on the hot side, cold side, in the main service line, or in an irrigation zone - before anyone touches a wall.
Line tracing and camera
For drain-side leaks and sewer breaks, a camera with a sonde transmitter tells us both the problem and its exact depth and position in the yard - see sewer line repair.
Slab leaks in North County homes
A big share of homes in 4S Ranch, Del Sur, Santaluz, and Torrey Highlands sit on post-tension slabs with copper running underneath. Two things cause most of the slab leaks we see here:
- Abrasion - copper rubbing against the concrete or rebar as it expands and contracts, eventually wearing through.
- Hard-water pinholes - San Diego's mineral-heavy water attacking the pipe interior over 15-25 years.
Repair options once we find it
- Spot repair - open a small section of slab, cut out the bad piece, replace it. Best when the pipe is otherwise healthy and the leak is accessible.
- Reroute - abandon the under-slab section and run a new line through the attic or walls. Often cheaper and less invasive than jackhammering, and eliminates future leaks in that run.
- Whole-home repipe - if we're finding multiple pinholes, patching one at a time is throwing money away. PEX repipe ends the problem permanently.
We'll give you the price for each path that applies to your house, and we'll tell you honestly which one we'd choose if it were ours.
About insurance: Many California homeowner policies cover the access (breaking and repairing the slab/drywall) and the resulting water damage, but not the pipe repair itself. We document everything with photos and written findings so you have what you need to file.
Meter spinning with everything off?
Every day a hidden leak runs, the damage and the bill both grow. Let's find it.
📞 (858) 221-4540