Hot water leak under concrete foundation slab

[Cheezhead12]

We hired a leak detector and he marked the spot on the floor where the leak is coming from in our downstairs bathroom.

My husband and I have been basically chipping away at the foundation scared to death we'll cut through another pipe or through the one leaking where we will make it worse.

We've gone down about 1 inch in to the slab so far using a saw with a concrete-cutting blade and chisel attached to an air compressor....much harder to break through concrete than we thought!!!

How deep is the hot water pipe? Are there usually other pipes next to it...like a cold pipe?

 

[hj]

You need a big sledge hammer, not that little chipping hammer.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Dj2]

To answer your questions: The pipes are not very deep and there could be other pipes in the area...we can't tell if we don't see.
An 8 or 10 lb sledge hammer will crack what's left of the slab in the photo, after the initial cracks, use a chisel to pry the pieces out.

Now let me give you the bad news: If you have copper tubing under the slab, pinhole leaks come in bunches. You do the math, consider a repipe job instead of repair jobs.
The few times that I was facing such leaks, I decided to repipe rather than repairing. In a repipe you just run new pipes and leave the old ones buried.
The work also involves cutting walls to gain access, then repairing drywall and painting.
Get estimates from plumbers who only do repipings, book a cruise and come back when the job is done.

 

[Jadnashua]

As said, once you have one hole, you probably have more, or you will have more, and you'll be chasing your tail for several years trying to repair it all piecemeal. Hot is the first to go. Cold may follow, but it usually lives longer.

 

[hj]

The majority of leaks I have found were at or near walls where the copper was bent to come up through the floors and in those cases, that leak was the ONLY one for that residence.

 

[Plumber01]

I would have started breaking concrete to the side of the X. Locate the pipes from the side and then carefully excavate on top of the X. Concrete will break easier when undermined too.

 

[BillTheEngineer]

Repiping sounds like a more permanent solution and easier fix it it ever leaks again