Major plumbing question, need advice

[clintbailey]

Got a text from my property manager in McAlester yesterday that I had a water leak between the meter and my old house; we currently have it rented, since it would never sell after we moved to western OK. Called a buddy of mine down there and got a recommendation for a local plumber; the plumber told me he would get there ASAP but they were in the middle of a job for the city.

Plumber calls this morning and tells me that his guys are there and it appears the leak is in the concrete slab. I've never dealt with something like this, but its starting to sound damn expensive. I'm still waiting on more details but just curious what my options might be if it is in the slab? I've been told there are ways to repair without tearing up the slab, just not sure if there are other alternatives, especially cheaper ones. Thanks for any input!

 

[Dr. HK]

I have never heard of a way not to cut or tear up the slab. I was a property owner, homeowner association president (212 units) and have seen my share of plumbing issues. Depending what it is, it could be expensive or pretty reasonable. They have saws that can make clean cuts in the concrete, get to the issue, fix it and then concrete over the fixed spot.

 

[NightShade]

It should be possible to tunnel under the slab a little but if your going more than a foot or two it's not a great idea and this will only work IF the slab is directly on the ground and does not have any footings to deal with. The problem is that if there is a break it will be a pain to find and will likely require all of the line between where it enters the house up to about two feet out from under the slab to be tore up to find and make the repair.

It's pretty much bad news either way as if the line is already leaking there are probably weak spots in other places and it would be best to replace the line from the meter till it comes inside. If you just replace a section the movement of the line will cause another weak spot to fail and you will be at the same junction sooner than later. The only way it can get worse is if the slab is post tension, cutting in to them is your worst nightmare come true.

If I was to continue owning the home or had built it in the first place I would have run pex or soft copper inside of a conduit so that it was better protected and in the instance it may need replacing all I would have to do is shut off the meter, cut the line on either end and then pull a new section through. Since you are wanting to sell you may not want the increased cost of something like that.

 

[Perplexed]

I had a water leak under the driveway at my old place - of course, it happened a week before I had planned to put the house up for sale! They had to cut into the concrete to get to the leak, as it was several feet in from the edge of the driveway. The dirt had been washed away, and the concrete had a weak foundation as a result. Fortunately, the concrete in the driveway had been laid in sections, and the affected section was a narrow one, so it wasn't as expensive as if it had been under a main section.

 

[RichardA76]

Cut the slab, only way to be positive its repaired.

 

[Plinker]

I had an under-the-slab hot water line corrode out a while back. He had to jackhammer through to fix it. I knew right where the problem was, though, so there was no hunting around.
It won't be cheap...sorry.

 

[clintbailey]

Thanks for the replies guys; turns out it was other minor leaks that kinda piled up on their water bill, with one being in a spot that made the hands on scene think it was worse than it was. The boss figured out it was less complicated and got it lined out (I hope!), still cost almost $300 but that's WAY better than anticipated!

 

[NightShade]

Good deal, must have been very near the edge of the foundation then or only just slightly under.

300 is a whole lot better than the possible 3000 it could have been to tear up the floor and repour not to mention the displacement of the renter.

 

[ronny]

Pex is your friend. Had a hot water line bust in the slab. Traced it back to a point in the house where it could be reached above the slab (in an interior wall) and plugged it there. Then ran pex up the wall and across the ceiling and down to the bathroom. Worked like a charm.

Had a friend with worse in the slab problems and he inserted pex inside his old water pipe. Also, worked great.

Neighbor had to dig out his slab this past winter. Took a couple of weeks and an unbelievable mess, not to mention cost.

 

[ChuckC]

Pex is your friend. Had a hot water line bust in the slab. Traced it back to a point in the house where it could be reached above the slab (in an interior wall) and plugged it there. Then ran pex up the wall and across the ceiling and down to the bathroom. Worked like a charm.

Had a friend with worse in the slab problems and he inserted pex inside his old water pipe. Also, worked great.

Neighbor had to dig out his slab this past winter. Took a couple of weeks and an unbelievable mess, not to mention cost.

I was wondering if a person couldn't fish 3/8" pex through a 1/2" copper line.