Water you cannot see is still water you pay for. Plumbers of Little Rock hunts for leaks inside slabs, behind walls, above ceilings and under the yard, whether your clue is a bigger bill, a floor that feels warm underfoot or a trickle at night.
The leak is located first, and only then do we cut. This order keeps the opening in your floor, wall or lawn as small as the repair permits.
A water bill that rises with no change in habits is the first cue. Others are the sound of running water when every tap is closed, a warm patch on the floor, a musty smell, peeling paint and a lawn stripe that stays wet.
Listening gear picks up the hiss of water escaping under pressure, and pressure tests on each line, one at a time, shrink the search to a few feet. A warm floor spot or a hot-water bill that rises tells us the hot line is the one to test first.
After the spot is marked, a small square is opened in the slab, the bad piece of pipe is replaced and the concrete is patched. The line stays shut off in the meantime. Where a slab line has failed more than once, a new route through the attic or the walls leaves the floor alone.
Not every leak hides in the same way. A ceiling stain or soft drywall puts the problem overhead, and a stripe of grass that stays wet puts it in the yard. We trace the clue to its source, open only what the repair needs and replace whatever has failed.
Late winter is when a pipe cracked by a freeze may finally give itself away. A damp ceiling, a cabinet floor that has gone soggy or the faint sound of water in a wall means you should close the main valve and phone us.
To test for a leak at home, shut every tap and stop every water-using appliance, then look at the meter. A small spinning dial, or numbers creeping upward, mean water is going somewhere. Write the reading down.
For the second reading, close the main valve where water enters the house. A dial that stops means the leak is somewhere inside. A dial that keeps turning means the trouble is in the buried line outside. Report whichever you saw.
Pinholes may mean worn pipe. See repiping and water lines and the home page.
Did the meter dial move while everything was off? Tell us, and mention where you saw damp or stains, and we will price the search for free.
Call (855) 321-3426