That time I spent 3 hours chasing a ghost pipe leak under a slab in Everett

Last month I was working on a rental house off Broadway and the tenant said their water bill jumped $80. I spent 3 whole days cutting drywall, checking fixtures, nothing. Finally dug under the slab near the water heater and found a pinhole leak where the copper touched some old galvanized. Took me 4 tries to patch it right with a sharkbite because the pipe was corroded. My buddy said I should have just repiped the whole line from the street. Has anyone else dealt with slab leaks in these old Everett homes from the 60s?

3 comments

3 Comments

lily_singh224d agoMost Upvoted

Wait, you spent 3 whole days cutting drywall before you even thought to check under the slab? That's wild. I had a similar one last year in a 60s ranch near the marina and I swear I was ready to torch the whole house after I found the leak was running along the old iron pipe right where it met the copper. My back hurt for a week from crawling around in that crawl space.

thea_mitchell2024d ago

Had a buddy do the same thing. Took him ages to find it.

ryanh5624d ago

Oh man, I feel that. Did the same thing on a rental property once (an old 50s bungalow) and it was literally right there under the slab the whole time after I'd already cut two massive holes in the ceiling. My buddy still gives me crap about it every time we grab a beer.