Phoenix, AZ · Maricopa County

Slab leak water damage in Phoenix

A slab leak is a leak in a water or drain line under a concrete foundation. Soil movement, corrosion and abrasion wear through the pipe over time. Signs include a warm spot on the floor, a meter that moves with everything off, and wet flooring with no visible source.

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Slab leak water damage in Phoenix

Almost every house in Phoenix is built on a concrete slab, with no basement or crawl space. In homes built from the 1960s through the 1990s, soft copper water lines were commonly laid in or under that slab. The Valley's water is very hard, and decades of mineral-heavy water, hot-water expansion and contact with soil and concrete wear pinholes in the copper. The leak can run for weeks under tile before anyone sees it.

The signs are a warm strip of floor, the sound of water when nothing is on, a water bill that jumps, or damp baseboards and cabinets along one wall. Because most Phoenix floors are tile set directly on the slab, water travels sideways under it and soaks the bottom of the drywall and the toe-kicks of cabinets in rooms away from the leak. Dry desert air does not reach that moisture. It takes dehumidifiers, and often removing baseboards and drilling small holes to move air into the wall.

Plumbers here usually recommend rerouting the failed line overhead through the attic and walls instead of breaking through the slab, and many owners repipe the whole house once a second leak appears. Restoration follows the repair: moisture mapping, drying the slab edge and walls, and replacing damaged cabinets and flooring.

More about water damage in Phoenix.

Slab leak water damage at a glance

Service area: Phoenix, AZ, Maricopa County
Where it happens: Slab-on-grade homes, mostly in the South and West
Signs: Warm floor, meter moving, wet flooring
Repair: Tunnel, slab cut or reroute by a licensed plumber
Drying: Flooring, baseboards and lower walls

How the job works

Detect
A plumber or leak detection company pinpoints the leak under the slab.
Repair the line
The pipe is repaired or rerouted by a licensed plumber.
Remove wet materials
Damaged flooring and baseboards are removed so the slab and walls can dry.
Dry and restore
Dehumidifiers and air movers dry the slab surface and walls, then flooring is replaced.

Signs, costs and general questions

The warning signs, the factors that affect cost, safe first steps and answers to general questions are the same everywhere. They are covered on the main slab leak water damage page.

Questions about slab leak water damage

Why are slab leaks so common in Phoenix?

Slab foundations are nearly universal, many homes have copper lines under the slab, and the area's very hard water and daily hot-water expansion wear the pipe over time.

Will the dry Arizona air dry my walls after a slab leak?

Not reliably. Moisture trapped under tile, behind baseboards and inside wall cavities is sealed off from room air. It needs directed air movement and dehumidification, verified with a moisture meter.

Does insurance pay to repair a slab leak in Arizona?

Policies commonly cover the resulting water damage and sometimes the cost of reaching the pipe, but not the pipe repair itself, and long-term leaks may be excluded. Check your own policy.