Slab leak repair and replacement in Plantation and Sunrise Corridor, Fort Lauderdale, Slab leak repair and replacement in Fort Lauderdale, FL

Slab leaks in Plantation and Sunrise Corridor

Moving west, the housing is dominated by 1970s to 1990s subdivisions and condo communities on slabs. Homes built in the late 1970s to mid 1990s sometimes have a gray plastic supply pipe from the period, though many have been repiped since.

Homeowners in Plantation and Sunrise Corridor often search for a foundation leak when the problem is an under-slab leak in a water line. The two are related: water escaping under the slab can soften the soil the foundation rests on.

Slab leak detection in Plantation and Sunrise Corridor is non-invasive: the technician tests, listens and measures from above the floor, and opens it only once the leak is located.

This part of Fort Lauderdale covers ZIP codes 33317, 33321, 33322, 33323, 33324, 33325, 33314.

Housing and pipes here

Whether a particular home has it is shown only by looking at the pipe. The technician checks and explains what it means for the leak in front of you.

Pools are common in the single-family areas, and condo communities have shared building systems. Both affect how a visit is arranged.

The middle of the county is a belt of subdivisions and condo communities built mostly between the 1970s and the 1990s. Slabs are standard. This is the era in which a gray plastic supply pipe was sometimes used in place of copper, and some homes here have it while many have been repiped. The only way to know is to look at the pipe, and we do not assume it from the age of the house.

If the home has the gray plastic pipe, the technician explains what that means for the leak in front of you and what the options are. If it has been repiped, the pipe will usually be PEX or copper and the repair follows the usual routes.

Condo communities in this belt often have ground-floor units on slabs and shared building systems. Pools are common in the single-family areas. Both affect how a visit is arranged, and telling us at the start whether the home is a unit or a house speeds things up.

The five-minute meter check

For Plantation and Sunrise Corridor homes, this check gives the technician a head start if you do it before you call.

The water bill that won't come down

A bill that rises with no change in how many people live in the home or how much water they use is worth a closer look. A hidden leak adds water every hour of the day, so the increase tends to repeat month after month and does not fall back when the household goes away.

For Plantation and Sunrise Corridor homes, the meter comes first. If the dial turns with all taps closed, water is leaving the property somewhere: it could be a slab leak, toilet, irrigation line or pool fill, and a leak technician starts by separating those.

Isolating hot and cold lines

The first step in narrowing a search is working out which line is leaking. The hot and cold supplies are shut off and tested separately, and the house is isolated from the street side of the meter.

When the hot side loses pressure and the cold holds, the search is smaller already, and the water heater and the runs below the floor become the focus. The reasoning is the same in reverse for cold lines.

Polybutylene-era homes

For Plantation and Sunrise Corridor homes, between roughly the late 1970s and the mid 1990s, some homes were plumbed with gray plastic pipe instead of copper. Only a look at the pipes shows whether a given home has it, and many have been repiped since.

Around Plantation and Sunrise Corridor, should it be present, the technician explains what that means for the leak at hand and what the options are. No home is assumed to have any particular pipe until it has been checked.

Irrigation and outdoor lines that mimic a slab leak

Sprinkler systems and outdoor spigots run on the same supply as the house. A broken head, a split in a buried line or a valve that does not close can add as much to a bill as a leak under the floor.

The quickest way to separate them is to close the irrigation zones and watch the meter. Outdoor lines are checked by the technician as part of ruling things out, though irrigation repairs are not part of what they do.

Pool leak or slab leak?

Around Plantation and Sunrise Corridor, a pool that needs regular top-ups and a house with a high bill can look alike. A technician separates them by testing the house plumbing alone, and if the supply lines hold pressure with the main isolated, the house is ruled out and the pool is a matter for a pool specialist.

It can happen the other way, when a bill blamed on the pool is really a slab leak. The technicians we connect you with find and fix leaks in the house lines only, and do not repair pools. This applies to pools in Plantation and Sunrise.

Managers, neighbors and the call while you're away

In Plantation and Sunrise Corridor, a neighbor, a property manager or a caretaker usually looks in on a seasonal home. The best thing to ask of them is simple: read the meter dial, write down the number and date and call if it turns with everything off. That one check catches most hidden leaks early.

For Plantation and Sunrise Corridor homes, leave the person a way to reach you and a way to reach us. If they find water on the floor or hear it running, the first step is the main shutoff if it is safe to reach, then a call, and they do not need to diagnose anything.

Other parts of Fort Lauderdale

These pages cover the other parts of the city. For how the work goes, read the Fort Lauderdale overview.

• The Beach and Downtown
• Northwest Corridor
• Western Broward

Slab leak services

In Plantation and Sunrise Corridor, each page sets out how the process goes, what the options are and what to ask before you agree.

• Emergency service
• Water meter leak check
• How slab leaks are found
• Slab leak repair and replacement
• Seasonal home slab leaks
• Pool leak or slab leak
• Condo ground floor
• Why Florida leaks hide