Leak Detection in Birmingham, AL

This usually shows up as a water bill that's noticeably higher than normal with no new usage to explain it. It can also show up as a warm or damp patch on the slab floor, or the sound of running water when everything in the house is off. All three point to a leak somewhere in the line rather than a fixture problem, and that's what leak detection is for.

A slab leak specifically means the water line running under the concrete foundation has started leaking, which is common enough in older Birmingham homes with copper supply lines that have been in the ground for decades. Left alone, a slab leak keeps eroding the soil underneath the foundation and running up the water bill the whole time, so finding it early matters more than with an above-ground leak that's at least visible.

Leak detection uses acoustic equipment to listen for the specific sound water makes escaping a pressurized line through slab and walls. A thermal camera spots temperature differences where water is saturating the ground or a wall cavity. Both methods locate the leak within a small area before any concrete or drywall gets opened up, which is the difference between a small repair and tearing up a large section of floor to search for it.

Once a slab leak is confirmed, the fix is usually a spot repair at the leak location or a reroute of that section of line above the slab instead of back through it. See water heater repair if the leak turns out to be at the tank rather than the supply line - both can look similar until the source is actually found.

A spot repair opens a small section of slab or wall directly over the confirmed leak location and replaces just that section of pipe. It's the less invasive option when the rest of the line is in good condition. A reroute instead abandons the damaged section entirely and runs new line through an accessible path, typically through walls or an attic space. That costs more upfront but avoids opening the slab at all, and can make sense on an older line likely to develop another leak nearby soon anyway. Either method is done to current International Plumbing Code (IPC) standards, which Alabama's state building code adopts, rather than whatever standard was in place when the original line went in decades ago.

• Check your water meter with everything in the house turned off - movement means active flow somewhere.
• Note where any warm or damp spots on the floor are located.
• Have a few recent water bills ready to show the usage pattern.