Los Lunas, NM · Calls answered 24/7
Slab Leak Detection in Los Lunas
Something's off. The hallway tile is warm in a way it never used to be, or the meter dial creeps along while the whole house sits quiet. Before anyone opens a floor, you need to know exactly where the water is getting out.
Slab leak detection answers that. A technician narrows a hidden leak to a small area of the slab using listening equipment, thermal imaging and pressure tests, so any repair starts in the right place and stays as small as the situation allows.
Chapter 1
Clues that send people looking under the floor
Most detection calls start with one odd thing that won't go away. Each clue has other possible explanations on its own. Together, they usually point under the concrete.
For a fuller list, including the look-alikes, read our guide to the signs of a slab leak.
Chapter 2
Try the meter test before anyone arrives
Your water meter is the simplest leak detector you own. Checking it takes a few minutes and tells the technician a lot before they set foot inside.
A moving meter doesn't prove the leak is under the slab. A running toilet, a dripping hose bib or a break in the yard line can do the same thing. Sorting that out is part of the technician's first hour on site, often by closing valves to isolate one section of the system at a time.
- 1Shut off every fixture and water-using appliance, including the ice maker, the evaporative cooler supply and any irrigation timer.
- 2Find the meter and write down the reading, or watch the small low-flow indicator if yours has one.
- 3Wait several minutes without running any water in the house.
- 4Check again. If the numbers moved or the indicator turned, water is leaving somewhere, and it's worth a call.
Chapter 3
How technicians find a slab leak through concrete
No single tool finds every leak. Technicians combine methods, and each one answers a different question.
Is there a leak, and on which line?
Pressure testing
Sections of plumbing are isolated and watched for a drop in pressure. It separates hot from cold and confirms the problem is real before anyone hunts for a spot.
Where along the line is it?
Acoustic listening
Water forced through a small break makes a sound. Sensitive ground microphones placed on the floor pick it up, and the technician follows it across the slab to where it's loudest.
Is warm water spreading here?
Thermal imaging
A thermal camera shows temperature differences across the floor. A hot-side leak often appears as a warm bloom, which helps confirm what the listening equipment heard.
Where does the pipe actually run?
Line tracing
Under-slab lines don't always take a straight path. Tracing equipment maps the route so the leak's location makes sense against the pipe layout.
Results depend on the house, the flooring and the leak itself. Thick tile, background noise or a very slow leak can make the work take longer. Before any repair is discussed, the technician will tell you how sure they are about the location.
Chapter 4
Hot side or cold side: why it matters
Hot side
Often the first to give itself away, through warm floor patches, a water heater that runs more than it should, or pets settling on one spot. Closing the water heater's cold supply can slow it while you wait. Read more about hot water slab leaks.
Cold side
Quieter. There's no warm spot, so the clues are usually the meter, the bill, damp flooring or sound. Because it sits on the main supply, it often can't be isolated without shutting off water to much of the house.
Knowing which side is leaking shapes the repair options, especially if rerouting just one line is on the table.
Chapter 5
Once the spot is marked
Detection ends with a location and a plain explanation, not a surprise demolition. The technician marks the spot, tells you what they found and lays out the choices.
You get upfront pricing on whichever option you're considering before any work begins, and you're free to take time to decide.
Check availability in Los LunasFix it where it is
Open the slab at the marked spot, repair the pipe, test it and patch the concrete. Usually considered for a single leak on otherwise sound pipe. See slab leak repair.
Go around it
Leave the damaged run in place and bring a new line through the walls or attic. Often discussed when that line has leaked before. See rerouting the line.
Replace more of the system
Talked about when a house has a history of leaks in different places, rather than one problem spot.
Chapter 6
Slab leak detection in Los Lunas houses
Where a technician starts depends a lot on which part of Los Lunas you live in. In the 1970s–1990s neighbourhoods of East Los Lunas, many homes have copper supply lines under the slab and decades of hard water behind them. The layout tends to be predictable: a water heater in the garage or a utility closet, with lines branching under the floor to the kitchen and baths.
Older homes near the Village Center are harder to read. Additions, mixed foundations and plumbing changed over the years mean the technician often maps the system before listening for the leak. Some of these houses aren't fully on a slab, which changes the approach entirely.
Newer slab homes on the west side often have PEX, where leaks tend to appear at fittings rather than along the run. Manufactured homes usually sit on piers, so a leak under the floor there is a crawlspace job instead of slab detection, and we'll tell you that on the phone.
Before the technician gets there
- Note when you first noticed the warm spot, damp floor or higher bill. The timing helps.
- Run the meter test above and write down what you saw.
- If you suspect the hot side, close the cold supply valve on the water heater to slow the leak. Don't touch the gas or electrical controls.
- If water is rising through the floor, close the main shut-off.
- Photograph the wet area and any damaged flooring.
- Don't drill, pry up tile or cut concrete trying to find it.
Smell gas? Leave the home and call the gas utility and 911 from outside.
Chapter 7
Slab leak detection questions
Answers are general. The technician on site can speak to your house specifically.
Usually from a combination of clues rather than one. A warm patch of floor, a meter that moves with everything off, a bill that keeps creeping up, or the sound of water with every tap closed are the common ones. Run the meter test described on this page first. If the meter moves and you can't find a dripping fixture or a running toilet, a hidden leak is likely, and a technician can work out whether it's under the slab.
They combine several methods. Pressure testing confirms a leak exists and identifies which line it's on. Acoustic equipment listens through the floor for the sound of escaping water. Thermal imaging can show warm areas on the hot side, and line tracing maps where the pipes actually run. Used together, these narrow the leak down to a small section of the slab.
Detection itself is non-invasive. The technician listens, scans and connects gauges at existing fixtures or outdoor spigots. Nothing is cut or drilled while the leak is being located. An opening only happens later, as part of a repair you've agreed to after hearing the options and the price.
It usually narrows the leak to a small area, but how small depends on the house. Flooring type, background noise, slab thickness and the size of the leak all play a part. A good technician will tell you plainly how confident they are in the location, and may confirm it with a second method before recommending any opening in the floor.
Yes, and hot-side leaks are often the ones people notice first because they warm the floor above them. Pressure tests on the hot and cold lines separately show which side is losing water. If it's the hot side, closing the cold supply valve on the water heater can slow the leak until the repair is done.
A warm area that doesn't match sunlight or a heating vent can mean hot water is escaping from a line beneath the slab and heating the concrete. It's one of the more telling signs of a hot-side leak. A thermal camera can show how far the warm area extends, which helps the technician narrow the search.
It varies with the size of the home, how many lines need testing and how easy the leak is to hear. Some leaks show up quickly; slow ones on a noisy street can take more work. The technician can give you a better sense once they've seen the house and run the first pressure tests.
The technician marks the location and explains what they found, including which line is affected. Then you'll talk through the options: a spot repair through the slab, rerouting the line, or a wider repipe if the house has a history of leaks. You'll get upfront pricing before any work starts.
Someone needs to let the technician in and be available to hear the findings. The water will be shut off at times during testing, so plan around that. It also helps to have someone who knows the house, such as where the water heater and main shut-off are.
Find out where the water is going.
A local technician can locate it before anything in your floor is opened.
Call to schedule leak detection