A water bill that jumped for no reason, a warm spot on the floor, the faint sound of running water when everything is off — these are the quiet signs of a leak you cannot see. Hidden leaks waste hundreds of gallons, rot framing, feed mold, and, under a slab, can undermine the foundation itself.
In McKinney, the ground is often the culprit. Roughly two-thirds of local homes sit on Blackland Prairie expansive clay, which swells after rain and shrinks in drought. That constant movement stresses the copper and PEX water lines running under and through the slab until a joint gives or a pinhole opens. Winter Storm Uri showed how fast a freeze can split a line, and our hard water quietly corrodes older copper from the inside. The trick is finding the exact spot before you start cutting.
We locate leaks without guesswork and without tearing open walls or floors to hunt. You get a precise location, a clear explanation, and honest repair options.
Signs you have a hidden leak
- A water bill that climbed with no change in your usage
- The sound of running water when every fixture is off
- A warm or damp spot on the floor (a slab-leak sign)
- Low water pressure throughout the house
- Mildew smell, peeling paint, or stains on walls or ceilings
- The water meter dial moves while nothing is running
- Cracks appearing in drywall or flooring
- Foundation shifting or unexplained soggy patches in the yard
How we handle it
- 1
Confirm there is a leak
We isolate the system and read the meter to verify water is escaping and whether it is on the pressure side, the drain side, or under the slab.
- 2
Pinpoint it precisely
Acoustic listening equipment, thermal imaging, and line tracing locate the leak to within inches — so any opening we make is small and in the right place.
- 3
Explain your options in writing
A single pinhole may call for a spot repair, while a line that has failed repeatedly may point to a reroute or repipe. You decide with clear numbers in hand.
- 4
Repair and verify
We make the fix, re-pressurize, and re-check the meter to confirm the leak is fully gone before we close up.
How we find leaks without demolition
Old-school leak hunting meant opening walls until you found water. We use electronic tools instead. Acoustic sensors pick up the specific sound of pressurized water escaping a pipe, even through a concrete slab. Thermal cameras reveal the temperature difference a hot-water leak leaves behind. For slab and yard lines we can trace and pressure-test to narrow the location before anything is opened.
Slab leaks and Blackland clay
A slab leak is a leak in the water lines running through or beneath the concrete foundation. On our expansive clay, the slab is never perfectly still — it lifts and drops with the seasons, and that motion is the leading cause of slab leaks across North Texas. Catching one early keeps it from becoming a foundation problem.
Repair, reroute, or repipe
For a single slab leak in otherwise good pipe, a spot repair or a reroute — running a new line above the slab through walls or attic — is often the least invasive fix. If the copper is old and leaking in more than one place, a partial or whole-home repipe usually costs less over time than chasing one pinhole after another. We lay out both paths honestly.
Pinhole leaks and hard water
Copper pipe can develop pinhole leaks from the inside out, and aggressive or mineral-heavy water speeds it along. If we find one pinhole in aging copper, there are often more on the way. That is when a repipe conversation makes sense — modern PEX resists corrosion and handles our temperature swings well.
Why McKinney homeowners choose us for leak detection
- Acoustic listening gear and thermal imaging pinpoint the leak to within inches, so we open one small spot instead of hunting blindly through walls.
- We confirm the leak with a meter test first, telling you whether it is on the pressure side, the drain side, or under the slab before any cutting.
- Fifteen-plus years on Blackland clay means we understand the seasonal ground movement that drives the slab leaks common across McKinney.
- We re-pressurize and re-read the meter after the repair to prove the leak is fully gone before we close the wall or floor back up.
- You get written options and upfront pricing, from a single spot repair to a reroute, from a licensed and insured crew with no scare tactics.
What affects the price
Detection and repair are priced separately; the ranges below are DFW benchmarks, and the location and access set the final number after we find the leak.
- Whether the leak is behind a wall, under the slab, or in the yard
- How hard it is to access — flooring, cabinets, or concrete to open
- Detection method needed (acoustic, thermal, line tracing)
- A single spot repair versus a reroute or repipe
- Pipe material — copper, PEX, or old galvanized
- Restoration after the repair (concrete, drywall, flooring)
- Emergency or after-hours response
| Service | Typical DFW range* |
|---|---|
| Leak detection / pipe repair | $200–$800 |
| Slab-leak repair | $500–$4,000 |
*Benchmarks are DFW context, not a quote. Your written estimate comes after an on-site diagnosis.