First, confirm your home actually sits on a slab
Not every Goose Creek house is built on a concrete slab, and the repair plan depends on it. If your home has no basement, no crawlspace hatch and the garage floor sits level with the living space, it is probably slab on grade. Check your inspection report or the foundation plans if you have them, and tell us what you find when you call.
Any pipe reroute or replacement after a slab leak must meet the plumbing codes adopted locally, and permit rules vary, so ask the City of Goose Creek building inspection division. Pressure testing the new line before it is concealed is standard trade practice, not an upsell.
If the house sits on piers or over a crawlspace, the same symptoms usually mean a leak under the floor that is easier to reach. In that case leak detection under the house is the right starting point. We confirm the foundation type on the phone and again at the visit, before anyone talks about cutting concrete.
Signs of a slab leak: warm floors, hissing and a meter that will not sit still
Pipes in or under a slab are out of sight, so the clues are indirect. Water may seep up through a floor, a wet patch may appear at the edge of the foundation, or a pool of water may form outside. Callers also describe a floor that feels warm in one spot, and a water bill that has tripled with no change in habits.
Slab leak symptom checklist
- Warm spot on the floorA leaking hot water line can heat the concrete above it, even with the heater off for the room.
- Meter moves with all water offRun the test: shut all fixtures, then watch the dial. Movement points to a leak.
- Damp carpet, lifted flooring or cracked groutMoisture rising through concrete pushes against what sits on top.
- Water at the foundation edgeA wet strip along a slab edge with no rain is a strong clue.
- Hissing or running sound at nightQuiet hours make a pressurized leak easier to hear through the floor.
- Pressure sagging at every tapA large leak can pull pressure down across the whole house.
Before we arrive: stop the water and protect the floor
- Close the house main valveTurn it clockwise until it stops. If you cannot find it, the meter shutoff works, and the City of Goose Creek Water Division can help if the meter valve is stuck.
- Turn off the water heaterCut the power at the breaker or set a gas heater to pilot so it does not run dry or overheat.
- Photograph the meter and the damageYour insurer will want before and after details, and the meter photo shows the rate of loss.
- Keep clear of wet outletsShut off the breaker for a soaked area. Do not stand in water and touch a switch.
- Lift what you can off the floorRugs, furniture legs and boxes wick water and stain. Move them to a dry room.
- Do not drill or saw to find itA random hole in a slab can nick a second pipe or an electrical conduit.
How a slab leak gets pinpointed before anyone cuts concrete
Cutting a slab is the expensive step, so the location work has to be accurate. First we isolate the hot and cold lines at the manifold or heater and watch a pressure gauge to see which one is losing. That halves the search before a single instrument is switched on.
How the locating visit runs
- Confirm foundation and pipe layoutWe ask about the home's age, the water heater location and where the lines enter the house.
- Pressure test hot and cold separatelyA gauge on each line shows which one is dropping and how fast.
- Listen with acoustic gearA ground microphone on the floor picks up the sound of water escaping.
- Scan with thermal imagingA hot line leak shows as a warm path on the surface, especially on tile or concrete.
- Mark the spot and show the planThe location is marked on the floor, and you see the repair options before any cutting.
Accuracy depends on pipe material and depth, so a mark is a small area, not a pinpoint on the millimeter. If a drain line under the slab is the suspect instead of a pressurized supply line, a camera run is the right test, and the repair may be sewer line repair rather than a water line fix.
Slab leak repair options: spot repair, reroute or repipe
There are three real paths, and the right one depends on pipe age, how many leaks testing finds and how much disruption you can accept. A good plumber explains all three, not just the one that is easiest to sell.
Slab leak repair paths side by side
| Option | Best when | Trade-off | Disruption |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spot repair | One leak, pipe otherwise in good shape | Another leak can appear nearby if the pipe is old | Floor covering removed and concrete cut at one spot, then patched |
| Reroute | A slab line keeps failing or sits under a hard-to-open area | New pipe is exposed in attic or walls and needs drywall repair | Openings in walls or ceilings, slab stays closed |
| Whole-house repipe | Several leaks, aging pipe or failing material | Largest scope and drywall patching in many rooms | Water off for the work day, openings in most rooms |
| Drain line lining or replacement | The leak is waste water, not supply | Different method, different permits | Depends on access to cleanouts or the slab |
Spot repair
The crew saws the slab at the marked spot, digs to the pipe, replaces the bad section with new copper or PEX and a proper coupling, then pressure tests before patching. It is the quickest path and the least disruptive when one leak is the whole story. The catch: if the pipe is the same age everywhere, the next failure may be only a few feet away.
