How to Repair a Concrete Foundation Water Leak

Water leakage on a concrete floor is one of the last places most homeowners expect to see it. Furthermore, it could be caused by any one or a combination of many natural and man-made factors, including low topography, broken pipes, and so on. It could compromise the integrity of your concrete floor and, by extension, your home’s foundation if left unattended.

Slab leakage problems can be caused by a variety of circumstances, but they can always be fixed with just two types of treatments. Excess moisture in the foundation’s surrounds due to severe rainfall or snowmelt, and gutters that are too close to your home’s façade are examples of concerns created by external influences. When constructing a home, several safeguards are usually put in place to protect it against external causes of concrete leaks.

Creating suitable drainage around the house, adequate waterproofing, concrete slab insulation, additional methods for sealing the slab’s porosity, and putting gutters farther away from the home’s outer walls are among these measures.

Slab leaks caused by internal issues such as damaged or aging pipes fall into the second category of solutions. Unfortunately, internal faults are significantly more difficult to discover and may go unreported for a long time, resulting in strange water rate surges. Due to the constant exposure of underground water lines to strong tectonic forces, homes in earthquake-prone areas are more susceptible to these interior problems. Because subsurface pipes deteriorate over time, older homes are more vulnerable to slab leaks.

Homes with inadequate concrete floor insulation are more susceptible to a particular sort of slab leakage. An excessively airtight insulation could trap moisture beneath the slabs, which could condense and cause mold, cracks, and even water logs.

How to Repair Concrete Leaks Caused by Outside Sources

If the topography of the ground around your foundation causes waterlogging, you’ll need to install a good drainage system near your foundation, such as a French drain. The French Drainage system works by digging a canal from the flooded area to a drainage basin where any surplus water may be drained away from your outside wall. It can be quite efficient in preventing slab leakage caused by wetland, as long as the drainage channel is kept clear of debris and the drainage basin is large enough.

If the waterlogging isn’t severe, the only way to stop the slab from leaking is to waterproof the concrete properly. However, you must properly investigate the problem to ensure that the waterlog isn’t too large. If the leak has caused considerable damage to the walls and slabs, you’ll need a more comprehensive remedy than waterproofing. You may need to hire an expert to do a comprehensive assessment and give recommendations for the best repair options.

How to Fix Concrete Leaks Caused by the Environment

If the topography of the ground around your foundation causes waterlogging, a good drainage system, such as a French drain, should be installed near your foundation. The French Drainage system works by excavating a canal from the flooded area to a drainage basin where any excess water may be diverted away from your home’s outside wall. As long as the drainage channel is kept clear of debris and the drainage basin is broad enough, it can be extremely effective in reducing slab leakage caused by wetland.

Unusually warmer areas on the floor caused by leaking hot water lines are telltale symptoms of concrete leaks caused by damaged subsurface pipes. Foundation heaving, where the slab foundation harbors a rising buildup of waterlogging from leaking underground pipes, and a bludgeoning ‘dome’ in the floor that grows greater as more water from leaking pipes becomes trapped in a particular area on the floor.

It’s critical to pinpoint the precise location of leaks in subsurface pipes. You don’t want to pull out one section of your floor after another in an attempt to find the source of the leak.

Clear up the room carefully once you’ve identified the source of the leak. Protect yourself from dust and other risks by using gloves, goggles, breathing masks, steel-toe boots, and other protective gear.

Excavate the concrete around the leaky place with equipment like a jackhammer, sledgehammer, and mallet. However, you must exercise caution when using these heavy-duty instruments since, in the hands of an unskilled user, they can inflict serious personal harm and damage to the environment.

To limit the risks of a recurrence of the leak, it’s always better to replace rather than repair damaged underground pipes. To cut out the damaged pieces of the pipes, use a hacksaw or tubing cutter. Replace the broken pieces with new tubes, and then cover the repairs with concrete.

If you can’t pinpoint the specific location of the leak and don’t have the proper instruments to fix it, you may need professional help. Our highly experienced plumbers can provide you with timely, expert assistance to resolve your slab leakage issues and restore the damage.