Slab Leak Repair in Centreville, VA

Warning signs

• The leak indicator on the meter turns even though nothing is running
• Water appears at the base of a wall on the lowest level with no rain to explain it
• Hardwood or laminate on a ground floor starts to cup or lift
• A faint hiss under the floor near the kitchen or a bathroom
• Hot water runs out sooner because heated water is escaping somewhere

Centreville homes and their pipes

Centreville is the most populous community in Fairfax County, and most of it was built during the 1980s and 1990s; the median home dates to about 1991. That puts much of the plumbing in the copper and PEX era, without the galvanized pipe found in older inner suburbs. Newer does not mean immune, though. Copper can wear where it rubs against gravel or rebar, and plastic lines can fail at fittings that were stressed during construction. The many townhouses here are a common place to find supply pipes running through or under concrete.

Fairfax Water supplies Centreville and owns and maintains the meter. The underground service line from the meter or street valve to the main shutoff inside the house is the homeowner's plumbing, so a leak on that run, including where it passes under a basement floor, falls to you. Water is drawn from the Potomac River and the Occoquan Reservoir and is moderately hard, which matters more for heaters and fixtures than for buried lines.

Cost drivers

• How long it takes to isolate and pinpoint the leak
• Whether the repair means cutting a slab or rerouting through walls and ceilings
• The flooring that has to come up and go back down
• Drying out wet carpet, drywall or trim
• Whether Fairfax County Land Development Services requires a permit for the method chosen

When you call

You will be connected with an independent plumber who covers Centreville. Mention whether the home is a townhouse, a single-family house with a basement, or a slab-on-grade layout, and describe what the meter did during your test. If water is pooling, shut the main valve and keep it off until the plumber arrives. For a problem on the street side of the meter, Fairfax Water's customer service line is 703-698-5800.