Las Vegas and Clark County
Leak Detection in Las Vegas
The point of leak detection is to open exactly one hole. On a slab foundation that difference is measured in thousands of dollars of concrete and flooring.
Talk to a plumber
Describe the symptom and where you are in the valley. We will tell you what it usually means and what it takes to fix before anyone comes out.
Call Now (725) 257-2386Serving Las Vegas and Clark County.
Worth having ready
- Which fixtures are affected, and whether anything else behaves differently
- When it started, and whether it is getting worse
- Roughly how old the house is, which narrows the likely pipe material
Leak detection locates a hidden leak before any demolition. It starts with a meter test to confirm water is being lost, then narrows the location by isolation and listening equipment. On slab on grade homes this is what keeps a repair from becoming a renovation.
Symptoms
Signs of a hidden leak
- A water bill that jumped with no change in household use
- A warm spot on a floor, which often means a hot line under the slab
- The sound of running water when everything is closed
- Cracks appearing in flooring or a patch of floor staying damp
- A musty smell with no visible water source
- Vegetation growing unusually well in one spot of the yard
Scope
What detection covers
What is included
- Meter test to confirm and quantify the loss
- Isolating supply from irrigation to establish which system is leaking
- Pressure testing sections to narrow the location
- Acoustic listening equipment to pinpoint under slab leaks
- Marking the location and explaining the access required
- A written repair scope with the options
What is not included
- The repair itself, which is quoted once the location is known
- Flooring and concrete restoration
- Drying and remediation of existing water damage
Process
How a leak is found
Read the meter
Everything closed, note the reading, wait, read it again. A meter that moves proves water is being lost and tells us roughly how fast.
Split the systems
Irrigation is a very common source of an unexplained bill and it is isolated early, because it is the cheapest possible answer.
Isolate by section
Closing off parts of the system narrows the leak to a zone before any listening begins.
Pinpoint
Acoustic equipment on a hard floor over a pressurised line is what turns a zone into a spot.
Present the options
On an under slab leak there is usually more than one repair route, and they differ a lot in cost and disruption. You choose with both in front of you.
Why slab leaks matter so much here
Valley homes are overwhelmingly slab on grade, which means supply lines run through or under a concrete slab. A leak there has nowhere visible to go, so it saturates the ground beneath the house and shows up indirectly: a warm floor, a moving meter, a bill that climbed.
Because access means breaking concrete and whatever flooring sits on it, the cost of guessing wrong is severe. Detection exists so the repair is one opening in the right place.
Check irrigation before anything else
A large share of unexplained water bills in this valley are irrigation, not household plumbing. A cracked lateral or a stuck valve loses a lot of water quietly into landscaping that looks fine, or looks suspiciously good.
It is the cheapest thing to rule out and it is checked first, because finding it there saves the whole detection exercise.
Repair options once it is found
An under slab leak can sometimes be repaired at the spot, and sometimes the better answer is rerouting that line overhead or repiping the run, particularly where the pipe has failed once already and the rest is the same age.
Spot repair is cheaper today. Rerouting costs more and ends the argument. You get both numbers and the reasoning, because on a twenty year old line the cheaper option is not always the cheaper decision.
On pricing: we have not published price ranges on this site, because a range we cannot stand behind is worse than no range. Scope and price go in writing before any work starts.
Straight answers
Fair questions about this work
Can you find it without breaking anything?
Locating it, yes, that is the point. Repairing an under slab leak eventually needs access, but detection is what makes it one opening.
My bill is high but I see no water. Is that possible?
Very. Under slab and irrigation leaks both lose water with nothing visible, which is why the meter test is the starting point.
Should I just repipe instead of looking?
Sometimes that is the right answer, but not before you know where and why the line failed. Repiping on a guess is an expensive way to skip a diagnosis.
Coverage
Leak Detection across the valley
We cover leak detection throughout the Las Vegas Valley and Clark County.
Las Vegas
Downtown, the Arts District and the historic central valley, where galvanised supply still turns up.
See Las VegasNorth Las Vegas
Aliante and Eldorado newer builds against a wartime era core with very different plumbing.
See North Las VegasHenderson
Green Valley, Anthem and Inspirada, plus the original townsite with very different needs.
See HendersonBoulder City
The oldest housing in Southern Nevada, built for Hoover Dam workers in the early 1930s.
See Boulder CityParadise
The Strip corridor, UNLV and Paradise Palms. Dense, mixed use and mid century in parts.
See ParadiseSpring Valley
Chinatown corridor, Peccole Ranch and Rhodes Ranch. 1980s to 2000s, and lots of restaurants.
See Spring ValleyFAQ
Leak Detection questions
How do I know if I have a slab leak?
Common signs are a warm patch on the floor, running water audible with everything off, an unexplained bill increase, and a meter that moves with no fixture open.
How do you find a leak under concrete?
By confirming the loss at the meter, isolating sections to narrow the zone, then pinpointing with acoustic listening equipment before any concrete is opened.
Could my high water bill just be irrigation?
Frequently, yes. Irrigation is isolated and ruled out early because it is both common in this valley and the cheapest explanation to fix.
Is it better to repair or reroute a slab leak?
It depends on the age and condition of the line. A spot repair is cheaper now; a reroute or repipe costs more and prevents the next failure on the same run.
Related
Related services and guides
Pipe Repair
Pinholes, splits and corroded sections repaired, with an honest repair against repipe call.
Pipe Repair detailsRepiping
Whole house or one run, in copper or PEX, with the disruption explained up front.
More on repipingEmergency Plumbing
Burst lines, sewage backing up, no water. What to shut off before we arrive.
More on emergency plumbingPlumbing Repair
General repair across supply, drain and fixtures, diagnosed before it is quoted.
Plumbing Repair detailsSigns of a Slab Leak
Six signs, one test you can do yourself, and why valley homes are exposed.
More on signs of a slab leakNeed leak detection in the valley?
Describe the symptom and we will tell you what it usually means and what it takes to fix.