Slab Leak Repair
A slab leak is a pressurized supply line failing inside or beneath your concrete foundation, and it almost never announces itself politely. The usual tells are a hot patch underfoot, a water bill that climbs for no reason, or the hiss of water moving while every tap is closed. The repair that holds up is rarely a patch. On the aged copper that fails this way, we abandon the bad run and route new PEX overhead, so the leak stops and your floor stays whole.
- 60-minute response
- Overhead PEX reroute on aged copper
- Floors and tile left intact
- CSLB License #920054
Heads up: We’re slab and water-line specialists. We don’t service pool/spa leaks, irrigation lines, or natural-gas lines. Anything inside the slab, under the foundation, or in the wall feeding a fixture, that’s exactly what we do.
What is slab leak repair?
Slab leak repair is the work of locating and stopping a water supply line that has failed inside or beneath a home’s concrete slab foundation. Done correctly, it does not mean jackhammering the floor: the failed pipe is isolated and a new line is rerouted overhead through the walls and attic, so the leak is stopped without cutting open the slab. The first half of the job is detection, finding which line failed and where, because the repair plan depends entirely on what the diagnostic confirms.
No Callout Charge
Your service call is free. No trip charges, no surprise add-ons before we’ve looked at anything.
Always On Call
Nights, weekends, holidays, slab leaks don’t wait. We isolate the line, cap the water, and stop the damage now.
Written Estimates
Reroute scope, in writing, with the diagnostic behind it. You see the price before any drywall opens.
Six ways a slab leak job actually plays out
Most of these are the same underlying job arriving in a different shape. The common thread: the foundation itself stays sealed. Which of these your home lands on is what the diagnostic decides, and it’s what shapes the written quote.
Slab Leak Detection
Non-invasive locating: acoustic listening, pressure testing, and a thermal pass to confirm which line gave way, all before any concrete is disturbed.
- Hot versus cold side isolated first
- Acoustic confirmation through the pipe itself
- Thermal scan used to back up a hot-side find
Overhead PEX Reroute
Our default answer to any leak buried in the slab. We retire the failed run and carry a fresh PEX line through the attic instead. No tile lifted, no concrete sawn, no shock to neighboring pipe.
- Two small drywall access points
- New PEX-A routed overhead
- Pressure-tested before we close up
Accessible Spot Repair
When the failure sits at a reachable shutoff, a water-heater connection, or a wall feeding a fixture rather than under the slab, we fix it in place on the same visit.
- Section swapped right at the failure
- Copper or PEX, your call
- Verified under pressure before we leave
Hot-Side Diagnosis
Hot lines wear out ahead of cold ones, so most slab leaks surface there. Pinning the side early keeps us from chasing the wrong run.
- Heater inlet closed to split hot from cold
- Acoustic confirmation on the hot run
- Thermal scan only when it adds certainty
Whole-House PEX Repipe
When several runs are failing on tired copper, or pressure keeps driving repeat leaks, a full repipe is the durable fix. Run overhead, the slab left untouched.
- Hot and cold lines replaced in PEX-A
- Usually staged across a few days
- Pressure regulator checked as part of it
Insurance Claim Assistance
A slab leak with water damage is among the most documentable claims a homeowner can file. We assemble the evidence the adjuster expects and submit it for you.
- Sudden and accidental cause-of-loss
- Reroute justification adjusters can follow
- Direct billing where the carrier allows
How a slab leak gets found without breaking the slab.
Homeowners brace for a plumber to arrive with a jackhammer and a hunch. That is the opposite of how this works. Finding a slab leak is a process of elimination before it is ever a search: each step is a yes-or-no test that cuts the possible fault area roughly in half, so by the time anyone listens for the leak itself, the question has already shrunk from somewhere in the house to this line, this side, about here. We are confirming a hypothesis, not hunting blind, and that is the whole reason it can be done without opening the floor.
The order is fixed on purpose, cheapest and least invasive test first, because each one rules out an entire category of problem before the next begins. Run the steps out of order and you end up guessing with expensive tools and a saw. Run them in order and, by the time anything gets opened, we already know the failed line and roughly its position. That is the difference between one deliberate access cut and a wrecked kitchen floor.
