Leak detection
Leak detection
The bill went up and you cannot see why
A leak you cannot see is found with equipment, not by opening walls until it appears. We isolate the system, listen for it acoustically, and use thermal imaging where the pipe runs under concrete. You get a marked location and a price for the repair, and the detection fee comes off that price if you go ahead.
What it costs
What it costs
If we cannot find it, you do not pay the fee. That has not come up often, and we would rather say it plainly than put it in small print.
How it is done
The wall gets opened once, in the right place
We start at the meter with everything in the house shut off. If the dial is still turning you have a live leak on the pressure side, and that alone rules out half of the things people worry about.
From there it is isolation and sound. Water escaping under pressure makes a noise you can follow with the right equipment, and thermal imaging shows a hot-water leak under a slab as a warm line on a cold floor. The result is one opening in the right place instead of three exploratory ones, which is usually the difference between a repair you can live with and a room you have to redecorate.
Signs worth acting on
The meter moves with everything off
Shut every tap and appliance, then watch the meter for ten minutes. Movement means water is going somewhere.
A warm patch on a concrete floor
A hot water line under the slab. It rarely gets better and it is cheaper found early.
A bill that stepped up and stayed there
A gradual rise is usage. A step that does not come back down is nearly always a leak.
Questions
Leak detection questions
No. Finding it is the part that does not involve opening anything. We open once, at the location we have marked, and only after you have approved the repair price.
Yes, against the repair if you go ahead with us. If you do not, you have paid $189 for a located leak and a written report you can take to anyone.
Yes, that is what the thermal and acoustic equipment is for. Slab leaks are $289 to locate because they take longer, and we will tell you on the phone if that is what you likely have.
We trace the service line from the meter to the house. If it turns out to be on the county's side of the meter, we tell you, and that repair is not yours to pay for.
Have it found properly
Tell us what you are seeing on the bill or the floor. We will tell you what it usually turns out to be.
VA Class A #XXXX-XXXXXXX. Licensed and insured, with a 2-year warranty on parts and workmanship.