Slab Leak Repair in Greensboro, NC

First, does your house have a slab?

Slab leaks only happen in homes built on a concrete slab, where supply lines run under or through the concrete. If your house sits on a crawl space or basement, the pipes are reachable from below, and a leak under the floor is a crawl space leak, which is usually simpler to repair. Check what's under your home before you start pricing slab work. If you aren't sure, a plumber can tell you in a few minutes.

Common signs of a slab leak

• A warm or hot spot on a tile or concrete floor, often from a hot water line
• The sound of running water with every fixture off
• Damp or lifting flooring, or carpet that stays wet along one area
• A water heater that runs more than it should
• A higher water bill and a meter that keeps moving

The City of Greensboro's overnight shutoff test is a good first step: shut off all water use and the main valve, then check the meter. If the meter moves with everything off inside, the leak is likely on the line coming into the house. If it stops, the leak is inside, and a slab line is one possibility.

How slab leaks are found

Plumbers pressure-test the lines to confirm which one is leaking, then use acoustic listening equipment and sometimes thermal imaging to narrow it down to a spot on the floor. Getting the location right limits how much concrete needs to come up.

Repair options

A spot repair is the smallest job, but if the pipe has already failed in one place, ask the plumber whether the rest of that line is likely to follow. A reroute avoids breaking concrete entirely.

Permits and inspections

The City of Greensboro issues its own plumbing permits, and its fee schedule has a separate inspection allowance for slab houses. The plumber doing the repair normally handles the permit.

What affects the cost

Cost depends on how long detection takes, the floor covering that has to come up, whether you choose a spot repair or a reroute, and how much water damage needs drying. Flooring repair is often a separate trade.