Read the meter first
Before a tool comes off the truck, we watch the water meter with every fixture shut. It answers a single question with no instruments and no assumptions: is this closed system holding water or losing it? A still meter means it holds, and a leak is ruled out before we touch a wall. A creeping one proves water is escaping somewhere, and only then is there a leak worth hunting.
In the slab, or upstream of it?
We shut the main valve at the house. The main is the boundary between two completely different jobs, so settling which side the loss is on keeps us from diagnosing the wrong system. If the meter goes still, the loss is inside the home, in or under the slab. If it keeps turning, the trouble is in the service line between meter and house, a different repair with a different price tag.
Split the hot side from the cold
At the water heater we close the cold inlet. Starting here is playing the odds, not guessing: hot lines fail first, because heat speeds the copper’s corrosion and the constant expand-and-contract of hot water works the pipe against the concrete. If the leak signal eases, it is a hot-side slab leak; if it holds steady, it is cold. A warm floor is a hint, not proof, because hot lines don’t always warm the surface above them, so we trust the acoustic read over the bare foot.
Listen through the pipe, not the floor
This is a method choice, not a preference. Concrete is dense, so it deadens and scatters a leak’s sound, and listening at the surface gives a smeared reading that points everywhere and nowhere. The pipe itself is a continuous metal path that carries the leak’s hiss cleanly to any point we can reach, a shutoff, the heater, a hose bib, and because the sound travels along the metal it also tells us which line is carrying it. We read the material that conducts the signal, never the one that muffles it.
Confirm it under pressure
Acoustics can be fooled, by background noise, by more than one suspect on the line, so we never open anything on a single signal. We cap a gauge onto a hose bib, close the main, and watch the needle. A steady fall is a separate physics that proves the system is actively losing water no matter what we heard, and the speed of the drop estimates how fast. Two independent signals agreeing is what lets us cut one spot with confidence instead of exploring.
Add a thermal pass when it earns its place
Thermal reads surface temperature, which is only a proxy: it works on a hot-side leak under conductive flooring and is easily thrown off by sun, appliances, or a radiant heat path. Treat it as the primary locate and it will send you digging the wrong line, so we keep it as a tiebreaker that confirms the acoustic read, never the thing a cut is based on. Most slab leaks are solved before the camera comes out.
Why we route around a slab leak instead of cutting into it.
On a leak buried in the concrete, the failed run gets bypassed overhead through the attic rather than patched in place. The reasoning starts with what a slab leak actually is: a pinhole in buried copper is rarely a one-off accident, it is the first visible symptom of a process that has been working on the whole run at once.
Buried supply copper fails two ways, and neither is local to the pinhole. From the inside out it pits and erodes, driven by the water’s chemistry, its velocity, and the steady push of high static pressure. From the outside in it abrades where it rubs against the concrete as hot water expands and contracts it. The rest of that line shares the same age, the same water, and the same pressure history, so a second failure is not a risk we invent to sell a bigger job, it is the same process reaching the next weak point. That is why a patch is usually the first repair of several: it treats the symptom and leaves the cause buried and pressurized, where the next leak is again invisible until the damage is done.
A fresh line carried above the slab
New PEX goes up the wall, across the ceiling joists, and back down to the fixture. The failed pipe stays capped in the concrete where it sits. Nothing gets sawn, nothing vibrates loose, and because the new line runs in the open, any future issue shows itself the day it starts instead of hiding under the slab for weeks.
Sawing the slab to patch one spot
Cutting into the foundation to mend one length of worn copper leaves the rest of that line exactly where it was, still buried, still aging on the same clock. The next failure usually lands on the same run, and the saw and hammer drill send vibration through pipe that is already corrosion-weakened elsewhere, so the repair can set off the very leak it was meant to prevent.
Bypass the failing line overhead
For any pipe failure under the concrete, hot or coldA reroute walks new PEX-A through the walls and attic and abandons the bad copper in the slab. The leak stops because that pipe stops carrying water. The case for it isn’t about looks, it’s structural:
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The rest of the run is covered The pinhole that surfaced is a sample of the whole line’s condition, not an isolated event, so a reroute retires the entire vulnerable run instead of one hole in it and waiting on the next.
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No demolition near weakened pipe Saws and hammer drills send vibration through copper that is already thinning elsewhere on the run. A patch can solve the leak you see and start one you can’t. A reroute sidesteps that risk entirely.
