Slab Leak Repair and Under-Slab Plumbing in Dallas, TX
Licensed Master Plumber M-43562 · $29 service fee · spot repairs $2,250–$4,550 · reroutes quoted in writing · financing available · 15% off same-day approval
Dallas Water Utilities looks after your water service up to the meter. Everything after it, including the lines buried in and under your slab, belongs to you. When one of those lines starts leaking, we find out whether it's a supply line or a drain, then give you a written price to repair it, reroute it in PEX or repipe.
- Licensed & Insured (TSBPE M-43562)
- $29 service fee
- Upfront Pricing
- Certified Price Review
Your Dallas water line has three parts, and one is yours
Dallas Water Utilities describes a water service line in three parts: the public side, maintained by the utility; the meter, also maintained by the utility; and the private side, which is the property owner's responsibility. DWU says owners are responsible for the plumbing inside their premises and along their property coming from the meter. City Code Section 49-24 agrees: the City maintains the connection from the main to the meter.
So a leak at the meter itself is the utility's, and DWU lists meter leaks among the problems to report through Dallas 311. A leak past the meter, including under your slab, is a job for a plumber.
Signs of a slab leak in a Dallas home
- The water bill climbs but your water use hasn't changed.
- With every fixture off, the leak indicator on your meter keeps turning.
- One patch of tile or wood floor feels warm, which usually means a hot-water line.
- Running-water sounds in a wall or floor when nothing is on.
- Damp carpet, swollen baseboards or a musty smell in one room.
- New cracks in tile or drywall, or a door that starts sticking.
Is it the water line or the drain?
"Slab leak" can mean either of two systems in your slab:
- Supply-line leak: the pressurized pipe that brings water to your fixtures. It turns the meter. Fixed with a spot repair, a reroute or a repipe.
- Drain-line leak: the cast iron or plastic drain under the floor. The meter stays still, but the soil gets wetter every time water goes down a drain. Found with a drain test and camera. Fixed by tunneling.
We test both, so you don't pay to fix the wrong pipe.
Why Dallas slabs leak
- The age of the pipe. About 64% of Dallas housing units were built before 1990, and the median year built is 1981 (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates). In the American Society of Home Inspectors' timeline, galvanized steel was the standard water pipe until the 1950s and copper took over from the 1960s through the end of the last century. That puts galvanized or copper under many of those slabs.
- The ground under it. A U.S. Department of Agriculture soil survey names Houston black clay as Dallas County's most extensive soil type, and the Texas Water Development Board describes Houston Black as a classic clay that shrinks and swells markedly as its moisture changes. The slab, and the pipe in and under it, move with that soil.
Check what Dallas has on record for your service line
Under the federal Lead and Copper Rule, Dallas Water Utilities keeps a Service Line Inventory of the public and private sides of each water service line; look up your address on its map from DWU's Lead and Copper page. In September 2026, DWU said more than 200,000 lines were listed as "unknown," which does not mean lead was found, and that it had not identified any lead service lines. The inventory stops at the line into your property; our diagnostic covers the slab.
Three ways to fix a supply-line slab leak
Full comparison: Slab leak: repair, reroute, or repipe?
- Spot repair. We pinpoint the leak, open the slab or tunnel to it, and replace the damaged section. It fits a first leak in pipe that's otherwise sound. A water-line / supply-side spot repair is $2,250–$4,550.
- Reroute. We disconnect the leaking line, leave it in the slab, and run new PEX overhead through the attic and walls to the fixtures it served. Nothing is dug under the house, and that line is out of the slab for good. Priced in writing after the diagnostic, based on the fixtures involved.
- Repipe. A second or third leak is usually a sign the rest of the pipe is just as worn. New PEX throughout can end up cheaper than paying for repair after repair. See our repipe cost guide.
Drain leaks under a Dallas slab
We reach a broken drain by tunneling in from outside the foundation, then repair the bad section or replace the run. If the cast iron is scaled and thin from end to end, replacement usually beats fixing it leak by leak. See sewer line replacement in Dallas.
Slab leak repair cost in Dallas
Some work has a set price; the rest is priced once we find the leak:
A reroute's price depends on how many fixtures the line feeds. You see every price in writing before work starts.
Start with a $29 service fee
Every job starts with a $29 service fee, a camera inspection or walk-through as needed, and a written quote before work begins. We're open Monday through Saturday, 7 AM to 7 PM, and closed Sunday.
Already have another quote? Send it to us.
Certified Price Review: We'll match or beat apples-to-apples plumbing scopes. Send us a written, itemized slab leak repair estimate from another licensed plumber. We compare scope, installation method, materials, access/excavation, warranty and diagnostics. If the work is directly comparable, we may adjust our price. Verbal or incomplete estimates may not qualify, and a review doesn't obligate us to match. See program terms →
Financing: Spread a reroute, repipe or under-slab drain repair over monthly payments. Financing is available, subject to credit approval. See financing options →
Save 15% when you approve the same day. Approve your written quote the day we give it to you and we take 15% off.
Dallas slab leak FAQs
How much does slab leak repair cost in Dallas?
Water-line (supply-side) spot repairs run $2,250–$4,550. If we have to tunnel to the leak or drain, it's $3,375 minimum for the first 5 ft, $425 per foot after that, and $1,150 per access hole. Reroutes are priced in writing after the $29 service fee, and same-day approval takes 15% off.
Is a leak at my water meter my responsibility?
Usually not. Dallas City Code Section 49-24 makes the City responsible for the water service connection from the main to the meter, and Dallas Water Utilities lists meter leaks as a 311 report. Leaks past the meter, including under the slab, are the owner's.
Does homeowners insurance cover slab leaks?
It depends on your policy. The Texas Department of Insurance says most policies cover sudden and accidental water damage but usually not gradual leaks. Use our leak location and itemized quote when you talk to your insurer.
Can a slab leak damage my foundation?
Yes. Water under the slab soaks the clay, and Houston black clay, the most extensive soil in Dallas County, swells when wet. Fix the leak before any foundation leveling; we can camera and pressure-test the lines and share the results with your foundation company.
How do I find out what my Dallas water service line is made of?
Look up your address on Dallas Water Utilities' Service Line Inventory map, linked from its Lead and Copper page. If it's listed as unknown, DWU asks owners to help identify it through its Customer Service Line Survey.
Do I need a permit for slab leak repair in Dallas?
Plumbing repair and replacement is permitted and inspected work where the city requires it. Dallas regulates it under the Dallas Plumbing Code, the City's amended version of the International Plumbing Code.
More for Dallas homeowners: Plumber in Dallas · Sewer line replacement in Dallas · Slab leak detection · Does insurance cover a slab leak?