Slab Leak Detection & Repair in Tampa, FL

Tampa's housing stock is heavily slab-on-grade construction. Homes built from the 1950s through today sit on concrete slabs with copper or (in some eras) polybutylene supply lines embedded in or running beneath the concrete. Over time, the copper develops pinhole leaks from contact with Tampa's slightly acidic soil and the minerals in the water supply. Polybutylene pipes, used heavily in Florida from the late 1970s through the mid-1990s, are even worse -- the material itself degrades from chlorine in municipal water and becomes brittle.

The first sign of a slab leak is usually your water bill. If it jumped $30-$50 with no change in usage, you may have a slow leak under the slab. Other signs include warm spots on the tile or concrete floor (if a hot water line is leaking), the sound of running water when nothing is turned on, or damp carpet or baseboards along an interior wall. In advanced cases, you will see cracks in the foundation or floors that are no longer level.

Our detection process starts with a pressure test on the supply system. We isolate the hot and cold lines separately and check whether each holds pressure. If one drops, we know which line has the leak. From there, we use acoustic detection equipment -- specialized microphones that amplify the sound of water escaping under pressure through copper pipe and concrete. We can narrow the leak location to within a few feet without cutting into anything.

For leaks that are harder to pinpoint acoustically (small drips, deep pipes, or multiple potential locations), we use electronic line tracing to map the exact path of the pipe under the slab, then correlate that with the acoustic readings. Between the two methods, we locate the leak precisely enough to cut a small access hole in the slab rather than trenching your entire floor.

Repair options depend on the pipe condition. If the leak is isolated and the rest of the pipe is in decent shape, we cut out the damaged section through a small slab opening and splice in new copper. If the pipe has multiple weak points or is polybutylene (which will keep failing), we recommend rerouting the line above the slab through the attic or walls so you never have to cut the slab again. For homes with widespread under-slab pipe failure, a full repipe that routes all new lines overhead is the permanent solution.

After any slab leak repair, we pressure-test the repaired line to confirm it holds. We also check your water meter to verify no other leaks are present. If the leak caused soil erosion under the slab, we can refer you to a foundation specialist who can assess whether mudjacking or other stabilization is needed.

Frequently asked questions