Leak detection and slab leak repair in Houston

HomeAdvisor's June 2026 slab leak guide gives these national figures. They are not Houston-only prices.

HomeGuide's 2026 slab leak guide gives a second view: $500 to $3,500 for pipe lining, $700 to $5,000 for digging and replacing pipes, and $3,900 to $7,500 for rerouting with new lines, which it calls complex but often less invasive than digging into the foundation. Its figure for full slab replacement is $5,400 to $10,800.

Start with the water meter. The EPA's WaterSense program suggests reading the meter, using no water for two hours, and reading it again: any change suggests a leak. For toilets, it suggests adding a few drops of food coloring to the tank; color in the bowl after 10 minutes means the flapper leaks. The EPA says the average household's leaks waste more than 9,300 gallons a year and that fixing easy leaks can cut water bills by about 10 percent.

Signs that point to a leak under the slab, according to HomeAdvisor and HomeGuide:

• Warm or damp spots on the floor, especially above hot water lines.
• The sound of running water when every fixture is off.
• A sudden change in water pressure.
• An unexplained jump in the water bill.
• Standing water, new cracks in the foundation, or staining along the base of walls.

If the meter test shows a leak, find out whether it is on your side. Houston Public Works says the city owns the water line from the main to the meter, typically at the edge of the property line, and the property owner owns the line from the meter into the building. A leak between the meter and the house, or under the slab, is the owner's to fix.

A leak detection visit usually starts with the same meter test, then isolates sections of the system, for example by shutting off the line to the water heater, to narrow down whether the leak is on the hot or cold side, indoors or underground. Specialists then use acoustic listening equipment to hear water escaping under the floor, pressure tests on individual lines, and sometimes thermal imaging to find warm spots from a hot water leak. The goal is a mark on the floor where the leak is most likely, so that any opening is as small as possible.

Ask for the findings in writing: which line is leaking, where, and how confident the technician is. That report is what you will compare repair quotes against.

• Direct repair means opening the floor or tunneling to the pipe and repairing the damaged section. It fixes one leak but leaves the rest of the old pipe in place.
• Rerouting abandons the leaking line and runs new pipe through walls or the attic. HomeAdvisor lists $600 to $4,000 for a slab leak reroute; HomeGuide gives $3,900 to $7,500 for more extensive reroutes.
• Lining coats the inside of an existing pipe and avoids digging, at $80 to $250 per linear foot according to HomeAdvisor.

A plumber should explain why one option suits your house. If a home has had several slab leaks, ask whether rerouting the whole line makes more sense than repairing one spot at a time. HomeAdvisor also notes that areas with highly expansive soils see more ground movement; our guide on why slab leaks happen in Houston covers the clay soil problem in detail.

Section 1301.551 of the Texas Occupations Code exempts the repairing of leaks from the permit requirement. Rerouting with new pipe is new plumbing, however, and in the City of Houston plumbing permits are obtained by a master plumber registered with the city. Ask the plumber in writing whether your job needs a permit and who will pull it.

City of Houston customers can apply through the Houston Public Works utility billing page, which offers a Universal Adjustment Form for credits related to unusually high bills, leaks or exceptional circumstances. Keep the leak detection report and the repair invoice to support the request. Customers of other utilities or municipal utility districts should ask their provider.

Check that the person doing repairs holds a Texas plumbing license in the Texas plumbing license search, and ask whether the detection fee is credited toward the repair. Get at least two written repair quotes. To reach a plumber, call one of the licensed contractors listed on this page or see all listed contractors. We are an information site and do not perform leak detection; you can email us your question through our contact page.