Hidden Water Line Leaks

plumbing, pipe, wrench

Hidden leaks on a pressurized water line cause a lot of damage before their existence is even known. The first indication you may get that there is a leak may be a large water bill from your local water utility. These leaks are usually underground or worse, under your foundation. This page will show you how to first find those leaks and give you some options on how to fix them.

Grandpa TJ: I’ve located videos which deal with many of the types of leaks you may run into at home. If you are handy with some simple tools and can get to a hardware store, these videos will give you enough information to get the job done for far less cost than a plumber.

Remember, you can get personalized help including video chat during your repair if you need it. Visit Grandpa TJ’s Inner Circle for more information on how to schedule a live consultation.

How to find those leaks...

Here are links if you would like to jump ahead to specific types of leaks.

Repairing Pressurized Water Pipe Leaks

If you have discovered a leak in the permanent water supply lines, you will need to check your local building codes before making any permanent repairs.

This video shows 8 ways to repair copper pipes, both temporary (non-code) and permanent repairs that will pass inspection. If you are in doubt, talk to a plumber.

Thanks to Got2Learn for the YouTube video

If you decide to change from one type of pipe to another (for example using PEX to bypass a leaking copper run), this video shows how to make those transitions.

Thanks to Got2Learn for the YouTube video

Finding Leaks

In this video, a master plumber goes through the definitions of which pipes you are responsible for fixing and how to determine if there are leaks in your plumbing (both water and sewer) system. Later videos will show you ways that you can check for water leaks without calling a plumber.

Thanks to Roger Wakefield for the YouTube video

This video goes through 7 areas where you may have overlooked simple leaks. These leaks may not be causing the huge water bill, but they need to be eliminated so that you will be able to find that big, hidden leak.

Thanks to Any Hour Services - Electric, Plumbing, Heating & Air for the YouTube video

This video shows more ways to determine where you have a water leak in your house.

Thanks to PEX Universe for the YouTube video

This pair of videos show you how to localize an underground leak and a slab leak.

Thanks to Trifco Studio and Twin Home Experts for the YouTube videos

Grandpa TJ’s Cautionary Tale…

We accidently found an under-slab, hot water leak because a section of the floor was hot to step on and checking the water meter confirmed the leak. Fortunately, we didn’t find any moisture anywhere around the hot spot – so mold and water damage to the house weren’t factors.

We called what we thought was a leak detection service. They rushed right out but didn’t bother to search for damage or test for moisture, they just set up fans to “dry” the leak. NOTE: If there had been moisture evident on the slab or walls, then fans and other drying tools would have been necessary. But no drying was necessary and they should have told me that they weren’t needed.  Be willing to tell them to pack up their gear and leave like I did! Don’t let them pressure you into service that you don’t need and then bill you for that unnecessary service. Always ask lots of questions…

As a contrast to the above story, this video shows you how professional leak detection is done.  After finding the leak, this full-service plumber performs a through-the-slab repair of the leak. More details on the repair itself can be found in the Finding Leaks In Your Foundation section.

Thanks to Restoration Talks for the YouTube video

Grandpa TJ: The plumbers in our area don’t find slab leaks, they use a separate leak detection service who uses specialized training and tools to find and mark the leak and all of the pipes involved. The mapping out of the water line runs made a big difference when it came to deciding how to proceed when the plumbers got there.  We decided that a total bypass of the entire section between the water heater and the bathroom was the best answer.  This was because once a pipe develops one leak, it’s not unusual to have more occur around it soon after.

Fixing Underground Leaks in your Yard

BEFORE YOU DIG…

GET YOUR LOCAL UTILITIES TO MARK ANY UNDERGROUND SERVICE RUNS ANYWHERE NEAR WHERE YOU PLAN TO DIG IN YOUR YARD!

This is normally a free service and you may even have a dedicated phone number like 811 to call. The last thing you need is to turn a leaking water line into an expensive power outage, natural gas leak, internet or sewer line break also!

