
Slab Leak
Water moving under a slab with no fixture running will keep undermining the fill beneath it, so close the main and have the line traced.
When this becomes an emergency
- A warm spot on a concrete floor with nothing above it to explain the heat.
- The meter creeping while every fixture is shut.
- Hot water pressure that dropped off on its own over a few weeks.
What a pro does
Slab work is a smaller share of the calls here than in the southern states, because most Michigan houses have a full basement and their pipe is visible. Where it does turn up is specific: a postwar ranch built on grade around Monroe or Ypsilanti, a slab addition or a converted garage, or a house with in-floor radiant heat. That changes the diagnosis. The plumber isolates the hot and cold sides at the manifold or the heater, watches the meter, and uses listening equipment to trace the sound of escaping water through concrete. On a radiant system the loop itself may be the leak, which is a different repair from a domestic supply line. Once the spot is located there's a choice, and it's an honest one: break the floor and repair that section, or abandon the buried run and reroute overhead through a wall or the attic. Rerouting often wins in a Michigan house because there's usually somewhere warm to put the new line, and no one has to open a finished floor in February.
Frequently asked questions
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