Water line leaks not only lose precious water, they drain your household budget, too. Water line repair is a great way to put a bit more in the bank every month. Of course, if the water line repair is for a broken line, the benefits are obvious. Drinking water, showers, toilet flushing…it’s a good thing at Craig’s Plumbing we’re ready to respond when you need us. We’ve been keeping your pipes working the way they should since 1997.
Locating Leaks
Chances are, you may have leaks producing dampness in your walls and ceilings and the only way you can tell is to isolate the unseen water usage. Unless the leak is large enough to make a difference on your bill, you may not have any idea that it’s there. You might smell mold or discover rotting materials in the wall when you’re doing repairs or construction, or experience electrical problems. Dampness on your ceiling or wall is more of a giveaway, but there are still leaks under the sink, or under your home that you may not notice.
Plumbing Technology to the Rescue
If our detective work doesn’t identify the source of the leak, we have a modern high-tech tool that listens to your pipes and performs calculations to tell it when there is a leak and where down the line it is located. This saves us a lot of time and keeps us from having to cut into walls and other structures to find the problem. Obviously, this results in significant cost savings for you as well in diagnosis and repair time, and also in repairs needed to restore areas where we had to cut to investigate. For leaks underneath your foundation, this solution is priceless.
Types of Leaks
When we’re inspecting a home for plumbing problems, there are many areas where we look to identify potential leaks and piping problems.
Underground
Underneath your foundation or slab, and perhaps even encased in the concrete, some of your main water lines may run through areas that are difficult to access and even harder to identify leaks in the pipes. If you have experienced cracks in your concrete or other likely sources of pipe damage, it may be wise to investigate. If your water bill is significantly higher and you have no observable leaks upstairs, the leak may be underground. Accumulation of water around your foundation is also a big clue of a leak below.
Basement
The piping in your basement running across the ceiling and through the walls above is usually obvious when it leaks because it’s exposed and visible. If the pipes are affected by “water hammer” pressure changes from your laundry or dishwasher, they may vibrate and crack down here and produce leaks that you don’t discover until you spend enough time looking around the basement or notice a small puddle on the floor.
Wall and Ceiling
Pipes in the walls and ceilings can leak in ways that are deceptive, producing dampness only where the water emerges through the wall after running for some distance horizontally or vertically. This can be a major project to locate these leaks, involving small cuts in the wall or ceiling to visually inspect for dampness. After the leak is repaired, the wall or ceiling must be patched to cover the access holes. Leak sensing technology can all but eliminate the need for most wall and ceiling damage.
Kitchen and Laundry Room
Repeated water hammer pressure changes from washing machine valve operation and leaks from your washer’s aging rubber water hoses can produce water damage in your laundry room. Replacing your hoses with stainless steel units can avoid hose leaks, and we can install water hammer prevention devices to eliminate the pressure spikes that can harm other appliances or even pipe joints and valves.
Under the Slab
While some water line repair procedures are fairly straightforward, if the water line runs underneath your foundation or concrete slab, we may need to cut through the concrete or dig under the slab to access the pipe. We then replace that pipe section directly or reroute it with a new pipe after redirecting it into the space above the concrete. While we’re performing this water line repair, we need to make sure that adjacent pipe is not at risk of leaks as well. Lately, there has been a slight risk of freezing in the Las Vegas and Henderson, NV area, so we need to take care to make sure that your exposed pipes are not at risk of damage.
When Water Line Repair is For Your Health
Water leaks can produce dampness-related health hazards such as mold and mildew, and attract intruders such as vermin and insects which are drawn to available water in hidden places in your home. Identifying and correcting leaks near bedrooms and living spaces is especially important to avoid allergic reactions.
Repiping is a Common Water Line Repair
If your pipes are older and corroded, include obsolete materials like lead, or are made of materials like some types of PVC that don’t age well, let’s talk about the process of repiping your home. It’s a fairly common procedure that can be a good idea after several decades, either throughout the home or in some specific areas. Repiping can be the solution to frequent water line repairs from leaks appearing throughout your home and often causing damage and frustration.
Use Water Leak Sensors to Detect Some Leaks
Smart home sensors or standalone units can report water leaks in bathrooms, laundry rooms, and other parts of your home where leaks are often found.
Count on Craig’s Plumbing for Long-Term Care of Your Pipes
We serve the Henderson, NV and Las Vegas area with expert water line repair, repiping, and plumbing. Give us at Craig’s Plumbing a call to plan a water line repair service or call us at 702-496-3892 for emergency water line service.
