The problem: outdoor water that counts the same
Everything that goes through the meter appears on the bill, wherever it ends up. A sprinkler head broken off, a zone valve that does not close, a dripping hose bib or a buried line that has cracked all pass water through the meter, and none of them shows indoors. The signs that point to the house, such as warm floors or damp baseboards, are usually missing.
That absence is itself a clue. If a bill has risen and the inside of the house shows nothing, outdoor sources deserve a look. If the inside shows signs too, the house is more likely. Often the picture is mixed, which is why a technician tests before anyone opens a floor.
What the technicians do and do not do
We connect you with technicians who find and repair leaks under the slab. These technicians do not repair irrigation systems, outdoor taps or landscape lines. If the technician finds the loss is outdoors, they will say so, and you will need an irrigation or landscape professional.
What we can do is rule the house in or out. When the house supply holds under pressure test, that tells you to look outside, which saves you opening a floor that was not leaking.
We help you tell house from yard.
Pool or Slab? Talk to a Leak TechCommon outdoor sources
A few usual suspects explain many unexplained bills. These are things to look at, not instructions for repair.
Irrigation zones. A broken head, a cracked riser or a zone valve that sticks open can run for hours. Timers that have lost their settings can do the same.
Hose bibs and outdoor taps. A slow drip is easy to miss, and a hose left connected can hide one.
Buried supply to a pool, fountain or outbuilding. Lines that feed a pool fill, a detached garage or a fountain can leak underground.
The line between the meter and the house. This buried line is outside the house but is part of the supply. A technician can test it.
What you can safely check
Do the meter check with irrigation off at the controller. Then walk the yard after the system has run, looking for patches of lawn that are unusually wet, soft or green, heads that are not retracting or water pooling near the meter or a valve box.
Watch the meter again with irrigation off and the main closed, if you can reach it safely. If the meter is still when the main is closed, the flow is on the house side of the shutoff. If it moves, the flow may be before the shutoff, and you should tell the dispatcher. None of this requires digging.
Tell us what the bill and the yard are doing.
Speak With Someone LocalWhy this is so common in Florida
Many Florida properties have automatic irrigation, often on timers that run before dawn when nobody is watching. Warm weather means lawns are watered frequently, and sandy soil drains quickly, so a leak outdoors rarely leaves a visible puddle for long.
Seasonal homes are especially exposed. An irrigation system keeps running while the owner is away, and a fault can put water through the meter for weeks. See seasonal home slab leaks and the before-you-leave checklist.
What not to do
Please do not dig around the meter, the valve boxes or the slab edge to look for a pipe, and do not cut into buried lines. Do not adjust the meter or the shutoff beyond opening and closing the main. Buried power, gas and communication lines can be near irrigation, so digging carries risks of its own.
If water is surfacing near the house, keep clear, close the main if you can reach it safely and call. If you smell gas outdoors, leave the area and call the gas utility and emergency services from outside.
Seasonal owners are welcome to call.
Water Bill Tripled While You Were Away? Call UsHow a technician separates them
The technician isolates the lines on the property. They pressure test the house supply to see whether it holds. They can test the line from the meter to the house separately. If the house lines hold, the leak is outdoors or on a line the technician is not there to repair, and they will say so.
If the house supply does not hold, acoustic listening and thermal imaging find the position under the floor. See how slab leaks are found and pool leak or slab leak.
If it is a slab leak
The usual options apply: a spot repair through the slab, a reroute above the slab, lining where suitable or wider repiping where several lines are involved. Upfront pricing and no hidden fees apply before work begins.
If the leak is outdoors, the technician can tell you what they found, and you can take it to an irrigation or landscape professional.
Afterwards
Once the cause is dealt with, whoever it was, check the meter again with everything off. The indicator should be still. Compare your next two or three bills with the same months in earlier years.
If you own a seasonal home, ask your manager to check the irrigation schedule and the yard from time to time while you are away.
Zones, valves and the meter
A sprinkler system has its own valves, and a stuck valve can run a zone for hours with nobody watching. Because the water passes through the same meter as the house, the dial moves whether the water is outside or under the floor. Turning the system off at its controller and repeating the meter check tells you a great deal.
If the dial stops when irrigation is off, the cause lies outdoors. If it keeps moving, the search moves indoors.
What to tell the technician
Say whether the system has a timer, whether it runs at night, and whether any zone has wet or sunken ground. Mention a hose bib or outdoor tap that drips. These details tell the technician where to look first.
These technicians do not repair sprinkler or outdoor lines. If the cause is outside, we will say so and point you to the right trade.
Hose bibs and outdoor taps
A dripping outdoor tap or a hose left connected can add up on the meter, especially over weeks. Close any hose bibs and check them for drips before you do the meter check.
A slow drip is easy to miss. Look at the base of the tap and the wall behind it for dampness.
If the dial stops after these are dealt with, you have found the source. If not, the search goes on.