Slab Leak Repair in Carlsbad: Finding and Fixing Leaks Under Your Floor

Most Carlsbad neighborhoods built from the 1970s on, from La Costa and Calavera Hills to Aviara and Rancho Carrillo, sit on concrete slab foundations with the copper water lines running underneath or through the slab. When one of those lines wears through, the water has nowhere to go but into the soil and up through the floor, and it can run for weeks before anyone sees it.

Signs You May Have a Slab Leak

• A warm or hot spot on a tile, stone or wood floor (a leak on the hot side)
• The sound of running water when every faucet and toilet is off
• The water meter dial still turning with nothing running
• A water bill that jumps without a change in how you use water
• Damp carpet edges, lifting floorboards, cracked grout or a musty smell
• A water heater that seems to run constantly

How We Find It

We confirm the leak at the meter first, then test the hot and cold sides separately to see which line is losing pressure. From there we trace the pipe route and pin down the spot with acoustic listening equipment and thermal imaging, so the floor is opened in one place instead of several.

Repair Options

• Spot repair: open the slab at the leak, replace the damaged section and patch the concrete. Best for a single leak in otherwise sound pipe.
• Reroute: abandon the line under the slab and run a new one through the walls or attic. Often the better choice when the pipe is older or the leak sits under cabinets or finished stone.
• Repipe: when a home has had more than one slab leak, replacing the supply lines throughout stops the pattern. See our repiping service.

We walk you through which option fits your house before any concrete is cut. If the leak has already wet flooring or drywall, it is worth calling your homeowner's insurance early, since many policies treat the tear-out and the pipe repair differently.

Why Carlsbad Homes Get Slab Leaks

Copper pipe under a slab can wear from the inside, from hard imported water and from water moving fast through undersized lines, and from the outside, where it rubs against concrete or gravel as the house expands and settles. Hot water lines tend to go first. Once a home has had one slab leak, the rest of the same pipe has usually seen the same conditions.