Slab leak detection is the process of locating a water leak in pipes routed through or beneath a concrete slab foundation, using acoustic listening equipment, thermal imaging, and pressure isolation testing before any concrete is broken.
Florida builds on slabs. Most homes from the 1960s onward have the supply lines run through the concrete instead of in a basement or crawlspace, which works fine until one of those buried copper lines pinholes. The leak usually announces itself one of three ways: a warm spot on the tile floor, a water bill that doubles for no obvious reason, or the sound of running water with everything turned off. Finding the leak before breaking concrete is the whole job. Guessing is expensive and we don't do it.
Slab leaks are an Orange, Seminole, and Osceola County signature problem. Most homes built between 1965 and the early 1990s used Type L or Type M copper supply lines run directly through the slab, and after 30 to 50 years those copper lines develop pinhole leaks where the pipe was nicked at install or where electrolysis with the concrete has thinned the wall. The hot water line goes first about 70 percent of the time because higher water temperature accelerates the corrosion. Older neighborhoods like Pine Hills, Conway, Pine Castle, parts of Maitland and Casselberry all see this pattern. Newer subdivisions built with CPVC or PEX in conduit have far fewer slab problems but aren't immune.
The majority of slab leaks are on the hot water side. Hot water accelerates copper corrosion and the line wall thins from the inside until it pinholes. The first sign is usually a warm spot on the floor. Sometimes a few feet across, sometimes a single tile. We find it acoustically, confirm with thermal imaging, and then choose between spot repair, reroute through the attic, or planning a partial repipe.
Cold lines fail less often but the leak is harder to feel because there's no temperature signature. The tell is the water meter ticking with everything off, or a flowering of damp on the floor that doesn't feel warm. Acoustic listening on the slab finds the leak; pressure isolation by zone confirms whether it's on the hot or cold side.
Cast iron drains routed under the slab fail differently. Usually a crack or a corroded section that lets sewage seep into the soil under the foundation. The signs are different too: musty smell, slow drains for no clear reason, and sometimes a sinkhole forming in a low spot of the yard. Camera the line first, then plan a repair or reroute.
Three real choices. Spot repair: break the slab over the leak, replace 12 to 18 inches of pipe, patch the slab back. Cheapest if it's the first leak and the rest of the system looks OK. Reroute: abandon the slab section, run new PEX through the attic from one fixture to another. Cheaper than a repipe and more permanent than a patch. Partial or full repipe: every hot or every supply line gets replaced through the attic, slab gets abandoned for water. Most expensive, most permanent, makes sense if there's already been more than one slab leak.
| Spot repair | Reroute | Repipe | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | First-time leak, clean system | Single bad run | Multiple leaks, end-of-life copper |
| Breaking concrete | Yes, at the leak | No | No |
| Future leak risk | Same as before elsewhere | Zero on rerouted run | Zero on supply side |
| Time on site | 1 day | 1–2 days | 2–4 days |
| Relative cost | $ | $$ | $$$ |
| Job | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Leak detection (acoustic + thermal + pressure) | $295–$650 |
| Spot repair through slab | $1,200–$2,800 |
| Single-line reroute through attic | $1,400–$3,200 |
| Partial repipe (hot water lines only) | $3,800–$7,500 |
| Full whole-house repipe in PEX | $5,500–$12,000+ |
Ballpark Orlando-area ranges. Your exact price depends on the job, and we give a firm, free quote before any work starts.
FBC-P 605.16 covers concealed water piping standards, and FBC-P 1107 requires accessible repair when concealed piping fails. Repair (re-route) is acceptable under code as long as the abandoned section is properly capped at accessible points.
Leak detection (acoustic + pressure isolation) runs $250 to $500 in the Orlando metro for 2026, with $325 as the typical median, usually credited toward repair. Reroute (overhead PEX bypass) is $1,000 to $3,000 for a single failed line. Multiple-leak whole-house repipes (the usual recommendation past the second slab leak) run $4,500 to $9,500.
Detection is 1 to 2 hours on-site, including initial pressure isolation, acoustic listening, and (where needed) thermal imaging. Single-line reroute is a 1-day job. Repipe is 2 to 4 days. Most homeowners get a written diagnosis and quote the same day.
Detection equipment: SubSurface Leak Detection LD-15 and Fisher M-Scope acoustic ground microphones, FLIR E5-XT thermal cameras, and Goldak 950 pipe and cable locators. Repair material: Uponor AquaPEX-A and Apollo PEX-A for overhead reroutes.
1960s-80s copper-on-slab era is the slab-leak belt: 32789 (Winter Park), 32792 (Goldenrod), 32803 (College Park), 32804 (Audubon Park), 32806 (SoDo), and 32812 (Conway). Multiple pinhole leaks within 24 months in these ZIPs almost always lead to a repipe recommendation.
Slab leak detection and repair by scope for Orlando 2026: single-line detection only $250-$425 (median $325); detection plus pressure isolation $325-$525; single-line overhead reroute $1,285-$2,485 (median $1,795); whole-house repipe after 2nd or 3rd slab leak $5,485-$9,485 (median $6,485). Common housing-era ZIPs with copper-on-slab slab-leak history: 32789, 32792, 32803, 32804, 32806, 32807, 32808, 32812, 32814, 32817. All were built between 1960 and 1985 with Type-M or Type-L copper supply lines.