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It turns a hidden line into a visible one The abandoned run stops being an unmonitorable pipe in the concrete; the new line is overhead and in reach, so the next surprise, if there ever is one, is one you can actually see coming.
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Nothing pulled up The work runs through two small drywall openings: no flooring torn out, no slab to re-pour, no finish carpentry to redo afterward.
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Stands behind a warranty New PEX carries a parts-and-workmanship warranty. A patch on tired copper does not, and no honest plumber will pretend otherwise.
Accessible spot repair
When the leak is NOT in the slabWe only steer toward a spot repair when the leak isn’t actually trapped in the concrete. It sits somewhere we can reach without opening the slab, and the diagnostic almost always tells us that up front.
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At a reachable shutoff or angle stop Under a sink, behind a toilet, at the laundry box. We swap the failing fitting and we’re done.
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At the water-heater connection A flex line, a dielectric union, or the inlet itself, all visible and all fixable without opening anything.
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Inside a reachable wall cavity A pinhole behind drywall feeding a fixture, not under the slab. A small cut, a section swap, a patch.
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Never through the slab If the diagnostic puts the leak in the concrete, the concrete stays closed and we reroute. No exceptions, whatever the price looks like.
If a plumber wants to saw your slab open to patch one spot on aged copper, ask what makes the rest of that run different from the piece that just failed. Usually nothing does, same age, same water, same pressure, and that is the whole answer.
Our thanks to the people who keep our communities running.
A 5% discount (up to $200 off) for first responders, military, healthcare workers, teachers, seniors, and nonprofit staff in the communities we serve. Mention "Community Heroes" when you call; we’ll take care of the rest.
- First Responders
- Military
- Healthcare Workers
- Seniors
- Teachers
- Nonprofit Employees
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.
Slab leak repair in your city
We dispatch from offices across Southern California. Pick your city for local response times, neighborhoods, and the team that serves you.
Cities served by our Murrieta office
Cities served by our Aliso Viejo office
Cities served by our Irvine office
Cities served by our San Diego office
Slab leak specialists since 2008.
Cali's Choice
Leak detection and slab leak specialists, family-run and serving Southern California homeowners.
Slab leaks located and repaired
Spot repairs and overhead reroutes, across thousands of service calls combined.
California License
C-36 Plumbing classification. Bonded and insured statewide.
Leak detection
Free when we do the slab repair.
What homeowners say about our slab work.
Real reviews posted to our Google Business Profile.
I suffered a slab leak and then an unrelated leak. Sergio was the lead, very upfront, courteous, and did very good work with real attention to detail. That experience was great, so I called again for the next problem and it was the same. I would recommend Sergio and Cali's Choice to anyone.
A water leak under our slab was carefully fixed by Sergio and Levi. They worked for hours straight so that we could have running water that evening. Estimates were reasonable, repairs were explained, and the areas were cleaned up at completion. What more can one ask for?
Awesome service. We had a slab leak. The leak was detected and the repair scheduled right away. The team was respectful, left things clean, and the work was fairly priced. I will be calling them for all plumbing repairs in the future.
A slab claim usually turns on the reroute. We document it so it holds.
With a slab leak, the water damage is rarely the argument: carriers tend to grant that part. The money is decided on the pipe repair, specifically whether the adjuster accepts a reroute or insists on a cheaper patch through the slab. A default-minded carrier prices the patch and balks at rerouting aged copper, and that is exactly where a homeowner loses ground if the file only lists a loss instead of making the engineering case.
So we build the claim around that argument at the diagnostic, then carry it to the adjuster ourselves, so the reroute is justified on the record before it is ever questioned, not defended after it has already been denied.
- The loss, written as sudden and accidental. Coverage hinges on that finding, so the file leads with how the line gave way, which side it was on, the build year, and the copper it was run in: the line between a covered event and a wear-and-tear denial.
- The diagnostic, not just the damage. The locating read, the access point, and the failed copper are photographed and logged, because the reroute case rests on showing why that line failed, not merely that water turned up.
- The repair argued, not just listed. The scope sets spot repair against reroute with the reasoning attached, so an adjuster pricing a patch can see why the reroute is the repair that actually holds on aged copper.
- The reroute defended up front. Carriers often wave a slab patch through and push back on a reroute, so the engineering rationale goes on the record early, before the correct repair can be downgraded to the cheap one at review.
