Building and Construction - Is My Slab in Jeapardy After Pipe Breakage?

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Is My Slab in Jeapardy After Pipe Breakage?

2007-04-02, 3:25 am

I have a two-story house in Southern California and recently had a fresh
water line break in or under the slab it's built on. I suspect the soil
under the slab is high in clay content.

The water that came inside the house was enough to wet the carpet across a
ten by four foot area so it was not a great volume. The restoration has
proven to be a major project and the next phase will be a very expensive
floor. The house has been repiped throughout since the leak.

My water bill indicates I used about 800 cu ft more than usual during that
period. I did not notice any runoff outside the house so I am speculating
that most of it went under the slab.

I am now wondering if the slab has enough support left to keep from
buckling.

Is this something I should be concerned about?

Thank you,

Mike

Italian Mason

2007-04-04, 5:25 pm

On Apr 2, 12:45 am, "JB" <highli...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I have a two-story house in Southern California and recently had a fresh
> water line break in or under the slab it's built on. I suspect the soil
> under the slab is high in clay content.
>
> The water that came inside the house was enough to wet the carpet across a
> ten by four foot area so it was not a great volume. The restoration has
> proven to be a major project and the next phase will be a very expensive
> floor. The house has been repiped throughout since the leak.
>
> My water bill indicates I used about 800 cu ft more than usual during that
> period. I did not notice any runoff outside the house so I am speculating
> that most of it went under the slab.
>
> I am now wondering if the slab has enough support left to keep from
> buckling.
>
> Is this something I should be concerned about?
>
> Thank you,
>
> Mike

Hi Mike,
You know its really hard to say from your description of the water
volume my first response would be NO its not a concern. However if
this leak had gone on for a long time and undermined a large amount of
dirt it may be an issue but still then I would only be concerned if it
was near a corner or a load bearing wall. If you are in CA there is
already plenty of rebar in place to hold the slab and house weight. A
simple test you can do is take a small sledge hammer and hit the floor
(not to hard as to chip it) in the area of the leak and then in an
area away from the leak if you hear a sound difference then there has
been erosion. Is this a concern..again probably not. Is the slab post
tension? or standard? If you do not know check your garage floor if it
is post tension there will be a stamp in the floor indicating this.
Good Luck
http://www.palmisanoconcrete.com

2007-04-07, 9:25 am

> Hi Mike,
> You know its really hard to say from your description of the water
> volume my first response would be NO its not a concern. However if
> this leak had gone on for a long time and undermined a large amount of
> dirt it may be an issue but still then I would only be concerned if it
> was near a corner or a load bearing wall. If you are in CA there is
> already plenty of rebar in place to hold the slab and house weight. A
> simple test you can do is take a small sledge hammer and hit the floor
> (not to hard as to chip it) in the area of the leak and then in an
> area away from the leak if you hear a sound difference then there has
> been erosion. Is this a concern..again probably not. Is the slab post
> tension? or standard? If you do not know check your garage floor if it
> is post tension there will be a stamp in the floor indicating this.
> Good Luck
> http://www.palmisanoconcrete.com<

I don't know if the slab is pre-stressed but I have never seen a stamp in
the garage indicating that. The house is cheaply built and I doubt if they
used the best methods for anything unless required by code.

The source of the leak is within a foot of an interior wall and I don't know
if its' a load-bearer. From the location of the wall, I would speculate
that it is load-bearing.

The floor is covered with vinyl tile which I don't want to remove due to
hazmat considerations. I did strike in a couple places with a short sledge
and thought I detected a slight difference in sound. But with vinyl on the
floor its' not really a valid test.

From what you say the odds are good that there will not be a problem and I
will place my bet that way.

I had the house re-piped as an alternative to going through the slab with a
jackhammer thinking that it was foolish to repair one leak in an old piping
system. In retrospect maybe I should have had them open the slab for a look
around AND then repipe. Oh well, it's been such a hassle I just want to get
a new floor and get on with life. If a problem shows up, I'll cope with it.

Thank you for your input.

Mike

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