If you are a home owner, there are a lot of things you need to take care of. Maintenance of a house may seem a bit tedious and overwhelming, but it is important and if you neglect it, you may be headed for some serious and expensive problems.
However, not all house problems come as a result of neglect and mismanagement. Some problems simply happen and you are left to deal with consequences. One of these problems is a slab leak. If you haven’t heard of it, read on and familiarize yourself with this issue so that you are able to recognize the symptoms and act quickly if it ever happens to you.
So, What Is a Slab Leak?
If there is a leak in the foundations of the house, it is called a slab leak, or more straightforwardly, a foundation leak. The biggest problem with a slab leak is that it is hard to detect by a layman, so if you are experiencing some water-related problems like an increased water bill or hearing water even though all taps are closed, you may just have this problem.
What Can You Do About It?
Well, the answer is, sadly, not much. This is a task which requires a professional treatment and the best thing you can do when you suspect that you have a slab leak problem is to consult professionals to inspect and fix the problem. There are, however, some common telltale signs of a slab leak.
Other than increased water bill and the sound of water, you may also detect unnatural warmness of sections of the floor, or some dampness with or without a mold infestation under your carpets. The most evident proof of a slab leak would be finding unexplained puddles of water on your floors. If you notice some cracks in your walls, that might be an indication of a slab leak as well.
The important thing to note here is that it’s not a good idea to delay reporting it. If left untreated, a slab leak can damage your house quite seriously. The first thing to be damaged would be your pipes and your flooring, but the problem can escalate from there and damage your walls and furniture. Ultimately, it can bring down the value of your house if you ever decide to sell it.
What Can Professionals Do?
Water damage professionals tend to have all the necessary equipment and experience to fix your problem. However, before they can repair your slab leak, they need to determine if there is a leak to begin with. Here’s how they do it https://www.kicrestoration.com/water-damage/slab-leak-detection-san-diego/.
Once it is determined that your problem is indeed a slab leak, the technicians can determine the best course of action. Most commonly, there are two possibilities, depending on the situation.
The easier option is rerouting the pipes. This approach has a two-fold benefit, especially for older homes. Not only will it starve the leaking pipes of water, it will also grant the house fresh new pipes. This approach to solving a slab leak problem is fairly invasive since it requires some cutting and uncovering the pipes, so it is mainly recommended for smaller leaks which haven’t caused any major problem.
Restoration with epoxy resin, on the other hand, requires no digging, which makes it significantly less invasive, but it is still good if you have a series of smaller leaks or a large singular leak. It does require two entry points for the epoxy resin to be injected.
Remember to only trust certified and insured restoration companies, because that is the only way to ensure that you get the best possible service and to protect yourself from unnecessary costs of having to re-do shoddy repairs later on.
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