- We talk to the adjuster, you don’t. Pipe-failure questions and evidence requests come to us, so you are not stuck translating between a carrier and a plumber in the middle of your own claim.
What slab leak repair actually costs.
The honest answer is that no website can hand you an exact figure. The same diagnosis can land on very different jobs depending on what we find: one line or two, single story or two, an open attic or a finished one. What we can do is lay out exactly what moves a slab repair up or down, so the written quote reads as logic rather than a number pulled from the air.
What moves a slab job up or down
How much line gets rerouted
A single hot run from the heater out to one wing of the house is the common case. Multi-line reroutes and full repipes scale the work up from there.
Pipe material and age
Older Type-M copper that has failed once tends to mean the rest of that run is close behind, which can move the recommendation from a one-line reroute toward a full repipe.
Run length and attic access
How far the new line travels and how workable the attic is both feed the labor. A single-story home with an open attic is quick; a two-story with a finished one takes longer.
Number of access openings
Most reroutes need two small drywall cuts. A more involved run can call for a third. Patching and texture-matching is written into the quote, not added after.
Water damage already done
If the leak has soaked drywall or flooring, drying and rebuild is a separate scope handled by a sister company. We document it for your claim and keep it off our repair number.
What causes a slab leak in the first place?
Mostly age and wear. Copper set in concrete can pit from the inside as water and pressure work on it for years. It can also rub where it touches the slab, since hot lines grow and shrink with each use. Soil movement and a poor original joint add stress. The result is a small hole that leaks under the floor.
Is a slab leak an emergency, or can it wait a few days?
Most can wait a short time, but not long. A slow leak wastes water and wets the soil and flooring around it. A fast one can flood a room. If water is surfacing or the meter spins, shut the main and call; we aim to reach you within 60 minutes. If it’s slow, call soon and use water as normal.
What is PEX, and why do you use it for reroutes?
PEX is flexible plastic tubing made for drinking water lines. It doesn’t corrode the way copper does, and it bends around framing, so a run needs fewer joints. That makes it a good fit for moving a line out of the slab and into the walls and attic. Each new run is pressure tested before any opening is closed.
How many days does a slab leak reroute take?
A single-line reroute is often finished in one day. Finding the leak usually happens on the first visit, and you get a written quote before any work. A whole-house repipe takes longer, often a few days, and is done in stages so you keep water most of the time. Drywall patching is part of the job.
Can we stay in the house while you reroute the line?
Yes, nearly always. The work happens in the attic and through a few small wall openings, so the rest of the home stays usable. Water is off only for short stretches while we connect the new line. We cover the work areas and clean up as we go. Keep pets away from open walls and the attic hatch.
Once a line is rerouted, can that same leak return?
No. The bypassed copper is capped and dry, so it has nothing left to leak. Other original lines are a separate matter: they share the same age and may fail in time. Should one go, we run the same tests and reroute it. If wear shows on several lines, we quote a full repipe next to the single fix.
Should I have my water pressure checked after a slab leak?
It’s worth doing. High static pressure strains every pipe and fitting, and a failed pressure regulator can push it well above normal. We check the pressure at a hose bib during the visit. If it runs high, a new regulator helps protect the new line and the rest of the plumbing.
What does a slab leak sound like?
Often a faint hiss, or the sound of a toilet filling when nothing is running. It’s easiest to hear at night, near the water heater or in a quiet room with hard floors. Not every slab leak makes a sound you can hear, so a silent house doesn’t rule one out. The meter check is the surer test.
Do you need to get into my attic for a reroute?
Yes, for most reroutes, because that’s where the new line runs. A standard attic hatch is enough. Clear a path to it and to the water heater before we arrive. If your home has no usable attic, we route the line through walls or soffits instead and walk you through the plan before work starts.
How long has Cali's Choice been repairing slab leaks?
Since 2008. We’re a licensed plumbing contractor, CSLB 920054, and leak detection and slab leaks are our main work, not a side line. Our crews have handled hundreds of them. Slab leak detection is free when we do the repair, and the written quote comes before any work starts.
Think you have a slab leak? We find it before we fix it.
A specialist, a written quote, and a clear spot-repair-versus-reroute recommendation before we touch a thing. If we can’t help, we’ll tell you who can.
Cali's Choice Leak Detection & Emergency Plumbing · CSLB #920054