Leak Detection
Finding a leak is a different job from fixing one, and doing it in the wrong order is expensive. The point of detection equipment is to narrow the problem to a spot before anyone opens a wall, a slab or a yard.
Leak Detection
When to call
What usually brings people to this
Properties on larger lots often run long laterals, and a long line has more joints, more root targets and more places to fail.
These are the symptoms that usually prompt the call. Any one of them is worth a conversation, and most of them get cheaper to deal with the earlier they are looked at.
A water bill that jumped with no change in use
The meter moving when everything is off
A warm spot on a floor
Damp drywall, stained ceilings or a musty smell
The sound of running water when nothing is on
The damage around a leak is usually more expensive than the leak, which is why we push people to have things looked at early.
How we work it
An accurate diagnosis is the whole foundation of a repair that actually lasts.
Confirm there is a leak
The meter test settles it. If the dial moves with everything shut off, water is going somewhere.
Narrow it down
Acoustic equipment, pressure testing and thermal differences separate a supply leak from a drain leak and narrow the location.
Pinpoint before opening anything
The goal is a spot, not a room. That is the difference between one small repair and exploratory demolition.
Then talk about the repair
Once we know exactly where and what, you get the options and the number.
Worth knowingWhat leak detection actually involves
If we find something beyond what you called us about, you hear about it before we touch it, not afterwards.
The meter test is something any property owner can do and it settles a surprising number of questions. Turn off every fixture and appliance that uses water, then look at the meter. Many have a small triangular or star-shaped dial that spins at very low flow. If it is moving with everything off, water is leaving the system somewhere. If it is perfectly still, you may still have a drain-side leak, but you have ruled out a constant supply leak, and that is genuinely useful information to have before anybody starts looking.
Locating equipment marks depth and position before anyone digs, which is the difference between one careful excavation and several exploratory ones.
Four decades of work in this region built a service area that covers most of the Inland Empire. If you are outside the usual radius, call and ask. We cover more ground than most shops our size.
An accurate diagnosis is the whole foundation of a repair that actually lasts.
Keeping it from happening again
The damage around a leak is usually more expensive than the leak, which is why we push people to have things looked at early.
Watch your water bill. A bill that climbs without a change in habits is often the only warning a hidden leak will give you before the damage shows.
Know the age of the major components. Water heaters, supply piping and sewer laterals all have expected lifespans, and planning for a replacement is considerably cheaper than reacting to one.
If you have had a line cleared more than once, ask for a camera inspection rather than a third clearing. Repeated blockages nearly always have a physical cause worth finding.
Water heaters benefit from an annual flush in this region more than almost anywhere else, because our water leaves sediment on the bottom of the tank where the heat has to pass through it.
Who you are calling
Urgent calls get triaged on the phone. Sometimes the most valuable thing we do is tell you what to do in the next two minutes.
A lot of our work comes from customers we have had for decades, and from the people they send us. That is essentially the whole marketing strategy and it has held up for forty-four years.
Our credentials cover the inside plumbing, the septic and sewer side, and the engineering work that goes with putting things underground.
We clean up after ourselves and haul off whatever we replaced. You should not be able to tell we were there except that it works.
Big Mike's · Yucaipa, California
Questions we get about leak detection
If yours is not here, call and ask. We would rather talk it through than have you guess.
How do you find a leak under concrete?
Acoustic listening equipment, pressure testing and thermal imaging, used together. The slab stays closed until we know where the leak is.
Can you tell if it is supply or drain?
Yes, and it matters. A pressurized supply leak runs constantly. A drain leak only leaks when that fixture is used, and they are found differently.
What if the meter is not moving?
Then it is likely a drain-side leak or an intermittent one, and we test differently. A still meter rules out a constant supply leak, not a leak.
Is it worth finding a small leak?
A slow leak inside a wall or under a slab does not stay small. It damages the structure around it long before anyone sees water.
Does a real person answer when I call?
Yes. The line is answered live around the clock, so you are talking to somebody who can send a truck, not leaving a message for the morning.
Can you handle septic as well as plumbing?
Yes, and it is a big part of what we do. We are licensed for sanitation systems, so tanks, leach lines and the plumbing that feeds them are all one contractor.
Will you tell me if I do not need the work?
Yes, and we do regularly. A shop that has been in one family for four decades cannot afford a reputation for selling people work they did not need.
Do you work nights and weekends?
Yes. Nights, weekends and holidays are ordinary working hours in this trade, and emergency calls are answered around the clock.
How this fits the rest of the system
The age of a house predicts its plumbing problems better than almost anything else. Pre-1970 construction here typically means cast iron drainage and galvanized supply, both of which fail in known ways on a known timeline. Housing from the 1970s through the 1990s is usually copper supply on a slab, which brings its own pattern. Knowing when a house was built tells us what to look at first.
Before we come out
Clear access to the area, and to the water heater, cleanout or shutoff if those are involved. Time spent moving stored items is time on the clock.
The region we cover takes in older established towns and newer developments alike, which is useful, because working across both keeps us fluent in what each one does.
Related work and where we do it
Other work we do in homes
- Bathroom Plumbing
Fixtures, valves and rough-in for bathrooms.
- Slab Leak Repair
Pressurized lines failing under a concrete slab.
- Gas Line Installation
New gas runs for appliances and outdoor kitchens.
- Water Heater Repair
No hot water, leaking tanks, failed elements.
- Water Heater Installation
Replacing a tank water heater.
- Kitchen Plumbing
Sinks, disposals, supply and drain work.
Where we go
We run leak detection out of Yucaipa across Bradbury, Lake Elsinore, Duarte, Calimesa, Chino Hills, San Jacinto and Riverside, and the rest of San Bernardino, Riverside and the eastern edge of Los Angeles County.
Call the shop. A person picks up.
Tell us what it is doing and we will tell you what it takes to fix it. Plain language, no sales pitch, and the number before we start.
Yucaipa, California · Serving San Bernardino, Riverside and eastern Los Angeles counties · Open 24 hours