What Is A Slab Leak & Why Is It A Problem For Your Chino, CA Home?
Slabs are a four to six-inch thick piece of concrete on which some homes are built. Residential plumbing pipes are often buried approximately one foot beneath the concrete slab. Sometimes, these plumbing pipes leak, corrode, or shift. Detecting damage within and accessing pipes buried beneath a home or building can be complicated. While there are many symptoms of a slab leak, plumbing professionals utilize an array of equipment that better helps understand the layout and condition of pipes beneath the home's concrete slab. Slab leak detection and repair are a few of the services offered by JIG Plumbing. Our team has over 20 years of experience in the plumbing industry and can help you unearth and attend to problems with your home's plumbing system. Connect with us online, or give us a call at 909-280-4331 to learn how we can help.
What Are The Different Slab Leak Detection Methods?
Although homeowners can't visually check the condition of the pipes beneath their home's floor and slab, there are several things that indicate the presence of slab leaks. Warped flooring or floors that are bubbling, and have soft spots or water stains can hint at possible slab leaks. Similarly, a noticeable gap between your flooring material and the wall indicates moisture issues. Slab leaks often cause mold and mildew to grow in particular areas of the home. Cracks in the home's foundation and puddles around the base of the foundation can all point to a problem beneath your home. Higher-than-average water bills, lowered water pressure, and the sound of running water even when no one is using water are all signs of a slab leak as well.
In addition to visual and auditory clues, plumbers use equipment that helps them get a better understanding of the pipes below. Cameras introduced into the pipe reveal damaged areas while electronic amplification equipment helps professionals pick up on the sound of water moving inside or around a pipe. Electromagnetic pipeline locators give plumbers a clear picture of your home's plumbing system, and tracer gas systems can help detect slab leaks as well.
How Can I Tell If I Need Slab Leak Repair?
Slab leaks are hard to detect since the leak is under the home's slab. However, some things tend to happen if pipes beneath your slab are leaking. These include:
- Gaps between the floor and wall
- Soft spots, water stains, and/or bubbling on your flooring material
- Windows and doors that are hard to open
- Increased mold growth in certain areas of the home
- Cracks in your home's foundation
- Higher-than-normal water bills
- Lack of water pressure
- Puddles of water around the home's foundation
Additionally, plumbers use different types of equipment to help detect slab leaks. These non-invasive processes can pinpoint the exact location of a leak. Popular slab leak detection methods include:
- Electromagnetic pipeline locators. These units work like radio antennas and help contractors understand how pipes are laid out beneath the slab.
- CCTV camera. Small, remote-controlled cameras give plumbers a look inside your pipes and show blockages, cracks, and leaks.
- Electronic amplification equipment. These pieces of equipment help professionals hear water moving in or around a pipe.
- Tracer gas systems. Sometimes, it's hard to hear the sound of water because the audio sensors pick up too much noise. For times like those, gas tracer systems can help.
How Can A Slab Leak Be Repaired?
Trenchless slab leak repair is often the preferred method of correcting a leak below your home's foundation. Trenchless methods are effective in many situations and don't require the level of demolition and rebuilding necessary for more traditional pipe replacement services. JIG Plumbing offers trenchless plumbing repair in Chino, CA, and the surrounding communities. Our residential plumbers often use some of the following methods to replace damaged pipes in hard-to-reach places.
Cured-In-Place-Pipe Lining
A minimally invasive trenchless process used for fixing cracked and leaking pipes. With this method, a new pipe is created within the old one using an epoxy resin-soaked felt liner. The liner is inflated within the pipe and left to cure for several hours. After it dries, the liner is taken out, and your pipe is damage-free.
Trenchless Brush Coating
Similar to pipe lining but uses a polymer resin sprayed directly onto the insides of the pipe. The spray nozzle is inserted into the pipe until it reaches the damaged pipe section. Then, a non-toxic polymer resin is sprayed onto the affected area. If necessary, the process is repeated to give the pipe an additional coating. After the spray is dry, your pipe is ready to use.
Trenchless Pipe Bursting
If the damaged pipe doesn't have the structural integrity necessary for the other methods, this technique will help. With pipe bursting, a pit is dug at the end of each section of pipe being replaced. These pits are called the insertion and pulling pits, respectively. The plumber pulls a cable through the insertion pit and fishes it out of the pulling pit. Next, using a winch, the replacement HDPE pipe and a bursting head are slid through the old pipe. As the new pipe slides through, it bursts the old, failed pipe.
Keep Your Pipes In Good Repair With The Pros From JIG Plumbing
Slab leaks are hard to detect if you don't know the signs. Keeping an eye out for the aforementioned clues can help homeowners detect and address slab leaks before damage becomes extensive. Our expert plumbers use advanced technologies to detect slab leaks, and all the latest techniques to repair them. We are experienced, equipped, and ready to go. Schedule your consult by sending us a message online or calling 909-280-4331 today!
