We were already tunneling under this Carrollton home to replace old cast iron drains with PVC when the tunnels started filling with water. When we arrived, both sides of the tunnel were completely full.
We pumped the tunnels out and went in to investigate. The main source of the water was a slab leak in the home’s water line. The repair took longer than expected because several sections of the old pipe were dented or out-of-round and couldn’t take a proper fitting. Once we found a usable section and reshaped it, we installed two couplings and a new section of pipe to permanently repair the leak. We restored water service and tested the repair, and no leaks were found.
Because of the age and condition of the piping, we let the homeowner know another leak could develop down the road and recommended considering a whole-house repipe.
Why tunnel instead of breaking the slab?
Slab leak repair means reaching a pipe buried under the concrete. There are two ways in: jackhammer through the floor from inside, or tunnel underneath from outside. Tunneling keeps floors, cabinets, and flooring intact and lets us reach long runs of pipe, which is why it made sense here, where we were already working under the house.
Signs of a slab leak
- Warm or damp spots on the floor
- The sound of running water when everything is off
- A water bill that keeps climbing
- New cracks in flooring or drywall
Repair or repipe?
A single slab leak in otherwise healthy pipe is usually a straightforward repair. When the pipe is aging, thinning, or out of shape like this, the next leak is more likely, and slab leak repair cost adds up quickly when it happens more than once. That’s when a repipe is worth pricing out. North Texas clay soil makes this worse: as it swells and shrinks, it moves foundations and stresses the pipes underneath.
For slab leak repair in Carrollton, our local team is available 24/7. Learn more about our slab leak detection and repair and repiping services.
