Slab Leak Water Damage in Poway, CA

A slab leak is a pressurized supply or hot water pipe leaking under or inside the concrete floor. Water rises through the slab and spreads under the flooring, so the first sign is often a warm spot on tile, a damp carpet edge or a water bill that jumps.

Why slab leaks show up in local homes

Much of the city's housing went up from the 1970s to the 1990s on slab foundations, with copper supply pipe laid in or under the concrete. Over decades, water chemistry and pipe rubbing against concrete or gravel can wear pinholes in that copper. A hot water pipe leaking under a floor often makes the tile above it warm to the touch.

• A warm spot on the floor, usually from a hot water pipe.
• Hissing or running water with every fixture off.
• The water meter dial moving with nothing open.
• Cracked grout or cupped wood near the same wall.

How the slab and the floor are dried

A plumber finds and repairs the pipe, either by opening the slab at the leak or by rerouting the pipe through the walls and attic. The drying team handles the water damage around it: mapping how far the water spread, lifting pad, tile or planks where readings show trapped water, and drying the concrete with floor mats, air movers and LGR or desiccant dehumidifiers. Concrete gives up water slowly, so slab drying usually takes longer than drying drywall.

Cabinets, walls and the claim

Water that travels under kitchen and bath cabinets gets into the toe-kick void and the bottom of the cabinet boxes. The crew removes toe kicks to dry that space and checks the drywall behind. A leak inside a wall rather than under the floor is a burst pipe or pinhole leak, and the drying itself follows the structural drying method.

The EPA WaterSense program explains how to check a water meter for a hidden leak, and the California Department of Insurance covers how homeowners claims work.