A slab leak is water escaping from a pipe buried in or under your home's concrete foundation. It can run for weeks before anything visible changes. By the time you notice a warm spot on the floor, a crack in the drywall, or a water bill that jumped without explanation, the leak has already been saturating the soil and working on the structure beneath the slab. In the Phoenix metro, where nearly every home sits on a concrete slab-on-grade foundation, this is one of the more serious plumbing problems a homeowner will face.
Phoenix is hard on under-slab plumbing from both directions. The municipal water runs 12 to 20 grains per gallon depending on your provider, and that mineral load corrodes copper pipe from the inside over 15 to 25 years while the alkaline, chloride-rich soil corrodes the same pipe from the outside. Seasonal soil movement makes it worse, with caliche and clay shrinking through the dry months and expanding sharply during monsoon, stressing pipe joints with every cycle. Homes with original copper lines from the 1970s and 1980s are the most common cases we see. Most Phoenix homes built since the 1980s also use post-tension slabs, where tensioned steel cables run through the concrete, and that limits where and how a plumber can safely access the pipe beneath.
We start every slab leak job with electronic detection and pressure testing to pinpoint the leak without exploratory digging. Once we know where the failure is and what caused it, we recommend the repair method that fits your home, whether that is a spot repair through the slab, an overhead reroute through walls and ceiling, epoxy lining, or a repipe when the corrosion is widespread. You get an upfront flat-rate price before work begins, and if you need to file an insurance claim, we document the failure, the damage, and the work performed so your adjuster has what they need. Call 602-560-8989 for a free estimate.
What We Handle
Our Process
Locate
We use electronic listening equipment, pressure testing, and thermal imaging to find the exact leak location without opening the slab. On post-tension foundations, we identify cable positions before recommending an access route, because where you open a post-tension slab matters as much as where the leak sits.
Assess
Once we know where the leak is, we evaluate the pipe condition, the slab type, and your home's layout to determine the right repair approach. A single isolated failure calls for a different method than a pattern of corrosion that will produce more leaks in the same line. You get a clear recommendation and an upfront flat-rate price before any work starts.
Repair
The method matches what the assessment showed. Spot repair when the failure is isolated and slab access is safe. Overhead reroute when the damaged section needs to be abandoned or the slab cannot be safely opened. Epoxy lining when the pipe wall qualifies for an interior coating. We scope the work to fix the problem without disturbing more of your home than necessary.
Restore
We pressure-test the completed repair, patch any concrete and flooring access points, and confirm the system holds. If you are filing an insurance claim, we prepare the documentation your adjuster will need, including photos, a written scope of work, and a description of the failure and what was done to resolve it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Two forces working on the pipe from opposite sides. Phoenix municipal water runs 12 to 20 grains per gallon, and that mineral load corrodes copper from the inside over 15 to 25 years. The alkaline, chloride-rich soil corrodes the same pipe from the outside. Seasonal soil movement adds stress at joints and bends, with caliche and clay shrinking through the dry season and expanding during monsoon. Homes with original copper lines from the 1970s and 1980s are the most common cases. Kitec plumbing, installed in some Arizona homes between the mid-1990s and 2007, is another known failure point.
Most Phoenix homes built since the 1980s sit on post-tension slabs, where steel cables are pulled tight through the concrete after it cures. That makes the foundation stronger, but it means you cannot safely cut through the slab without knowing exactly where those cables are. Severing a tensioned cable can damage the foundation and is dangerous. When a slab leak sits under a post-tension foundation, the repair usually goes above the slab through walls and ceiling rather than straight through it.
Most Arizona homeowners policies cover damage from a sudden, accidental leak, including the cost to access the pipe and repair water damage to flooring, drywall, and belongings. The plumbing repair itself is often excluded, and gradual deterioration from aging pipe is not covered. The line between sudden and gradual is where claims get complicated, and thorough documentation makes the difference. We prepare a written scope of work with photos and a failure description for your adjuster.
Start with your water meter. Shut off every fixture in the house, check the reading, and wait fifteen minutes. If the meter advances, water is leaving the system somewhere. Other signs include a water bill that jumps without explanation, warm or damp spots on a floor over concrete, the sound of running water when nothing is on, and new cracks in walls or the foundation. There is more on the signs of a slab leak page. If you are seeing more than one of these, call us for a leak detection test to confirm whether it is under the slab or somewhere else.
It depends on the leak location, the cause, and whether your slab is post-tension or conventional. A spot repair opens the slab at the failure, fixes the pipe, and patches the concrete. An overhead reroute abandons the damaged section and runs new pipe through walls or ceiling, often the best option when a post-tension slab cannot be safely cut. Epoxy lining coats the inside of the existing pipe without excavation. When corrosion is widespread, a partial or full repipe replaces the under-slab lines. We walk you through which approach fits your situation.
Yes. Find your main shutoff valve, usually near the front of the house where the supply line enters, and close it. That stops the leak from running while you wait for a plumber. If you are not sure where your shutoff is or how to operate it, our water shutoff guide walks through the common valve types in Phoenix homes. The sooner you stop the flow, the less damage the leak does to soil and structure under the slab.