Water Leaks and the Dangers They Pose to Slab Homes

The vast majority of homes in the Phoenix area are constructed on a concrete slab. A water leak under the house, especially one that goes untreated for a long time, has the potential to cause enormous damage to this sort of home. With the upcoming monsoon season, it’s important to check your home for a potential leak. Follow our helpful tips to check your home or give us a call if you’re unsure of a problem.

Detecting Water Leaks in a Slab Home

First Step to Detecting Water Leaks: Turn off All Water

The first and most important step is to test the house. Turn off all the water, making sure that all taps are firmly closed. Then check the water meter and make certain that it isn’t moving. A moving water meter when there is no water use in the house is a sure sign of a leak. However, no movement does not absolutely prove that there is no leak. If the break in the water line occurs on the water company’s side of the meter, then there will be no sign of it there. This means that at least you are not paying for the leak, but the water is still moving through the land and possibly under the home. The home might still be in danger.

Second Step to Detecting Water Leaks: Visual Inspection

Visual inspection of the land is essential. Phoenix makes this easy in some ways, as the presence of running water will generally show signs. There should be no water running off the land whatsoever during the vast majority of the year. Unexplained water runoff, the sound of water underground or in the walls, damp or soft earth, or the unexplained growth of vegetation are all signs of a leak. As most water leaks occur under the ground, indirect observation is possibly the only way to find them.

Pinpointing and treating a water leak is a job for professionals. Not only do they have tools that allow them to find the leak with precision, they have the experience to approach the problem appropriately and solve it completely. It is absolutely possible to make a leak worse or to damage other critical systems through inexperienced intervention.

Leaks must be addressed as quickly as possible, and it’s not only that the water bill for a leaking pipe can be extremely expensive. The rocky, alkaline soil of Phoenix will erode, subside, wash away and collapse with very little water moving through it. This can easily undermine the foundation of the home. Most structures in Phoenix are based on a simple slab, a concrete rectangle that sits on the earth that supports the frame of the home. When the soil beneath it washes away, the slab will begin to slump. Cracks in the foundation will appear, and the damage will carry into the frame, walls and roof. It is no exaggeration to say that the house can be destroyed by a water leak washing the soil away beneath the slab. Prompt action from professional water damage remediation experts is the best way to address this serious situation. If you suspect that your home has a water leak – contact us today!