What to Do If Your Slab Is Leaking: A Step-by-Step Guide for Little Rock Homeowners

A slab leak is a leak in a water pipe under your concrete foundation. Act fast to limit the damage:

1. Turn off your main water shutoff to stop the leak.
2. If you feel a warm spot on the floor, turn off your water heater.
3. Check your water meter. If it moves with all water off, you likely have a hidden leak.
4. Take photos of wet floors, cracks, and your water bill for insurance.
5. Move furniture and rugs away from damp areas.
6. Call a licensed plumber for leak detection before anyone breaks concrete.
7. Call your insurance company to ask what your policy covers.

Think you have a slab leak? See how we handle slab leak repair in Little Rock.

Yes, you can have a slab leak and not know it. The pipe is buried under concrete, so the water often has nowhere to show. Most people find out from their water bill or their floors.

Watch for these signs:

• Your water bill jumps, but you can't find a drip anywhere.
• A spot on the floor feels warm. This often means a hot water line is leaking.
• You hear water running when every faucet and toilet is off.
• Carpet feels damp, or wood floors start to warp.
• Tile cracks or lifts for no clear reason.
• You smell something musty near the floor.

The easiest way to tell if there's a leak under your concrete floor is the water meter test. You can do it yourself in about two hours:

1. Turn off every faucet, appliance, and sprinkler in the house.
2. Find your water meter and write down the reading.
3. Wait two hours without using any water.
4. Check the meter again. If the number changed, you probably have a leak.

A moving meter tells you water is escaping somewhere. It doesn't tell you where. If you can't find a leak at a toilet, faucet, or outside spigot, the pipe under your slab is a likely spot.

Your first goal is to stop the water. The longer it runs, the more soil and flooring can get soaked. Follow these steps in order.

1. Shut off your main water valve. In most slab homes, it's in the garage or near the water heater. Turn it clockwise until it stops. If your only valve is in a box near the street, check with Central Arkansas Water before using it. That valve may belong to the utility.
2. Turn off your water heater if you feel a warm spot. A warm floor often means the hot water line is leaking. For an electric heater, flip its breaker off. For a gas heater, turn the dial to "Pilot."
3. Take photos. Get pictures of wet spots, cracked tile, and your last few water bills. Your insurance company will likely ask for them.
4. Move rugs and furniture. Pull them away from damp areas so they don't soak up water or grow mold.

Don't try to break the concrete yourself. Leak detection finds the right spot first. Without it, you could open your floor in the wrong place.

We're open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. If you find a leak at night or on a weekend, shut off the water and take your photos. Then call us first thing the next business day.

Yes, a slab leak is serious. The damage is usually slow, and it grows the longer the leak runs.

Water leaking under your slab can wash away the soil that supports your foundation. Arkansas has expansive clay soils that swell when wet and shrink when dry. Extra water under one part of your home can make that ground move unevenly. Over time, that puts stress on your foundation.


A slab leak can also cause:

• Mold under carpet and along baseboards
• Warped wood floors and cracked tile
• A water bill that keeps climbing every month

A small slab leak can go undetected for months. The water soaks into the soil instead of rising to the surface. Many people only catch it when the bill jumps or a floor feels warm.

Water that only shows up after rain is usually a drainage problem, not a broken pipe. Rainwater can soak the ground around your home and push up through cracks in the slab. High groundwater can do the same thing.

A plumbing leak doesn't care about the weather. It leaks rain or shine. The water meter test from earlier is the fastest way to tell the two apart.

	Rain or groundwater	Plumbing leak
When it shows up	After storms	Any time
Between storms	Dries out	Stays damp
Water meter test	Meter doesn't move	Meter moves
Water bill	Normal	Goes up
Warm spots on floor	No	Possible on a hot water line

If the problem is drainage, the fix happens outside your home. Common fixes include:

• Regrading the soil so it slopes away from your foundation
• Adding gutters or moving downspouts farther from the house
• Installing a sump pump to move water away

We install sump pumps, so we can help with this too. Either way, it helps to know which problem you have before you pay for a repair.

