How To Spot a Serious Water Leak In Your Concrete

Chipping and denting from heavy objects, furniture rust marks, burns from outdoor fire heaters and woodfired cookers, and water leakage and rot.

While the first three are superficial and easy to prevent with a degree of caution, Slab Leaks can remain undetected for months and wreak irreparable damage to your concrete slabs and foundations. Over time, the foundation may buckle and shift, causing the home’s floors and walls to crack. In more severe cases, portions of the house can even collapse.

How Common Are Slab Leaks

The probability of a slab leak in your home or business varies between regions. Due to the topography and rainfall volume across Sydney’s Northern Beaches and North Shore, we are slightly more exposed to ground shifts that put significant pressure on plumbing infrastructure. Older homes will be even more susceptible to a slab leak due to the older pipes.

For many homeowners, water leaks in a concrete slab can remain completely unnoticed until they receive a much higher than usual water bill. After that, most people will check all the regular water leak culprits – taps, toilets and showers. Unfortunately, the slab leak will often escape their notice during and after this inspection process as it’s not intuitive to check for it.

What To Look Out For

If you suspect there may be a slab leak within some part of your concrete foundation, here are a few things to keep an eye out for.

Warm Spots On The Floor

If it’s the hot water that’s leaking, then you might be able to zero in on it by checking the floor for abnormally warm spots. This should be relatively easy with concrete, carpeted or thin linoleum floors. However, if your floor is tiled, this may present greater issues. Unless the leak is severe enough to cause water to seep into the space between the adhesive and the tiles. If this is the case, there could be other warning signs of water damage within the tile flooring. Finding a warm area on hardwood floors can also be problematic.

Raised ‘Dome’ On The Floor

When a leak remains undetected for an extended period of time and is severe enough, it can warp the shape of the floor. This often leads to the formation of what’s referred to as a "dome," or raised area in the floor. While the presence of a dome in your floor is a strong indicator of where the leak is, it also means that significant damage has occurred to the foundation.

Heaving

If any concrete slab within your home undergoes an extreme degree of swelling, the building can lift slightly. This process is often referred to as heaving. Where heaving occurs because of a slab leak, it is critical that you seek an expert to assist with the repair.

Any sudden or dramatic shift in a home’s foundation can cause significant damage to its overall structure, leading to cracking in internal and external walls as well as the slab itself. The settling of the home’s foundation can also cause these symptoms.

Water Bill Increase

If you notice a sudden increase in your water costs without an accompanying increase in use or update to your cost-of-service rates, it could be a red flag that you have a more severe leak.

Repairing The Damage

The first port of call is to manage the main slab leak. Your local plumber should have all the required tools to diagnose, access and repair the leak. While they are there, it is a good idea to complete a full inspection of all plumbing infrastructure to insure against any future leaks and further damage.

You may also require an engineer or building inspector to survey the building to ensure no major structural damage or shifts in the property have occurred.

Once any issues have been identified or there is no significant issue to report, you can now replace the damaged section of concrete. This type of work must be carried out by a professional concreter to ensure the correct materials are used and finish achieved.

If your home has suffered a significant water leak within the foundation or any other concrete structure and now needs repair. Reach out to the Northern Beaches and North Shore concreting experts, Aussie All-Stars. Contact Danny on 0410 238 215.