Slab leak repair is the plumber's job. The water damage from weeks of slow leakage is ours. We coordinate with Austin-area plumbers and handle extraction, drying, demolition, and restoration with direct insurance billing.
Here's what to do — and what not to do — in the next 5 minutes. The window between the loss starting and significant structural damage is short. Every hour matters.
Slab leaks in Austin are less common than DFW or Houston (Hill Country limestone substrate is more stable than blackland or gumbo clay), but they still happen — particularly in the suburban-style construction in Cedar Park, Round Rock, and the transition zones.
Copper supply lines have a typical service life of 50-70 years. Older Austin homes (Hyde Park, Allandale, Tarrytown, Travis Heights, Old West Austin) built 1950s-1970s are now well into the failure window. Pinhole leaks are early warning.
Homes built 1978-1995 with gray polybutylene piping have a documented failure pattern: brittle joints, chlorine-induced degradation, unpredictable rupture. Many pre-1995 Round Rock, Cedar Park, and North Austin subdivisions still have PB.
While Hill Country limestone is stable, the suburban transition zones (Pflugerville, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander) sit on soil mixtures that include more clay and shift more than central Austin's limestone. Slab leaks in these areas track DFW patterns more than Hill Country patterns.
West Austin hillside homes — Westlake, Rollingwood, parts of Lakeway — sit on engineered foundations that occasionally settle differentially. Slab plumbing under hillside foundations can rupture when settlement exceeds line flexibility.
We arrive after the plumber has completed (or scheduled) the slab repair. In the first 60 minutes onsite: assessment of the water-damaged area, moisture mapping, photographic documentation for the carrier, extraction of standing water, identification of saturated subfloor and wall cavities, positioning of structural drying equipment.
The next 24-48 hours: continuous structural drying of slab, subfloor, baseboards, and any saturated wall cavities; antimicrobial pre-treatment; daily moisture monitoring; assessment of which flooring materials can be dried in place versus removed; coordination with your insurance adjuster.
We bill your insurance carrier directly so your out-of-pocket cost is typically just your deductible. We work with every major Texas carrier — and the high-net-worth specialty carriers for Westlake, Rollingwood, and Lakeway custom-home losses.
Same-hour dispatch to all of these Austin-area cities. Our crews are local to Central Texas — we know the neighborhoods, the watersheds, the Hill Country topography, and the carriers.
Most homeowners policies cover the water damage from a slab leak but exclude the pipe repair itself under wear-and-tear language. Some carriers offer 'water line coverage' that includes the pipe repair. The water damage scope is typically the larger portion of the total loss.
Classic slab leak signs: warm spot on the floor (hot water line), continuous water bill increase, sound of running water with no fixture on, hardwood floor cupping. An Austin-area plumber with leak detection equipment can confirm in 30-60 minutes.
Two common approaches: spot repair (jackhammer through the slab) or pipe rerouting (running new lines through the attic). Your plumber recommends based on the home and failure pattern.
If a home has had two or more slab leaks within a few years, the slab plumbing is at end-of-life. Most plumbers recommend full repipe — $8,000-$22,000 depending on home size.
If the leak was caught early, water damage restoration is 5-9 days drying plus 1-3 weeks reconstruction. If the leak was undetected for weeks (typical), demolition is more extensive — total project 4-8 weeks.
Same-hour IICRC-certified crew dispatch. Direct insurance billing. Free on-site assessment. Every hour of delay means more damage.