Brea Slab Leak Detection & Repair
Brea slab leak detection finds the buried line that is leaking before anyone touches your floor. The typical Brea home was built in 1978. That means a lot of the copper under those slabs is more than forty years old. Free leak detection when you proceed with us for the repair, and a technician can be there within 60 minutes.
- Technician within 60 minutes
- PEX reroute through the attic
- Floors and tile left intact
- CSLB License #920054
Before you call: we work on the water lines in and under your home. Pool and spa leaks, irrigation lines and natural-gas lines are not our work. A leak in the slab, beneath the foundation, or in a wall behind a fixture is.
What does the age of a Brea home say about its pipes?
Most Brea homes sit in 92821, and that is where the older houses are. The typical home there was built in 1977, and about three in five went up before 1980. Homes from those years usually have copper water lines running inside the concrete slab. A slab leak is a break in one of those buried lines, and in copper that old it is most often a pinhole. The first signs are small: a warm patch of floor, a meter that turns with every faucet closed, or a water bill that jumps and stays high.
Up in 92823 the housing is much newer. Olinda Ranch was built in the early 2000s and La Floresta opened in the 2010s, and across the ZIP the typical home dates to 2007. A newer home can still leak, it just tends to happen later and for other reasons. Brea’s tap water is a blend of imported river water and groundwater, and both tested hard in the 2025 water quality report, at 236 and 225 parts per million. Water that hard leaves scale inside water heaters and valves, so we check those too.
No Callout Charge
The service call costs nothing. No trip charge, and nothing added before we've looked at the problem.
Always On Call
Nights, weekends and holidays included. We shut the line down, cap the water and stop the damage first.
Written Estimates
The repair scope in writing, with the test results behind it. You see the price before any drywall is cut.
Which leak problems do Brea homeowners call us about?
Most Brea leak detection calls fit one of these three. We locate the leak before opening anything, and your floor stays sealed.
Slab Leak Detection & Repair
When a line inside the slab fails, we work out exactly which one it is. Then we take it out of service and run new PEX (flexible plastic water line) through the attic. The concrete stays where it is.
- Hot or cold side confirmed
- Listening on the pipe, not the floor
- New line overhead, no jackhammer
Hidden Water Leak Detection
Brea water leak detection starts with a sign you can see or smell. It might be soft drywall, a stain on the ceiling, a damp cabinet floor or a musty room. We follow it back to the pipe that is leaking and fix it, most often through one small opening.
- Behind walls, above ceilings, under sinks
- Pressure test to confirm the leak
- One small, targeted opening
Emergency Leak Response
Water running across the floor or dripping through a ceiling. The first job is to stop it. Finding the source comes next.
- At your door within 60 minutes
- Water off, damage held back
- Source found once it's safe
What happens when we check a Brea home for a slab leak?
We test before we open anything. The same four steps run on every slab call, and no wall or floor gets touched until we know which line failed.
Watch the meter
With every faucet and appliance off, the water meter should not move. If it creeps, water is escaping. Next we close the main shutoff at the house. If the meter stops, the leak is indoors. If it keeps turning, the line out to the street is the problem.
Separate hot from cold
We close the cold inlet at the water heater. If the leak signal falls away, a hot line has failed. If it stays, the leak is on the cold side. A warm floor suggests a hot line, but it is not proof, so we test to be sure.
Listen on the pipe and pressure test
We listen through the piping itself, at shutoffs, the water heater and exposed runs. We don't listen through the floor, because concrete deadens the sound. A pressure gauge on a hose bib confirms the leak by itself. Thermal imaging is only a backup, used when it helps confirm.
Repair it properly
When the failed line is buried in the slab, we leave it there and run new PEX overhead through the attic. When the leak is at a shutoff, the water heater or inside a wall, a spot repair makes more sense. You get the plan and price in writing before we start.
A thank-you to the people who look after Brea.
A 5% discount (up to $200 off) for first responders, military, healthcare workers, teachers, seniors and nonprofit staff in Brea and nearby. Mention "Community Heroes" when you call our dispatch. We'll apply it.
- First Responders
- Military
- Healthcare Workers
- Seniors
- Teachers
- Nonprofit Employees
Applies to repairs over $500. Cannot be combined with other promotions. Proof of eligibility may be requested at the time of service.
Brea neighborhoods where we track down slab leaks.
The 57 runs through Brea. Brea Boulevard anchors downtown, Lambert Road and Valencia Avenue lead up to the newer hillside tracts, and Carbon Canyon Road heads east to Olinda Village. Every street in the city is inside our 60-minute window.
Our Office
Irvine, CA 92602
Neighborhoods we service for slab leaks
These are some of the parts of Brea we serve. Don't see yours? We cover it too, just call.
