Plumbing leaks are terrible and annoying and that's why most homeowners conduct regular maintenance on their plumbing system to avoid them. Slab leaks are among the most detrimental plumbing leaks experienced in most homes today. Professional plumbers consider slab leaks as the pipe leaks that occur directly within the foundation or slab itself or the pipe leaks beneath the concrete slab or foundation. Slab leaks indicate plumbing malfunctions that lead to huge water and money waste. Besides making your building structure unstable, slab leaks also lead to hazardous indoor air. Are you among those asking how slab leaks occur? Relax now! Your answers are right here:
Low-Quality or Poorly Installed Pipes
Installing water lines beneath or within a concrete foundation or slab requires undisputed plumbing expertise. If the recommended precautions are ignored when installing plumbing pipes or water lines, the pipes risk developing damage, such as denting or kinking. This eventually leads to slab leaks that threaten the integrity of your building in a big way. Though you won't spend a lot of money installing substandard water lines or pipes, you would use more money fixing the aggravated slab leaks. Most plumbers follow local building codes when installing water pipes to ensure that the pipes made of low-quality materials aren't used. Some of the chemicals used during construction also weaken the water lines leading to slab leaks.
Exterior Friction or Abrasion
Water passing through the water lines or pipes causes varying temperatures that influence the pipes to contract or expand. Contraction and expansion cause the size of the pipe diameter to fluctuate, producing shaking or rattling motion. The motion then causes the water pipes to rub against the neighbouring exterior material, producing friction and abrasion, especially if it happens inside a concrete slab. Small leaks develop from the created friction, then they become larger, and they even rupture if you don't look for a professional plumber to fix the leaks when they are still small.
Exterior and Interior Pipe Corrosion
Metal pipes experience exterior and interior corrosion and that's why homes with metal plumbing pipes cause slab leaks more often than those with PVC pipes. The problem mainly affects the hot water pipes. Water lines that supply hot water experience interior corrosion more than the pipes supplying cold water. When the hot water lines release heat to the surrounding concrete or soil, a chemical reaction that causes exterior corrosion is triggered. Leaks occur when the water pipes corrode more.
Slab leaks also occur when pressure piles on the water line's exterior. Never consider any slab leak small no matter what causes it. Most small slab leaks become catastrophic plumbing problems when people try to fix them without the help of a plumber. Detecting slab leaks isn't easy sometimes, but most professional plumbers use modern detection technology to identify them. Look for a plumber if you suspect you have a slab leak.
