I have a leaking or broken water pipe in the slab....

[Knock Kneed Hen]

We noticed that the tile floor was warm in one spot. We also noticed water leaking under the slab outside the kitchen.

When we shut off the hot water we had neither...

I'm stressing big time. We redid our kitchen just 1 yr. ago. Of course, the problem appears to be under the new cabinets and new tile.

When I look for someone to fix it
are there any specific questions to ask to make sure that the person is qualified and won't destroy my home any more than necessary? Hope our home owner's insurance will cover it!

 

[Mahonri]

I'd call your insurance co. and ask for suggestions. Many times they have folks they can send at a moments notice that have done excellent work for them in the past.

I had some friends with a similar problem. They lived with the leak for quite some time, then it got worse and the water bill was too much so, they bit the bullet and they had to redo their entire kitchen floor.... along with some of the cabinets... matching is always so much fun.

Good luck.

 

[rnoyster]

There is a company here in the Myrtle Beach, SC area that specializes in this type of problem. The way I understand it, they open a line in a wall and have a machine similar to a roto roorter that they can feed into the water lines. It is steerable with a sort of joy stick so they can make it go where they want it to go. When they find the leak under the slab, they are able to install a rubber sleeve on the inside of the water pipes that seal to the inside of the pipes and close off the leak. This is all that I know of the proceedure, and I have never seen it done. Only telling you that there is this option.
I have been a plumber for over 20 years and I can tell you from first hand knowledge that if this option is available to you in your area, you should check into it. This type of repair can be extremely costly just for the plumbing part. Then you have the additional costs of repairing the floor, reinstalling the cabinets, etc.
If left unrepaired, the leak will only get larger and larger as time goes on. The water coming out of the pipe under pressure will slowly enlarge the hole in the pipe and the more water leaking under pressure, the bigger the void will become under the floor which in turn causes a weak spot.
Good luck!
Dick