Leak work is what we do, and we've done it since 2008.
Cali's Choice
Slab leak and hidden leak specialists.
Slab leaks located and repaired
Reroutes and spot repairs, counted together.
California License
C-36 Plumbing classification. Bonded & insured statewide.
Leak detection
Free when you proceed with us for the repair.
What customers say about our leak work.
Verified Google reviews from slab and hidden-leak jobs our crews have handled.
Awesome service from John and his guys! I will be calling them for ALL plumbing repairs in the future! Super pleased! We had a slab leak. The leak was detected and the repair scheduled ASAP. John and son were very respectful and left things clean. Also, fairly priced.
I am so happy I called Cali's Choice Plumbing. I could hear water running in my bathroom wall and it turned out that I had a slab leak. I called and talked to Ginny. John B came out to give an estimate and then to do the work. They were both so amazing. Ginny was kind and very helpful. John explained everything throughout the process. He was very knowledgeable and helpful. They made a stressful situation much better and seemed liked they really cared. He even came out on his day off to finish the work. In addition, their price was reasonable. Everything is working great now. They will be my go to for any future plumbing needs. I highly recommend them.
We had a great experience working with John who came to fix a leak we had in our walls. We initially hired him for a free inspection, but due to the severity of the issue, we had him fix the issue that day. The drywall was very soggy and he discovered a small hole in a nearby pipe that started the leak. Within a few hours, he was able to remove the old insulation and close off the leak on the pipe. They were very efficient and I'd highly recommend them!
Making an insurance claim for a slab leak? We supply the proof.
Whether your policy pays is between you and your carrier. Our part is giving the adjuster clear proof of what failed, and handling the back-and-forth for you.
- A written cause-of-loss report naming the failed line, what it is made of, and how it gave out.
- We take photos of the test readings, the access point and the broken pipe, and date and label each one.
- An itemized repair scope that explains why a reroute was the right fix, when it was.
- We talk to your adjuster directly and answer any questions they send back.
- Drying out and restoring floors or drywall is a separate job from our plumbing work and is not on our invoice. We document that damage for your claim.
What does Brea slab leak repair cost?
No web page can price a slab job exactly, because the cost depends on what the testing finds. Here is what moves the number.
What moves the price
How many lines failed
A single reroute is the simplest job. When several lines are giving out, a larger reroute or a whole-house repipe can be the better value.
How old the copper is
In a house from the 1970s, the first leak often means the rest of that copper run is worn as well. That can change what we recommend.
Attic space
An open attic over a single story is the quickest job. A second floor or a cramped attic adds labor.
Water damage already there
Soaked flooring or drywall needs dry-out and restoration, which is a separate scope. We document it for your insurance.
Why can a leak in 92821 call for a different fix than one in 92823?
Mostly it comes down to age. The typical home in 92821 was built in 1977, while in 92823 it dates to 2007. When old copper fails once, the rest of that run is often worn too, so a reroute tends to make sense. In a newer home, a single bad fitting is more likely, and a spot repair may do.
We live in Olinda Village on Carbon Canyon Road. Is that inside your 60-minute window?
Yes. Olinda Village is part of Brea, and it sits inside the same 60-minute window as the rest of the city. Building there started in 1964, and the neighborhood has about 120 homes. If your meter moves with every faucet off, call and we’ll test it.
Brea gets water from two sources. Does it matter which one reaches my house?
Not much for leaks. The city blends imported surface water with groundwater, and in the 2025 report both tested hard, at 236 and 225 parts per million. Either way, scale builds up in water heaters and shutoff valves over the years. Those parts can leak on their own, so we check them before we look at the slab.
Brea's water testing found copper at the tap in most homes it sampled. Does that mean I have a leak?
No. In 2023 city testing, copper showed up in 30 of the 32 homes sampled, all under 1.3 ppm, the level where the water system must act. The report names household plumbing as the usual source. It measures water quality, not leaks. A leak shows up as a warm floor, a moving meter or a rising bill.
Brea's water report says a home can waste over 10,000 gallons a year to leaks. How do I check mine?
Start where the report points: toilets, faucets and the water heater. Its tip is a few drops of food coloring in the toilet tank. If color reaches the bowl without a flush, the flapper leaks. If those all check out and the meter still moves, call us. Detection is free when you proceed with us for the repair.
Brea floor feeling warm or water bill climbing? Expect a technician within 60 minutes.
A local technician finds the leak first and gives you a written quote before anything is opened. If it isn't our kind of job, we'll say so.
3943 Irvine Blvd, Ste 419 · Irvine, CA 92602 · CSLB #920054