When it comes to plumbing leaks, most homeowners’ first reaction is to go online and search for a local plumber. Plumbers are skilled at plumbing after all. It just makes sense. What would come as a surprise to most home and busines owners across the Greater Dallas Fort-Worth area is that most plumbing companies do not actually locate plumbing leaks themselves. Instead, many of them call in companies like ours to do it.
Aside from some basic trouble shooting and determining the general location of the leak, ie indoors vs outdoors, most plumbers are typically left scratching their heads when it comes to isolating & pinpointing a plumbing leak! That’s where companies like Metroplex Leak & Line Locators come in!
You might be asking yourself what separates traditional plumbing companies from leak detection specialists?
The answer is pretty straightforward. There are three distinct advantages that leak detection companies have over traditional plumbers when it comes to pinpointing plumbing leaks. We have outlined all 3 of them below:
Equipment
Specialized state-of-the-art equipment is the first major advantage most leak detectors have. It wasn’t long ago that locating a leak under a slab foundation meant jackhammering through the concrete slab. Nowadays all of that has changed! With such awesome and high tech equipment at our disposal, we can now see inside walls and under flooring without having to tear through them! We can even track lines, and take moisture readings too!
The major reason traditional plumbing companies don’t have this equipment is the high upfront cost to purchase it, and the intensive training it takes to operate it.
Education
Although leak detection equipment is extremely effective at locating plumbing leaks, it is far from x-ray vision. In the case of locating leaks the equipment is only as good as the operator. Hours upon hours of education courses and training is necessary to even begin to understand how to properly utilize leak location equipment to its full potential. A certified and deep knowledge of residential, commercial, and industrial plumbing knowledge must go coincide with a thorough familiarity of leak detection machines in order to accurately locate and pinpoint plumbing leaks.
Experience
For companies that truly specialize in plumbing leak detection, locating hidden leaks is not a rarely practiced, add-on skill, added to an online catalog of “services”. Instead it is a highly specialized division of the plumbing industry that must be practiced and perfected day in and day out for years and years until mastery is achieved. Even then, any quality leak specialist will tell you, no two leaks are the same, and each one presents new problems to solve.
Always Be Wary When Hiring a Plumber That “Also Performs Leak Detection”
Typing the words “leak detection” on a website takes no level of skill or expertise. And although a local plumber may advertise these services, if they do not have specialized leak location equipment, proceed with caution! Inexperienced leak detection companies can leave you with $1,000’s in unnecessary damages when they are hired to locate hard-to-find leaks.
Be Alert!
If you notice any of the following red flags we recommend calling a true leak detection specialist to locate and repair your plumbing leak. Inexperienced plumbers will typically try and do the following.
First, they will quote absurd prices for their leak detection services. $600-$1,000 is too much for 1 hour of leak location work. However, $100-$200 is also WAY TOO LOW. For this price a plumbing company could not afford to pay a licensed plumber for the time it would take to drive to your home & fuel for the truck, let alone the actual leak detection service.
There are times where a leak location may take several hours and the price could be in the $600-$800 range however, it is important to note that all leaks must be fixed! A quality company will consider this and offer a credit if you hire them to repair the plumbing leak.
Beware Of Companies Wanting to “Re-Pipe” Straight Away
While it is true that some houses need new plumbing. Pipes become worn out and damaged over the years, however, a leak can often be seen as an invitation to unsavory plumbers looking to make a buck on an unsuspecting homeowner. If leaks are reocurring issues in your home or business, than spending $10k to $20k on a repipe may actually be the right choice for you. However, repiping a home should be the last choice of remedy for a plumbing leak.
Companies that lack experience or equipment to pinpoint leaks will likely always recommend a “repipe” as the primary method for remedying your plumbing leak.
Do not allow any company to repipe your home before getting a second and third opinion from other plumbing companies!
