As noted in a thread about my buckled floor, I have a leak under my slab. The plumber has sent out the leak detection guy, and while he can detect the leak and we can both hear it when the pressure is on, he can’t find it. He says the problem is that my hardwood floor (now buckled) insulates the sound from his geophones. His solution is to pull up the floor and jackhammer the slab until they find the leak.
Now, here is the situation:
The leak is on the hot side of one side of the house (we have two HW systems). That water heater is on the second floor. It feeds a half bath up there, and two full baths directly below. Everything that uses water from that heater is within about a 12 x 12 footprint. Seems the down line from the heater dives under the slab and then comes up to feed tubs and lavs. Somewhere in the under-slab run is a leak.
I can’t see why it wouldn’t make more sense to just cut off the part of the line that is under the slab, open up the sheet rock, and run a reeplacement line across through the studs. The old line would just stay where it is. No jackhammer. Less mess. Probably well less expense.
Does this make sense? Am I missing anything?
Replies
I would certainly look at doing that.
I know in warm climits where there are inslab leaks they often reroute through the attic rather than "digging" and repairing.
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Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Sounds good to me.
If you use pex then you don't have to rip long sections in the sheetrock you can just pot hole it like electricians do when running a new wire.
“It so happens that everything that is stupid is not unconstitutional.” —Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
Pex is an interesting idea. I wonder if it is used here in the Dallas area?
Pressure test the hot water supply for the bath, then test the floor loop. Hope it gives you better idea what needs to be done.
Makes a lot of sense to me, if you have any way to run a line without going into the slab thats the way to go. Luck.
"If all else fails, read the directions"
Thanks to all for your responses. Now, a related question: once the repair is made, what is the best way to dry out the space under the slab so that the floor can be repaired? I am thinking of using a big dehumidifier. WIll that work? Any better appraoches? How long should I expect to wait before I can safely put down hardwood?
My expertize is plumbing, if I was there I might be able to come up with something that makes sense, but I think that you should post on this forum or another and see what the pro's say, Luck again.....................................
"If all else fails,read the directions"
Fans, several of them.
People never lie so much as before an election, during a war, or after a hunt. --Otto von Bismarck
I posted this in a different forum. Now he had pipe break on the 2nd floor and wet walls and ceiling and insulation.But similar. I think that you want both blowers and dehumdifiers.You want more volumne and less speed than what a leaf blower has.I had a hard time finding the right google terms but this was the type of blower that I was thinking about.http://www.refreshyourhome.com/RH-Tools/blower-ventilation/index.html
Here is another one.http://www.allergybuyersclubshopping.com/windshear-dryers.html?psysVid=0apcxjg6http://www.allergybuyersclubshopping.com/dehumidifiers-home-industrial.html
Look down at the commerical and industrial units. I check the specs on several of them and they all use 120.http://www.servpro.com/services/dehumidification.htm Some one else posted that those types of blowers are called air movers..
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Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Bill:
I will check those links -- thanks.
The perplexing thing is that all the water is under the slab. The damp rises, of course, warping my floor. And, the concrete is covered by the wooden floor. One guy told me that dehumidifiers would do it over a matter of weeks. Another wanted to just rip up the whole wooden floor so the damp would flow better out of the concrete. I' of course, want as little damage as possible especially around the holiday, but I do want it done right.
What a mess.
It will take probably about twice as long with the wood in place. If any part of the floor is so bad it'll have to be ripped up anyway, it would be good to do that now, to let more air in.The fans need to blow air against/along the damp surface, to maximize the drying effect.And either run a dehumidifier or exchange with outside air. Simply moving damp air around will do no good.If you go the dehumidifier route, and if the dehumidifier is reasonably powerful, keep the room closed off a bit so that heat builds up -- warmer is better. But be sure a little air is moved through the room -- run the bathroom exhaust fan if there is one, or open the window just a crack.If you have wet spots in the corners, you can buy a silica gel dessicant crystals at a hardware store. Pile it on the wet spots and change every 24 hours. "Rejuvenate" the used gel in the oven.
People never lie so much as before an election, during a war, or after a hunt. --Otto von Bismarck
This is a common solution to the problem.