//Quick answer
- Five signs: warm floor, running-water sound, moving meter, bill spike, moisture or cracking at the slab edge.
- Located from above with electronic detection; concrete opened only where it has to be.
- Repair at the spot, or reroute the line: $500 to $3,000 depending on location and access.
- Slab leaks compound silently; discovery six months late is the expensive part.
01Definition
What is a slab leak?
Many Orange County homes sit on a slab-on-grade foundation with water lines run beneath or within the concrete. When one of those lines fails, the water has nowhere visible to go: it soaks into the soil under the house or wicks up through the slab. That is a slab leak. It is a water line problem with an access problem attached.
What causes them?
Copper pitting from water chemistry over time, abrasion where a line rubs against concrete or rebar as it expands and contracts, and ground movement stressing joints. Which of those applies at a given house is something the repair reveals, not something to assume from the neighborhood.
02When it applies
How do you know you have one?
A warm spot on the floor (hot line), the sound of running water with everything off, a water meter that keeps turning, a spike in the water bill, or cracking and moisture at the edge of the slab. Two of those together is a strong signal; the meter test is the one you can do yourself.
What are the repair options?
Open the slab at the located spot and repair the line, or abandon the failed section and reroute it overhead or through walls. Which one fits depends on where the leak is, what is on top of it, and the condition of the rest of the line. The price band, $500 to $3,000, moves on location and access.
03What goes wrong
Why is doing nothing the expensive option?
Slab leaks run under the foundation and the damage compounds silently: saturated soil, a lifted or cracked slab, flooring failure, mold. Diagnosis is not the expensive part; discovery six months late is. A moving meter is the moment to call.
What about the third leak on the same line?
A second or third slab leak on the same house is the piping telling you it is at the end of its life. At that point a repipe is the honest comparison, and the repipe cost guide puts the numbers side by side.
04Proof
- Done-Rite works both slab-on-grade and raised-foundation homes across Orange County.
- No trip charge, a 1-hour response time, and 24/7 emergency service.
- Six plumbers averaging more than 9 years in the trade each, plus a General Manager with 25+ years.
- 4.9 stars across 1,720+ Google reviews on the Orange profile, checked September 17, 2026.
- 1 year minimum warranty on labor. Manufacturer warranty handling varies by manufacturer.
05Action
Find it before it finds you
Detection first, so the concrete is opened only where it has to be. Slab leak repair is $500 to $3,000 depending on location and access, no trip charge. Financing is available with terms up to 10 years.
//Keep going
Learn
//Terms used in this guide
Where this applies
Done-Rite runs these calls across Orange County from its shop in Anaheim, CA, with no trip charge in any city it serves.
Common questions
$500 to $3,000, depending on location and access.
It depends on your policy and your carrier. Ask your insurance company before the repair; Done-Rite will tell you what was found and what was done.
It varies with the scope of the repair. When a permit is required, Done-Rite pulls it.