Plumbers find a slab leak with tools that test, listen, and see through your floor. The goal is to pinpoint the leak before any concrete gets broken. That keeps the repair spot small.

Here's how leak detection usually works:

• Pressure testing. The plumber tests each water line to confirm there's a leak. This also shows whether it's on the hot or cold side.
• Acoustic listening. Electronic listening tools pick up the sound of water escaping from a pipe under the slab.
• Thermal imaging. An infrared camera shows warm areas in your floor. This helps track a leak on a hot water line.

Pinpointing the leak first saves you money. Without it, someone may have to open several spots to find the problem. With it, the repair can target one spot.

If your meter test points to a hidden leak, see how we find and fix your slab leak.

Yes, you can often fix a slab leak without digging into your floor. A reroute runs a new water line through your walls or attic and skips the slab. It's not the right fix for every home, though.

There are three main ways to fix a slab leak:

• Spot repair. We open the slab right above the leak, fix that section of pipe, and patch the concrete. This works well for one leak in pipe that's otherwise healthy.
• Reroute. We leave the leaking line in place and run a new one through the walls or attic. Your floor stays untouched.
• Repipe. We replace the water lines in your home. This makes sense when your pipes are old and leaking in more than one spot.

	Spot repair	Reroute	Repipe
Best for	One leak in healthy pipe	Avoiding work on the slab	Old pipes with several leaks
Where we open	A small spot in the floor	Walls or ceiling	Walls or ceiling
Touches the slab	Yes	No	Depends on the home

A small, easy-to-reach leak can be fixed in a few hours. A larger or hard-to-reach leak can take up to three days.

Some companies also offer epoxy pipe lining, which coats the inside of the old pipe. Ask your plumber if your pipes are a good fit for it.

If your home has had more than one slab leak, a spot repair may only buy time. The rest of the pipe under your slab is likely the same age.

Slab leak repair costs about $2,280 on average across the U.S., with most jobs between $630 and $4,400. Those are national numbers from HomeAdvisor. Your price depends on your home and the fix you choose.

Service	National typical range
Leak detection	$150 to $400
Slab leak repair	$630 to $4,400
Reroute	$600 to $4,000

Source: HomeAdvisor

What changes your price:

• Where the leak is and how hard it is to reach
• The condition of your slab
• The repair method: spot repair, reroute, or repipe
• Whether leak detection is needed first

Insurance may help, but it depends on your policy and what caused the leak. Most homeowner policies cover sudden leaks (source). Many don't cover slow leaks or pinhole leaks from pipe corrosion. Call your insurance company before any work starts.

Questions to ask your adjuster:

• Does my policy cover slab leaks?
• Does it pay to open and patch the floor?
• Does it cover water damage to floors and walls?
• What photos or paperwork do you need from me?

If you're a Central Arkansas Water customer, ask about their leak adjustment policy. They offer a courtesy adjustment for one billing cycle during a leak.

We offer financing on every job. Already have a quote from another plumber? Show it to us. We'll tell you honestly if we can beat it or if their price is already fair. Learn more about our slab leak repair service, or call Diamond State Plumbing for a second opinion.

Slab leaks are a common problem in Little Rock, mostly because of the age of our homes and the ground under them. Half of Little Rock's homes were built in 1978 or earlier (source). About 30% went up in the 1970s and 1980s.

Here's why that matters:

• Older pipes. Many homes from that era have copper water lines under the slab. Pinhole leaks in copper pipe have been found in all 50 states (source).
• Moving soil. Arkansas clay swells when it's wet and shrinks when it's dry. Slab leaks are most common in places where the ground moves like this.

We fix slab leaks across Little Rock, including West Little Rock, Pleasant Valley, the Kanis Road area, and Otter Creek. If your home was built in the '70s or '80s and you've noticed any warning signs, don't wait.

Get started with slab leak repair in Little Rock, or call Diamond State Plumbing at 501-585-5454.