Dawson Foundation Repair works closely with American Leak Detection to perform all major plumbing repairs for commercial and residential properties. All plumbing services are supervised by a Master Plumber and include trenching between the house and city hookup, tunneling under the concrete slab,  repairing or replacing all sewer lines, under slab plumbing services, and more.

Water, sewer, and drainage leaks underneath a foundation can be a homeowner’s worst nightmare. These and other warning signs of foundation problems may require extensive under slab plumbing services.

Dawson offers…

• Testing of Incoming and Outgoing water lines
• Trenching
• Tunneling
• Repair or Replacement of Incoming and Outgoing water lines
• Professional Under Slab Plumbing Services
• Master Plumber and oversight by Dawson’s experienced crews

Testing Your Water Lines

Plumbers usually don’t test INCOMING water lines for leaks because these lines are under pressure and any leak becomes obvious in a short amount of time. Once a leak is found on an incoming water line it can usually be quickly repaired. The easiest and least costly repairs on incoming water lines tend to be located between the city meter and the outside of the house or commercial building. These repairs usually require trenching, or digging a trench to expose the water lines for repair or replacement. When the incoming water line is made of galvanized metal and is over 50 years of age the property owner should consider replacing this water line with a PVC water line, which has a longer life span and will not corrode.

OUTGOING (sewer and drain) water lines are NOT under pressure. They drain using gravity as the force to move the waste water. Therefore, when outgoing water lines are replaced the Master Plumber must ensure that the new lines have the appropriate downward slope to the city’s main sewer line. Without a doubt, repairing and replacing drain and sewer lines under a home’s concrete slab foundation is one of the most difficult and labor intensive plumbing jobs. It is difficult because a tunnel must be dug under the house for men to crawl through and replace damaged drain lines. The only other option is to jackhammer a trench through the slab from above. We do not utilize this method because we feel it can jeopardize the integrity of the home’s slab foundation.

Trenching

Trenching is the process of digging a trench in the ground to access buried water lines. It can be dug by a machine or by manual labor. Usually shorter distances are dug by hand and longer distances are dug with a trenching machine.

Tunneling

Tunneling is the process of digging a tunnel under a home foundation. A tunnel usually measures 3 feet by 3 feet in order to provide access for the workers. Tunnels must be dug by hand and is very labor intensive. A key aspect of tunneling is the replacement of the soil after the completed repairs or replacement of the drain lines.  This is called BackFill and it is important. Backfill is very labor intensive and must use a different soil that is more easily packed and will support the foundation slab above.  An improper backfill, either poor workmanship or the wrong soil, can be problematic in the future.  You can read more about trenching and tunneling by clicking the preceding link.

Drain and Sewer Line Replacement

Trenches and/or Tunnels must be dug to expose the area of drain line or sewer pipe that must be repaired or replaced. Generally, when the drain lines are concrete or cast iron and over 40 or 50 years of age they have reached the end of their useful lives. If there is a plumbing problem at this point in time then usually the best course of action is to replace the old water lines with the newer and longer-lived PVC pipes. Most experts believe PVC pipes will last at least 100 years and maybe 200 or more years. Nobody knows how long they will last because they have only been in widespread use since the 1970s.

Under Slab Plumbing Services

Repairing under slab plumbing leaks is a major effort. To repair such leaks, plumbers must tunnel under the home’s foundation using manual labor. A major problem is the lack of plumbing companies with any experience dealing with foundations and their improper tunneling and backfilling techniques. If an under slab tunnel is not backfilled properly it can lead to additional foundation problems in the future.

Dawson Foundation Repair understands how difficult these problems can be and how to perform the work. In addition to our professional home foundation repair services, we also offer the best under slab excavation services (tunneling) the industry has to offer. Dawson’s customers receive only the safest excavations, highest quality repairs, and spotless cleanups – all at a reasonable price on your plumbing repairs.

With Dawson, no matter where you are in Texas, you will find superior solutions to all your home foundation problems. If you have a leak underneath your home’s concrete slab, or any other home foundation problem, contact us today and we will help you find a solution.

Read More about Our Plumbing Services

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Under Slab Drain Testing – When to do it	Under Slab Hydrostatic Testing	Under Slab Plumbing Leaks and Damaging Differential Foundation Movements by C. Randolph Riddell, P.E.