Commercial Slab Leak Repair in Phoenix

Look for water that has no visible source. The common signs are a water meter that keeps turning with every fixture off, a warm or wet spot on a floor, damp carpet or lifting tile near a restroom core, the sound of running water in a quiet space, and a water bill that climbs without a change in use. A hot-water line leaking under a slab often shows up as a warm patch on the floor. Our pages on signs of a slab leak in Arizona and why slab leaks are common here cover the residential version of these clues, and they carry over to a retail suite or an office floor.

Confirm before anyone cuts concrete. A meter leak test proves the building is losing water. Isolation valves then show which branch it is, and acoustic or tracer-gas equipment finds the spot. See our commercial leak detection page for how those methods work. A camera cannot see inside a pressurized pipe, so a sewer camera is the wrong tool for a supply leak, though it is the right one if the floor is wet from a drain.

It depends on how many leaks the pipe has had, what the floor is, and how much the tenant can lose. There are three options.

• Spot repair. Open the slab over the located leak, cut out the failed piece, splice new pipe and patch the concrete. This suits a single leak in an otherwise sound line.
• Reroute. Abandon the leaking run and install new piping overhead, in a wall or in a chase to the same fixtures. It avoids repeated concrete work and leaves the new pipe where it can be reached later. It is also the choice when one run has leaked more than once, which usually means the rest of that run is on the same clock.
• Replace the run. If the line is corroded along its length, a partial fix just moves the leak. The usual reasons to go this way are an old copper run with pinholes or a failed joint pattern.

Our guide to rerouting versus breaking the slab goes deeper on the tradeoff. Commercial floors add two checks before any cut: scan the slab and review the as-builts for embedded conduit, other utilities and structural features. If the drawings show structural slab features such as post-tensioning, or nobody can say what is in the slab, involve the building's structural engineer before cutting.

In Phoenix, stopping a leak is exempt from permitting, but removing concealed pipe and replacing it with new material is permitted work. That means a reroute or a replaced run gets a permit, a pressure test, and an inspection of the new piping before it is covered. Section 110.3.10.1 of Phoenix's amended code says concealed service equipment may not be covered until it has been inspected and approved. Plan for that inspection in the schedule so the slab or ceiling is not closed too early.

If the leaking section runs outside the building, for example the supply pipe crossing a sidewalk or an apron, the work becomes excavation and needs a locate under A.R.S. 40-360.22 first. Markings last fifteen working days, which matters if the schedule slips. Other Valley cities have their own permit forms and inspection steps, so confirm with the building department that issues your permit before the job is quoted.

Plan around the water, the noise and the floor. Ask for the shutoff window before work starts, isolate only the branch that serves the affected area where valves allow it, and schedule demolition for after hours or a closed day. Concrete cutting is loud and dusty, so a restaurant, clinic or office needs a barrier plan for the affected area. Our commercial water shutoff planning guide walks through notice, valves and restart. Keep photos and the detection report for the insurer; the insurance documentation checklist lists what is usually asked for.

Do not open a slab on a guess. If the meter is not moving, the wet spot may be a drain, a roof or an HVAC condensate line, not a pressurized pipe, and cutting concrete will not find it. If the water is a sewer smell or a damp floor with no supply loss, a cracked drain under the slab is more likely, which is a different repair. See sewer smell from a cracked drain line under a slab. If a building has several leaks across different runs, a full reroute or replacement is the honest answer, and a string of spot repairs is not. And if the leak is on the city side of the meter, it is not yours to fix at all.

HQ locates the leak, quotes the repair, reroute or replacement, and tells you up front whether a permit applies. We give the price before work starts, offer free estimates, and take emergency calls 24/7 when water is actively escaping. Related pages: commercial water line repair for the service line from the meter, emergency commercial pipe burst response when it is flooding now, and our leak detection service. Call with the address, the floor and suite, what you have seen, and any as-built drawings you have.