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I have a 50 year old house on a slab foundation. The other day I noticed that the side of the foundation on the west side of the house was wet in two or three places. It looked as though the water originated at the top of the foundation and flowed downward, forming an irregular “V” shape. The affected area is spreading toward the front of the house. There is no sign of water damage in the dining room along the wall or floor near the affected areas. For what it’s worth, the kitchen is adjacent to the dining room along the same west-facing wall, but the exterior isn’t wet at that spot. I’m anxious to have someone take a look at it before the problem gets worse, but I’m not sure who to call. Is this something my local plumber can deal with, or do I need someone with special expertise? Other suggestions?
Thanks –
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Is this inside the house? From your post I think so but I'm not sure.
If it is inside, is there any plumbing either in that area or higher in the wall? Or, maybe you have gutters, or a roof leak above that area.
Let us know about this so we can focus.
*Uh, Jim, you don't happen to have radiant heating pipe in the slab, do you? Yes, they did it 50 years ago, usually in black steel pipe. Levittown PA (1952) was built this way, with copper pipe, and they have had big problems with the old piping systems.Drive any powder-actuated fasteners lately? Jeff
*FredB - the water is outside on the side of the foundation slab. And yes, there are gutters on the roof, but we haven't had rain in the past few days. Besides, nothing up along the eaves is wet, nor is the exterior wall. I suppose I could be dealing with a some sort of leak that runs down the interior of the wall, but given the weather, I don't think it's from rain. When I get home tonight, I'll check the eaves more closely to be sure.Jeff - no radiant heat pipes to my knowledge (I've had the house 6 years), and no fasteners either.
*Broken copper water pipe in the wall?
*Condensation ?
*How to put this...do you or your neighbors have any male dogs?
*Still looking for a date DF?Gabe
*No, i was going to suggest you be put on a leash, maybe some prostate meds.
*Too late Rover, gotcha!Gabe
*Hi Jim,I lean towards Luka's post regarding condensation.Could be one of two things,or a little of both, either lifestyles causing condensation on the inside and migrating to the exterior and/or fall weather changes causing condensation on the outside.It would be rare for a burst pipe not to show itself on the inside.Gabe
*Hi Jim,Are you on city water? If so, one of the first methods to check for a leak is to monitor the meter, watching the spinner or dial indicator to see if it's moving after you make sure ALL faucets and water use appliances are off (incl. toilet, ice maker). If you have a pinhole, as in copper, it just might be facing the siding and be slow enough to flow between the bottom plate and the siding to show up outside, not necessarily right at the leak location (sort of like a roof leak). An ear to the wall or an exposed pipe might bring you the hissing sound of a leak or you could get a stethoscope.Do you know what material (copper, galv.) was used for your water supply? Might be time for a repipe.How about your drain system? In 50 years people manage to pour just about everything liquid into the system, including acid, especially if they have had a stubborn drainage problem. After you check for a pressure side leak, and don't see any indication on the meter, try putting a large amount of water down the kitchen drain and monitor the visible leak for any change.Do you have a second floor? A bathroom above?You said the leak appears to be spreading. You may have already found, using the above testing methods, that it is definitely a leak. Who said condensation? Now you have to decide if you want to chase the source yourself and then call the plumber to fix it, or let the plumber bash your walls for you (at $XX.00 per hour).A final tidbit. The logical place to bring in, or route water supplies is not always the way it was actually done. Which means the kitchen water supply or drain could be coming out of the slab where the leak is, or not. Or for some totally weird reason, your water supply could be up and over. Where is the water heater located? In the attic, maybe?
*Thanks for all the suggestions everybody(and BTW, our dog is female!). I'll pursue this and let you know how it checks out.Jim
*Don't forget that water takes the path of least resistence. Where the water comes out may not be near where the leak is because it is running along the downhill path of least resistence. Good luck.
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I have a 50 year old house on a slab foundation. The other day I noticed that the side of the foundation on the west side of the house was wet in two or three places. It looked as though the water originated at the top of the foundation and flowed downward, forming an irregular "V" shape. The affected area is spreading toward the front of the house. There is no sign of water damage in the dining room along the wall or floor near the affected areas. For what it's worth, the kitchen is adjacent to the dining room along the same west-facing wall, but the exterior isn't wet at that spot. I'm anxious to have someone take a look at it before the problem gets worse, but I'm not sure who to call. Is this something my local plumber can deal with, or do I need someone with special expertise? Other suggestions?
Thanks -