When people talk about leaks in their homes, their attention usually goes up – towards their roofs. This is all well and good until the foundation below your feet begins to leak and affect the entire structure of your home. One day everything may seem fine, but the next morning your carpet feels a bit damp. Your foundation is the baseline of your home that everything is built upon. The health and wellness of your slab, and your plumbing, are crucial to a healthy home.
How do I know if I have a slab leak?
Your home is trying to tell you that you have a slab leak if you notice these signs:
- Moisture on floors or under carpet, which includes standing water inside of your home.
- Cracks in baseboards, trim, or walls.
- Backed up plumbing (sinks, toilets, bathtubs, showers).
- Standing water around the perimeter of your home
- Moldy smell in your home, caused by a build-up of moisture and mildew.
How do slab leaks happen?
Slab leaks originate from pipes that are either encased in your concrete slab or located under your slab. These pipes can deteriorate and leak for a few reasons. A big one is how the soil below your home shifts over time. Age is a big factor in this, as well as the durability of your pipes to begin with. A common cause for slab leaks comes from cast iron lines, or galvanized steel pipes that were never properly insulated. These older styles of piping are more prone to rust, especially if the pH balance of your soil is acidic, and/or the pH of your water is high.
What happens if I don’t fix my slab leak?
An unattended slab leak causes devastating damage to the structure and foundation of your home. The leaking water will not only ruin your concrete, but also your flooring, carpet, and tile. This will get increasingly expensive and only boost the costs it will take to replace everything that was damaged by the flowing water (not to mention the high water bill). Moisture and mildew that have found their way into your home will also harm your interior and need to be repaired. This is all bad news for the structure of your home, your bank account, and your quality of life.
How do you fix a slab leak?
Your first instinct may be to find a way to fix a slab leak to save yourself money. However, it is not recommended to attempt to patch up any of these foundation repair problems on your own. You risk damaging your foundation and home further.
The best course of action you can take is to hire a professional foundation repair expert. Professionals have years of experience, and equipment to fix the issue, and can analyze the cause of the problem and fix it at the source. A professional will be able to repipe and reroute your plumbing, waterproof your foundation, and tunnel and trench under your foundation to re-support the structure of your home!
Slab leaks are scary and can devastate your plumbing system and the foundation of your home. It is recommended to be mindful of the signs your foundation may be telling you.
If you are in the greater Houston area and suspect your foundation may have a leak, you can rely on Continental Foundation to be out there to fix the root of the problem.