Reroute
Rerouting abandons the leaking line in the slab and runs new pipe through the attic, walls or ceiling to the same fixtures. The concrete stays whole, and you gain pipe you can reach later. It costs drywall work, and the attic runs need to be planned around insulation and the water heater location.
Repipe
When testing finds more than one leak, or the pipe material is failing along its length, replacing the supply system is often cheaper over time than repeated slab cuts. Our repiping service page explains PEX and copper trade-offs. A slab leak can be the push that makes a repipe the sensible choice.
Permit rules vary, so ask the City of Goose Creek building inspection division what is needed before concrete is cut or pipe is rerouted. Some jobs need a permit and an inspection, and a licensed plumber should know the steps.
Why the age of your Goose Creek home shapes the repair
Goose Creek grew from 3,656 people in 1970 to 17,811 in 1980, and construction has stayed active since, with rapid growth since 2000 and about 10,000 new residents since 2010. That means two very different housing eras. Homes from the 1970s and 1980s now have supply pipe that is four decades old or more, which is when pinholes and corroded fittings turn up.
Newer subdivisions built since 2000 have younger pipe, so a leak there is more often a bad fitting, a line rubbing the concrete edge or a pressure problem. The practical meaning: an older house with a slab leak favors a reroute or repipe quote, while a newer one is more likely to suit a spot repair. We still test before recommending either.
Neighboring Hanahan also grew through the 1970s, reaching 13,224 people by 1980, so homes of that age there face the same decision. Age tells you the odds, but the pressure test tells you the truth.
Water use tripled but nothing is wet: is it really a slab leak?
Plenty of people call with a big bill and no puddle. A leak under concrete can run for weeks without surfacing because the water drains into soil. Before assuming the worst, run the meter test, check the toilets with food coloring, and look at irrigation and any pool fill.
If the meter moves with everything off, shut the house main and look again. A meter that stops means the leak is on the house side, and a warm spot in the floor or a hissing sound makes a slab line likely. A meter that keeps moving points to the buried line before the house, which is a service line problem rather than a slab one.
A slab leak does not wait for Monday
Water under a floor soaks insulation, lifts flooring and feeds mold, so nights and weekends matter. Our dispatch handles after-hours slab leaks the same way as a weekday call, and same-day appointments are offered when available. Close the main, turn off the heater and call.
Warm floor, wet slab edge or a meter that will not stop? Call and describe what the meter is doing, and dispatch will line up a licensed plumber with detection gear.
☎ Call (855) 575-2890What drives the cost of a slab leak repair
- Repair path chosenA spot repair, a reroute and a repipe differ widely in labor, materials and wall repair.
- What covers the slabTile, hardwood, carpet and sealed concrete each cost different amounts to remove and put back.
- Depth and access to the pipeA line near the surface in an open room is simpler than one under cabinets or a garage wall.
- Number of leaks foundMore than one leak often shifts the best choice from repair to reroute or repipe.
- Restoration after the plumbingFlooring, drywall, paint and drying are usually separate trades and separate line items.
A leak under the slab usually grows slowly, which is why insurers often treat it as wear. Some policies still pay to reach the pipe or for the damage to flooring and cabinets, while others stop at the water that escaped. Keep the meter photos and the date the floor first felt warm, and ask your insurer what to document before anyone breaks concrete.
Call with your symptoms and foundation type, and we will give you a clear price for the right path before work starts. Call (855) 575-2890.
Questions Goose Creek homeowners ask
Yes. A hot floor or a meter spinning at 2 a.m. gets the same line as a weekday call, and same-day service is arranged when the schedule allows. Tell dispatch what the meter shows and what you feel underfoot, then close the main valve and switch off the water heater while you wait.
Look for the signs: no basement, no crawlspace hatch, and a garage floor level with the living area. An inspection report or foundation plan will say for certain. If you are unsure, tell us when you call and we confirm it at the visit before any cutting is proposed.
Only with a spot repair, and then only at the marked spot. A reroute leaves the slab closed and runs new pipe through the attic or walls. A repipe replaces the supply system, so the slab usually stays intact. Either way you see the options and the plan before anyone cuts.
Sometimes. If testing finds one leak in otherwise sound pipe, a spot repair or reroute is often enough. If there are several leaks or the pipe is failing along its length, a repipe may save repeated slab cuts. We lay out all three before you decide.
Yes. A drain leak under the floor can wet the slab and cause a sewer smell, while a supply leak is pressurized and shows on the meter. A camera inspection tells them apart, and the repair method is different for each.
Close the main valve and switch off the water heater. Photograph the meter and the wet area, shut off power to any soaked room, and move items off the floor. Then call. Do not drill into the slab to find the pipe.
Have a different question about slab leak repair?
☎ Call (855) 575-2890