Slab Leak Repair
A free two-hour test proves whether you have a hidden leak before anybody quotes for finding one.
Free to homeowners — the contractor pays us for the introduction, you never do.
In one paragraph
Warmth in one patch of floor, running water heard when the house is silent, or damp at the edge of a room is what places a leak under the slab rather than behind a wall. The meter test that confirms water is leaving the system at all is published free by EPA.
Source: US EPA WaterSense, Fix a Leak Week.
- You are never chargedContractors pay us when we route them a call. There is no cost to the homeowner, ever.
- Every figure names its sourceThe numbers on this site come from public data and the page says which, so you can check them.
- We say where we coverCalls are routed by ZIP code to independent contractors.See the coverage
- We say when not to callIf the fix is a few minutes of your own time, this site tells you that instead of selling you a visit.
There is a leak under the floor or there is not, and you can settle that yourself in two hours before anyone comes out.
What this site is
UnderSlab is a referral service, not a contractor. We connect homeowners with independent contractors. Contractors are required to hold whatever credential their state or municipality demands, and work that opens a structural slab is normally permitted — ask to see the permit. We carry out no work and no leak detection, we do not set prices, and we never charge homeowners anything — the contractors in our network pay us when we route them a call.Start with the meter
EPA publishes the test: read the water meter, use no water at all for two hours, read it again. If it has moved, water is leaving the system with nothing asking for any.
That single fact turns a vague worry into something a contractor can act on, and it costs nothing. How to run it properly, and the winter version that uses your existing bill.
Source: US EPA WaterSense, Fix a Leak Week.
Then work out where
A moving meter proves a leak, not a slab leak. Toilets are the commonest culprit and EPA gives them their own ten-minute test. Walk the floor barefoot too — a warm patch is close to diagnostic and it points at a spot rather than a house.
What points under the floor, and what points somewhere much easier to reach.
Before anybody cuts anything
Establish what kind of slab you have, and get that answer from somebody with nothing to sell you — the original plans, the building department, or a structural engineer.
It belongs before the repair method is chosen rather than after, and one of the repair options does not involve cutting the floor at all. Who to ask and what to ask them.
What we actually do
We connect homeowners with independent contractors who cover their area, and the contractors pay us when we route them a call. You are never charged. We would rather you ran the meter test first and found a toilet flapper than called us.
Everything on this site
- The meter testEPA publishes a free test that proves whether water is leaving your system when nothing is running.
- Is it a slab leakA moving meter proves a leak.
- Hot side or coldA warm patch on the floor is close to diagnostic.
- How they find it
- Before anyone cutsNot every slab can be cut the same way.
- Repair optionsSpot repair, reroute, repipe or line.
- What a leak wastesEPA puts household leaks at nearly a trillion gallons a year nationally, and 9% of homes at 50 gallons a day or more.
- What insurance coversThe distinction that decides most claims is between the damage the water did and the pipe that let it out.
- What moves a quote
Where we route calls
Tap your state for the towns and ZIP codes we route in, and the figures behind them.
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this site is public and attributed. You can go and check any of them.
- HousingUS Census BureauAmerican Community Survey 5-year estimates — the housing figures on every town page, and the table each one comes from is named on the page.
- WaterUS Environmental Protection AgencyFederal drinking-water and plumbing rules, and the public water-system records behind the coverage pages.
What happens when you call
No form, no quote tool, no waiting for an email.
- You tell us what the water is doingOne short conversation. If it turns out to be something you can fix in five minutes, we will say so.
- We route the callWe match your ZIP code to an independent contractor who already covers your area — not a call center three states away.
- They quote, you decideWe do not set prices and we never charge you. The contractor pays us for the introduction.
What to do first
Four things worth doing first. They cost nothing and they can keep a small problem small.
- Shut off the water closest to the problemUnder a sink or behind a toilet there is usually a small valve on the supply line. Turning it clockwise stops that fixture without shutting off the rest of the house.
- If you cannot find it, use the mainUsually where the supply enters the building — a basement wall, a crawl space, or a covered box near the street. Then open the lowest tap in the house, which drains the standing water out of the pipes instead of out of the leak.
- Water and electricity: stay out of the roomIf water has reached an outlet, a panel or an appliance, switch that circuit off at the breaker before going near it. If you cannot do that safely, do not go in, and say so when you call.
- Photograph it before anything is movedInsurers ask for it, and a contractor can tell more from a photograph of the leak than from a description of it.
And one case where the answer is not to call us. If the water is surfacing on the street side of your meter, that is the utility's line and not yours. Report it to your water utility — they do not charge a homeowner to repair their own main.
If the meter moved with everything off, you have a leak.That is the finding worth leading with, because it saves an hour of diagnosis. We connect you with a contractor who covers your area, and your ZIP code is what decides who that is. You are never charged. It does not have to be a slab leak either — every kind of plumbing request is routed.
Call (888) 706-0205