The video located here has a good overview on what kinds of underground services you need to be aware of before digging.

This video shows you how to find and repair an underground plastic water main between the meter and the house. NOTE: the underground utilities locator marks were done in this video.

Thanks to Beer and Stuff for the YouTube video

This video shows how a pinhole leak in a copper water supply line is solved with just a fitting.

Thanks to Video MyGoodness for the YouTube video

This video shows the repair of a rusted joint in a PVC to copper water main union.

Thanks to Pete B: East Texas Homesteading for the YouTube video

This video shows how a leak between a water well pump and a house was located using an air compressor to aid in finding the leak.

Thanks to Steve Hansen for the YouTube video

What Causes Slab Leaks?

This video by a master plumber goes over many of the causes of slab leaks which can be important when it comes time to speak with your homeowner insurance company.

Thanks to Roger Wakefield for the YouTube video

This video goes over important things to know about slab leaks – especially before you start tearing open walls or floors.

Thanks to CRC Plumbing for the YouTube video

Plumber's Through-the-Slab Repairs

This video about finding leaks was shown earlier. It also shows a through-the-slab repair. Click Here to watch the entire video from the beginning or click the video link below to jump to just the repair itself.

Grandpa TJ: They don’t describe the actual leak in this video but it appears to have been caused by the bend in the water supply line as it goes over the sewer line. You can see a wet spot at the bent section of the water line (at the 2:41 minute mark). So instead of using a straight piece of pipe for the repair, they chose to create a short bypass section to zigzag around that obstructing sewer line.

Thanks to Restoration Talks for the YouTube video

This video shows how an under slab leak is found and exposed. The repair process would be the same as shown in other videos here.

Thanks to Plumbing Kings LLC for the YouTube video

This video shows another through-the-slab leak being repaired by a plumbing company.

Grandpa TJ: This video is what I call a “video diary” of running commentary rather than an actual how-to video but it shows some of what happens during through-the-slab repairs.

Thanks to In-House Plumbing Company for the YouTube video

This video shows how this plumbing company actually has to tunnel under the foundation to find and repair the leak – you can bet it was expensive!  The nice thing is that they also found both a second leak and a potential leak and made repairs to both of those at the same time.

Thanks to Roger Wakefield for the YouTube video

Bypassing Slab Leaks

Grandpa TJ: As mentioned earlier on this page, we found an under-slab, hot water leak at our house. After one false start with another company, we had a leak detection service locate the leak and map out the pipe runs from the hot water heater to the bathroom. This gave us the information we needed to decide to bypass the entire under-slab section by going through the attic and dropping down into the bathroom instead. It would be faster than jack hammering through the slab just to repair a 40 year old pipe which is likely to develop another leak in the future.

This video shows how overhead PEX pipe is used to bypass a leaking copper pipe under the slab.

Thanks to Cliff Morgan for the YouTube video

These videos show how an exterior copper bypass is done to eliminate a leaking copper pipe under the slab.

Thanks to Twin Home Experts for both of these YouTube videos

This video shows another PEX bypass being done.

Thanks to Southern Home Talk for this YouTube video

This long video shows a copper  bypass being done along with all of the prep work and even a short tutorial on soldering (sweating) copper joints.

Thanks to Joe's Garage for this YouTube video

Finding Leaks in Walls or Ceilings

This quick video introduces some of the factors to consider when trying to find a leak behind drywall.

Thanks to ehowathomechannel for this YouTube video

This video shows a leak which had been running behind the drywall behind a toilet for quite a while creating damage and mold. Spoiler: they discovered that a steel nail caused the leak – not because it punctured the pipe – but it was just touching the copper and that caused it to fail…

Thanks to Wesley Fazekas for this YouTube video

This kind of long but fun video shows a mystery leak which took some real detective work to find.

Thanks to Matt Risinger for this YouTube video

Finding and repairing these leaks range from easy to difficult but can save you a lot of money.  Even if you can’t perform the repair itself, finding the leak before hiring a plumber to fix it will still be cost effective. 

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