Leak detection: $295, credited toward the repair when we do the work.
Spot repair: from $1,650 in a garage or unfinished slab, $2,200 to $2,900 in a finished living area. Detection included.
Reroute or repipe: $3,250 to $3,950 to reroute one line overhead in copper. Copper repipes start at $9,800 for a 1 bath home.
If your water bill jumped, the floor is warm in one spot, or you hear water running when nothing is on, you may have a slab leak. The next question is always the same: what is this going to cost? Here are straight numbers, what is included, and what changes the price.
What a Slab Leak Is
Most Orange County homes built before 1990 have their original copper water lines running under the concrete slab. Over 30 to 50 years, hard water, pipe rubbing against concrete, and ground movement wear a pinhole in the copper. The hot line leaks far more often than the cold because it expands and contracts every time you run hot water.
The leak is under the floor, so you usually don't see water. You see the bill.
Signs You Have a Slab Leak
- Water bill up with no change in how you use water
- A warm spot on the floor, usually near a bathroom or kitchen
- Sound of running water when every fixture is off
- Water heater running more than it used to
- Damp carpet, lifting tile, or a mildew smell with no obvious source
- Lower water pressure than you are used to
Quick test: turn off every fixture in the house, including ice makers, and watch the water meter for 15 minutes. If the small leak indicator moves, you have a leak somewhere.
What Slab Leak Repair Costs in Orange County
These are our 2026 prices. The market column is what most Orange County plumbing companies charge for the same work.
| Work | Most Orange County shops | S&E Plumbing |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic leak detection | $200 to $500 | $295, credited toward the repair when we do the work |
| Spot repair, garage or unfinished slab | $1,500 to $2,500 plus detection | From $1,650, detection included |
| Spot repair, finished living area | $2,500 to $3,500, more under tile or stone | $2,200 to $2,900, detection included |
| Reroute one line overhead in copper | $3,000 to $5,000 | $3,250 to $3,950, detection included |
| Reroute hot and cold to one bathroom or kitchen | $5,500 to $8,000 | $4,900 to $6,200, detection included |
| Copper repipe, 1 bath home | $10,000 to $14,000 | From $9,800 |
| Copper repipe, 2 bath single story | $14,000 to $22,000 | $12,500 to $15,500 |
Every price is a written flat price before we start. No hourly meter running, and no emergency markup.
Spot Repair, Reroute, or Repipe?
Spot repair. We cut a small opening in the slab at the leak, fix the pipe, and patch the concrete. Right choice for a first leak in an easy spot, like a garage or under carpet.
Reroute. We leave the leaking line in the slab, cap it, and run a new copper line through the attic or walls. Right choice when the leak is under tile, stone, a cabinet, or a tub, or when the slab is post-tension. It also gets that whole run of old pipe out of the ground.
Repipe. New copper to every fixture in the house. Right choice when this is your second or third slab leak. The rest of the copper is the same age, and the same water has been running through it. Three spot repairs at $2,500 each costs more than the repipe would have, and you still have 40 year old pipe.
When it is close, we quote both options and tell you which one we would pick in our own house.
What Is Included
- Finding the leak and marking the spot
- Shutting down and isolating the line
- Cutting and removing the concrete at the leak
- The pipe repair or the new copper line, with new copper protected wherever it touches concrete
- Pressure test before anything gets covered
- Backfill and concrete patch, finished flat and ready for flooring
- Cleanup and haul off
- Photos and a written description of the repair for your insurance claim
What Is Not Included
- Removing or replacing finish flooring (tile, wood, laminate, carpet relay)
- Drywall and stucco patching, texture, and paint on reroutes and repipes (we can add this to the quote if you want one contractor for all of it)
- Drying out water damage or removing wet flooring and baseboards
- Moving cabinets or built-ins over the leak
We keep these separate so you are not paying plumber rates for floor work.
What Changes the Price
- Flooring over the leak. Carpet and vinyl come up easy. Tile, stone, and glued hardwood cost more to get through and more to put back, which is why a reroute is often the cheaper answer under tile.
- Depth and location. A line 8 inches down in a garage is a half day. A line 2 feet down under a kitchen island is not.
- More than one leak. If detection finds two, we talk about a reroute or repipe instead of two holes in your floor.
- Post-tension slab. Common in Orange County tract homes built from the early 1980s on, usually stamped on the garage floor. We do not cut post-tension slabs. We reroute.
- Attic access and distance on reroutes.
- House size and fixture count on repipes.
Does Insurance Cover a Slab Leak?
Usually part of it. Most homeowner policies cover the damage the water caused and the cost of getting to the pipe (tearing out flooring and concrete), but not the pipe repair itself. Slow leaks that ran for months are often excluded. Check your policy, call your agent early, and we will give you the photos and write-up your adjuster asks for.
Why Our Pricing Is Lower
S&E Plumbing is family owned. The owner is on your job, not a commissioned technician working off a price book. We do not run a call center, a sales floor, or a fleet of trucks, and you are not paying for them. We price the work, not the emergency.
We install copper. If you have been quoted a lower number for PEX, that is a different product. Ask how long each one is going to last under your house. Reroutes and repipes come with a written warranty on the new copper.
How Long Does It Take?
- Detection: about 1 to 2 hours
- Spot repair: usually one day
- Reroute: one to two days
- Repipe: two to four days, with water back on every evening
You can stay in the house for all of it. Water is off for a few hours at a time, not days.
Get a Price
Call (714) 264-4358 or email info@seplumbinginc.com and tell us what you are seeing. We can usually tell you over the phone whether it sounds like a slab leak and what the detection visit will cost.
S&E Plumbing Inc. serves Orange, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Tustin, Fullerton, Placentia, Yorba Linda, Garden Grove, Irvine, and the rest of Orange County. CA License #871623, C-36 Plumbing Contractor.