Don't break concrete on a guess. Call (407) 964-8940 and we'll detect the leak before anyone touches the floor. And walk you through the three repair options with real prices for your house.
Slab leak work often leads to water leak detection on other parts of the system, whole-house repiping when the pattern is clear, and same-day emergency response when the leak is actively flooding. Common in Pine Castle and Maitland homes.
Four signs to check. A warm spot on the floor (hot water leak), the sound of running water with everything turned off, a water bill that jumped without a reason, or mildew along the bottom of a wall that shares the slab. Any one of those is enough to call. Two or more is a strong signal.
Yes. That's the entire point of leak detection. Acoustic listening, thermal imaging, and pressure isolation together pinpoint the leak within a foot or so. We mark the floor before any concrete is touched and you decide whether to repair, reroute, or repipe before anything is broken.
Most policies cover the cost of breaking and repairing the slab and the drywall damage, but not the cost of the actual pipe repair (the "leaking pipe" itself is usually excluded as a wear-and-tear issue). Some policies cover detection. Read the policy and call your agent. Every carrier writes it differently.
First slab leak, clean copper, no other issues? Spot repair makes sense. Second or third leak? Repipe is usually the better economics. Every spot repair gets more expensive and the underlying material isn't getting younger. We do the math with you on-site.
Hot water accelerates corrosion of the copper wall. Higher temperature, faster electron flow with any electrochemical reaction. About 70 percent of slab leaks we see are on the hot side.
Yes, and faster than you'd expect. A pinhole today becomes a steady stream in months, water erodes the soil under the slab, and that can lead to slab settling, cracked tile, or sinkhole-adjacent problems in worst cases. The water bill alone usually justifies fixing it fast.
Short-term during a vacation, sure. As a long-term plan, no. The cold side will pinhole next, the slab keeps eroding, and the damage stays cumulative. The right move is to detect, then choose a repair path.
Because of how houses are built here. No basements, supply lines run through the slab, and a lot of housing stock from the 1960s-90s used copper that's now at end of life. It's a building-era issue, not a regional curse.
One to three hours for most jobs. The acoustic listening is the time-consuming part on larger homes. We give you a written report with the leak location, the recommended repair, and a firm price before we leave.
Our team is available around the clock to better assist you. Call now for fast, friendly help.
We work across eight regions of Greater Orlando. Reasons the service matters change by neighborhood, county, and home era.
College Park, Delaney Park, and parts of Audubon Park have 1950s-1970s slab homes with original copper supply through the concrete. Slab leaks here are common as that copper hits 50+ years.
Downtown Orlando, Thornton Park, College Park, Audubon Park, Baldwin Park, Delaney Park, Parramore, and Fairview Shores
Conway, Belle Isle, Pine Castle, and Sky Lake all carry the classic 1960s-80s slab-leak profile: original copper supply, hot-water-side leaks first, warm spots on the floor as the first sign.
Lake Nona, Waterford Lakes, Avalon Park, Alafaya, Azalea Park, Rio Pinar, Union Park, Conway, Belle Isle, Pine Castle, Sky Lake, Hunters Creek, Meadow Woods, Williamsburg, and Lake Buena Vista
Doctor Phillips older Bay Hill homes (1970s-80s) are slab leak candidates. Pine Hills and MetroWest 1960s-90s slab construction sees regular slab leak work.
Pine Hills, MetroWest, Doctor Phillips, Windermere, and Goldenrod
Apopka, Maitland, and Ocoee 1970s-80s slab subdivisions are at peak slab-leak age. Rural east Orange has mostly post-1990 construction with fewer slab issues.
Apopka, Maitland, Winter Park, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Oakland, Gotha, Zellwood, Clarcona, Bithlo, Wedgefield, and Christmas
Casselberry, Longwood, and Fern Park slab homes from the 1970s-80s carry original copper supply. Newer Lake Mary and Heathrow construction used CPVC or PEX in conduit and has far fewer slab leaks.
Sanford, Lake Mary, Heathrow, Longwood, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Fern Park, Forest City, Wekiwa Springs, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Geneva, and Lake Monroe (community)
Deltona's tens of thousands of 1960s-80s GDC tract homes have similar-spec copper supply through the slab. Slab leak patterns are predictable here, almost always on the hot water side first.
DeBary, Deltona, Orange City, Enterprise, Osteen, DeLand, and Cassadaga
Older Eustis, Tavares, and Mount Dora homes with slab construction from the 1960s-80s are slab leak candidates. Newer Clermont and gated communities have PEX or CPVC supply.
Eustis, Tavares, Mount Dora, Sorrento, Montverde, and Clermont
Older Kissimmee neighborhoods south of US 192 have slab homes from the 1970s-80s with copper supply. Newer Davenport, Reunion, and Celebration construction is mostly PEX and rarely sees slab leaks.
Kissimmee, Saint Cloud, Buenaventura Lakes, Poinciana, Intercession City, Davenport, Four Corners, Reunion, and Celebration
A few of the communities we serve. View all →
We provide slab leak detection across 75 cities and neighborhoods in Greater Orlando. Click your city for local detail, pricing, and what we typically see there.