Is this a slab leak?

[Syzia]

I would really appreciate someone’s help. We have a plumber coming on Tuesday through our home warranty but the lady told me 3 times the leak detection is not covered so we are trying to figure out where is this coming from. The leak is between dining/kitchen and living room (carpet) the drywall u see is the kitchen wall behind it we have sink and dishwasher. texas, ground level no basement.

- We checked the meter outside when everything is off it’s not moving
- the water is clear and cold
- no warm tiles, or flooring
- i checked under sink, all cabinets no sign of water or even water damage
- it dries ( we use water take showers it didn’t seem to trigger the leak) then it leaks again. today I did a test and ran a dishwasher and it seems it’s triggered by it (not sure) the area around and under dishwasher is dry though. (behind that wall we have sink, dishwasher )

we cut out a piece of drywall around the corner (photo nr 3 ) thinking the plastic pipes were leaking (had two pex pipes leaks in the last year) but the area is completely dry inside and pipes u touched :/

is this a slab leak?

 

[JoeJee]

Water is SUCH a hard thing to trace. Could be from HVAC, could be from something far away and the water is just traveling along something till it puddles there, could be a slab leak.

Does this area ever dry out? How far does this extend? Have any kids or dogs that might be doing something funny like pouring water or peeing? Have you pulled the dishwasher or fridge or any other appliance nearby to check under/behind?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Syzia]

it’s just this spot but it seems to puddling underneath that dry wall a little… It’s cold and clear and that drywall hole we made we realized it doesn’t go all the way down to concrete I think it goes to the bottom of the cabinet build. will plumber be able to locate the issue? or should we keep trying to locate it ourselfs? the leak is between carpet and tile but the tile grout is dry… also I would think that a slab leak would puddle like this suddently…. right or no?

 

[LLigetfa]

the leak is between carpet and tile but the tile grout is dry…

Maybe moisture probing the grout lines might reveal more even if they appear to be dry. You could also try laying down a sheet of plastic to see if moisture comes up to the surface. It might show a pattern of where the moisture is migrating from.

 

[Syzia]

ahhh we just discovered this in the laundry room and outside on that wall…. what in the world

 

[LLigetfa]

Roof leak? Any plumbing above that water stain in the laundry room?

 

[Syzia]

made a hole where that stain is there is a pipe behind the drywall and its dripping cold water… so at least we found the leak (looks like the stain from outside is in the same spot just lower) could this be a reason for the leak in the kitchen/carpet area?

 

[JoeJee]

made a hole where that stain is there is a pipe behind the drywall and its dripping cold water… so at least we found the leak (looks like the stain from outside is in the same spot just lower) could this be a reason for the leak in the kitchen/carpet area?

I would suspect that but may or may not be. Water leaks are a funny business. Clean up and dry up the found problem then wait and see if the floor issue comes back.