A leaky pipe or one that is damaged causes other things such as slab leaks. Slab leaks refer to leaking pipes inside of underneath the concrete of a house’s floor. When this happens, you will mostly likely see moist, wet or damp spots/stains on the flooring or carpeting of the house. Not only that, water will also ooze out through the foundation and even the sudden settling of the foundation occurs. In your showers and taps, low water pressure is experienced and as the house owner and the one that pays the bills, you will see noticeable increase in your water bill.

Slab leaks happen in a house’s incoming water line and in some cases, the outgoing sanitary sewer line. When this happens, brace yourself for large degrees of damage to the foundation of your house. Slab leaks in incoming water lines will continuously leak because of the continuous flow and pressure.

Some of the common causes of slab leaks in the incoming water lines of your house are because of the water chemistry. The pH of water can have dramatic affects on the piping system of your house when it travels through. Slab leaks also happen because of the shifting of the foundation. Due to poor design or installation, or a change in the moisture of the ground, shifting can pull pipes apart. Water pressure is also one of the main causes. If the water pressure is too high, possibly because the diameter of the pipes installed may be too small, this will result in the corrosion of copper pipes. Leaks will also form at points where pipes bend or change direction.

Apart from poor design, poor craftsmanship or workmanship also causes slab leaks. Inferior plumbing materials or improper installation can contribute to slab leaks. A “kinked line” (a piece of pipe with an imperfection) or a “nicked line” (nicked by a non-plumber workman) can become a slab leak. These are some of the causes of slab leaks, and if you do experience it at home, then you can avoid this problem immediately by contacting a plumber to re-route, dig or break the concrete floor and restore the pipes and existing fixtures and valves.