Water, sewer and drainage pipes become brittle, degraded or corroded for a number of reasons including age, earth movements, cold weather, encroachment of vegetation (i.e. tree roots)<\/a>, and external pressure forces. If damaged pipes are located beneath an open grassy area on your property, they can usually be repaired quite easily by digging out the soil around them and replacing the broken section of pipe. But if the offending pipe is a sewer line, or if you need to repair or replace water or sewer pipes leaking under a concrete slab<\/a>, things become considerably more challenging.<\/span><\/p>\n There are a number of ways to tell whether you have a broken water pipe or collapsed drain pipe under your house slab, including:<\/p>\n Broken sewer pipes under slabs can be more difficult to spot but they can be just as damaging, particularly in areas with expansive soil. <\/span>Expansive soils contain minerals that absorb water (such as clay soils), and they can increase the soil volume <\/i>by up to ten per cent. This change in volume can exert enough force on a building or other structure to lift the foundations, which is why leaking sewer lines under slabs <\/span>can be so serious.<\/span><\/p>\n According to geology.com <\/a><\/span>in a typical year in the United States, expansive soils cause greater financial loss to property owners than earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes combined.<\/span> The cost of repairs and mitigation of something like a sewer leak under a house slab particularly when it occurs in a home built on expansive soil, can be extremely high; sometimes exceeding the value of the home. In many cases homeowners report they had noticed there was a problem with their pipes, but that they didn’t realise the severity or that it was progressing, until it was too late.<\/span><\/p>\n If slab leaks have been present for some time – or your property sits on expansive soil – some of the more ominous signs to look for are:<\/span><\/p>\n These signs indicate there may have been significant damage to a home’s foundations and you should seek advice from a professional builder or engineer before proceeding with repairs.<\/span><\/p>\n What steps to take before deciding on a pipe repair strategy<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n There are a number of ways to fix drains or repair sewer lines under slabs, the three most common of which are detailed in the following section. However you may firstly want to consider whether it is worth having a leak detection specialist find the leak in water pipes and provide you with CCTV footage prior to arranging for quotes. Professional detection specialists have accurate listening devices, CCTV cameras and other leak detection equipment to find leaking and can do various tests, including pressure tests. An accurate assessment of the water pipe to pinpoint the fault also means less ‘just in case’ pipe patching. For collapsed drainage and sewer pipes under slabs, a CCTV camera inspection will survey the pipes to determine the location of the damaged pipe.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Whilst some repairers state they will have to do their own inspection prior to quoting, this may also mean they will charge you for the service. If you have three or four people come to quote, that will push your expenses up unnecessarily, so having your own report and footage of the damage may help keep costs down. It also shows that you’ve done your homework.<\/span><\/p>\n When you ring to arrange a quote, ask whether it is a free service. If not, and they want to charge for an inspection, make it clear you have recent, professional footage of the damage, and that you want them to quote based on those images. In all likelihood if you accept their quote and engage them to do the work they will need to do their own CCTV inspection before commencing, at which point any adjustments can be made, but you should not have to pay four different people to inspect the pipes just to get quotes. <\/span><\/p>\n Remember, too, that the tradespeople providing you with quotes can be a great source of information in terms of why their particular approach would work well (or not) in your situation. Ask what advantages they have over the other methods, and what some of the drawbacks of the other repair options are. Use what they tell you to guide you in further internet research, and to prepare questions for the service providers still to come.<\/span><\/p>\n There are three main approaches to repairing leaking drains under house slabs. It is important to obtain quotes from at least one tradesperson from each area of specialisation. <\/span><\/p>\n The three alternative approaches are:<\/span><\/p>\n Today, a broken drain or sewer pipe under a house slab doesn’t have to mean a huge excavation job. Advances in composite resin technologies mean materials commonly used for aeroplane frames, top-line sports equipment and even dental applications can also be used to reline broken pipes, thereby significantly reducing the cost of fixing drains under slabs. <\/span><\/p>\n11 Signs of a collapsed drain pipe under a slab<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Signs of structural damage from sewer or water leaks under slabs<\/span><\/h2>\n
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3 main methods of repairing broken pipes under house slabs<\/span><\/h2>\n
1. Relining <\/span>the broken sewer, water or drainage pipes using advanced composite resins to create a new pipe inside the old one without digging<\/strong><\/h3>\n