What's included in our slab leak repair in Oklahoma City
A slab leak is a break in a water line that runs under or through your concrete foundation. You cannot see the pipe, and the concrete hides most of the clues. Our service covers the whole job:
- Leak confirmation. A meter test with every fixture off, then separate tests on the hot and cold sides.
- Pinpoint location. Pressure testing, acoustic listening through the floor, and thermal imaging on hot lines.
- The right repair. A spot repair through a small opening, a tunnel from outside, or a reroute through walls or the attic.
- Retest and patch. We pressure-test the system, backfill and patch the concrete. Tile or wood over the spot may need a flooring installer, and we say so up front.
Signs you have a slab leak
Slab leaks are quiet. Most people find them through a few small clues:
- A warm patch on a tile or concrete floor
- The sound of running water when everything is off
- A water bill that jumps for no reason
- A water heater that seems to run all the time
- Damp carpet, swollen baseboards or a musty smell with no visible source
- New cracks in floor tile, or low pressure throughout the house
Slab leak detection: finding the leak before breaking concrete
Guessing gets expensive when the floor is concrete. We separate the hot and cold systems and pressure-test each one, which tells us whether the leak is on the supply side at all and which line is losing water. Then we trace the pipe route and listen along it with acoustic equipment. Water escaping under pressure makes a distinct sound through concrete, loudest right over the break.
Hot water leaks give one more clue: heat. Thermal imaging can show a warm path across the floor that leads to the leak. We confirm with more than one method before we mark the spot, because a few feet of error means a second hole in your floor.
Slab leak repair methods compared
The best method depends on where the leak is, how old the pipe is and what sits on top of the slab.
| Method | Best for | Trade-offs |
| Spot repair through the slab | A single leak in pipe that is otherwise sound | Opens a section of floor that must be refinished |
| Tunneling under the slab | Leaks under cabinets, tubs or floors you want to keep | More digging outside, and it takes longer |
| Rerouting the line | Older pipe with repeat leaks, or a leak in an awkward spot | Opens drywall instead of concrete; the old line stays capped in the slab |
| Whole-house repipe | Several slab leaks or failing pipe throughout | A larger project, but it ends the pattern |
If this is your second or third slab leak, the pipe is telling you something. Rerouting one line, or moving to whole-house repiping, often costs less over time than opening the floor every few years.
What affects the cost of slab leak repair
We price the actual job after we find the leak and you choose a method. The biggest factors are where the leak sits (a bare garage floor versus a tiled shower), the repair method, the pipe material and age, the floor covering that has to come up, and any water damage to drywall or cabinets. Financing is available for larger repairs and reroutes.
Slab leaks in Oklahoma City: soil and foundation factors
Many Oklahoma City houses are built slab-on-grade, with water lines buried in the soil under the concrete. That ground does not sit still. The Oklahoma Geological Survey reports that over 75 percent of Oklahoma has bedrock that can produce expansive soils, and that clay minerals such as montmorillonite can swell to 1.5 to 2 times their dry volume when wet. OGS also notes that soil saturated by rain, lawn watering or sewer leaks can damage foundations and utility lines as it expands.
So the clay swells in wet spells and shrinks in drought, and the pipes under your slab ride along. A line pressed against concrete or gravel can wear through after years of that motion. A slab leak also feeds itself: the escaping water wets the clay, the clay swells, and the slab shifts more.
It hits your bill too. EPA WaterSense estimates the average family can waste 9,400 gallons a year from ordinary household leaks, and a pressurized line under a slab never shuts off. The city's utility is clear that finding and fixing leaks on your property is up to the account holder, so that water is billed to you.
Think you have a slab leak right now? If it points to hot water, close the cold valve on top of your water heater and turn the heater off. If water is coming up through the floor or the leak is on the cold side, shut off the main. Then call us, day or night.
After the repair: keeping the next one small
A slab leak can run for weeks before anyone notices. A smart water shutoff valve watches for constant flow and can close the main on its own. If you are not sure the leak is under the slab at all, start with water leak detection for the whole house. To see who will be in your home, read about our company.