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Leak detection in Palo Alto, CA means finding water you cannot see, in a slab, a wall, or a yard, and marking it precisely before anything is opened. Works Plumbing confirms the leak, isolates the system it belongs to, and pinpoints it.
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In Palo Alto that first step carries extra weight. More than 2,000 homes here are Eichlers on concrete slabs, and the pipes inside those slabs are not all plumbing.
Suspect a hidden leak? Schedule leak detection with Works Plumbing.
With all fixtures off, we watch the meter’s leak indicator. Movement confirms the domestic supply is losing water. No movement with a warm floor points us toward the heating system.
We close valves to separate hot from cold, house from irrigation, and indoor lines from the service line. Each test removes a suspect.
Water escaping a pressurized pipe makes noise. Acoustic equipment picks it up through concrete, soil, and walls, loudest right above the leak.
A thermal camera shows warm water moving under a slab or behind drywall, which helps trace a hot line or a radiant loop.
You get the location, the system it belongs to, and an upfront price for the repair options.
| Location | Clues | First test |
|---|---|---|
| Under a slab | Warm floor, cracked tile, a hot water heater that cycles often | Meter check, hot side isolation, thermal scan |
| Radiant loop | Warm or damp floor with a still meter | Heating system pressure check |
| Inside walls | Stains, bubbling paint, musty smell | Moisture readings, acoustic listening |
| Service line | Soggy yard, low pressure | Isolate house from service line |
| Irrigation | Wet beds, meter moving with house valves closed | Zone by zone isolation |
| Fixtures | Running toilet, dripping valve | Dye test, visual check |
Not every Palo Alto home is an Eichler, and not every hidden leak is under a slab. Census estimates show the 1950s as the city’s largest decade of home building, at 25.1 percent of housing units, and 13.3 percent of units were built in 1939 or earlier.
In a home with a raised foundation and a crawlspace, a supply leak may drip onto soil for a long time before anyone notices. Clues include a damp smell from floor vents, a sagging spot in the floor, or moisture on the crawlspace side of the subfloor.
We inspect crawlspaces with a light and moisture meter, follow the supply lines, and listen along them where they are hard to reach. Older homes have often had plumbing changed in stages, so we trace what is actually there rather than assume.
Palo Alto lots often have irrigation that runs through planting beds and under walkways. A cracked irrigation lateral can soak a bed and raise the bill without ever reaching the house.
We test the irrigation system separately. If the meter stops with the irrigation shut off, the leak is in the yard lines, and we trace them zone by zone.
The City of Palo Alto Utilities supplies your water through 231 miles of water main. Its 2025 water quality report states that the initial Lead Service Line Inventory “confirms that no lead service lines are present in the distribution system.”
Leaks between the meter and your home, and inside it, are the owner’s. If we find the leak on the utility side of the meter, we tell you so you can report it to the utility instead of paying for the repair.
Once we know where the leak is, you get options with clear pricing. For a supply line in a slab, those usually include a spot repair through the floor or rerouting the line. Our water line repair service in Palo Alto covers both, including how reroutes are handled in Eichler homes.
If the leak turns out to be in a radiant heating loop, we tell you that plainly and refer the repair to a radiant heating specialist. We confirm permit requirements with the City before any repair work starts.
We at Works Plumbing offer leak detection services throughout the Peninsula. See our Palo Alto plumbing services.
My Eichler has a warm spot on the floor. Is that a slab leak?
It might be, or it might be the radiant heating system. Both run inside the slab. We check the water meter and the heating system separately so you know which one is leaking before any repair is planned.
Can a slab leak in an Eichler be fixed without breaking up the floor?
Sometimes. The City’s Eichler guidelines note that copper heating pipes may be repairable without removing concrete, while corroded steel pipes are much harder. For supply lines, rerouting can avoid the slab entirely.
Does Palo Alto have lead service lines I should worry about?
The City of Palo Alto Utilities reports that its initial Lead Service Line Inventory confirms no lead service lines are present in the distribution system. The utility also publishes an address lookup map.
Who fixes a leak near my water meter?
Leaks on the street side of the meter belong to the City of Palo Alto Utilities. Leaks between the meter and your home are the owner’s. We tell you which side the leak is on.
Why is my water bill high when I see no water anywhere?
A leak under a slab or in a buried line can run without ever reaching the surface. A rising bill with steady use is often the first clue, and a meter test confirms it.
Do you repair the leak once you find it?
For plumbing leaks, yes, when practical. For radiant heating loop leaks, we diagnose the leak, explain the finding, and refer the repair to a radiant heating specialist.
A hidden leak costs more the longer it runs. Request leak detection from Works Plumbing, and we will find it, identify the system, and price the repair before anything is opened.
Leak detection systems work by monitoring the flow of water through either an ultrasound or a mechanical turbine. Such leak detection systems track the pattern of the water flow by either counting or recording the gallonage passing through the sensor. The presence of moisture is often isolated from other detectors of leaks. If moisture enters the surfaces, a mechanical valve is triggered, which will block water flow when such leak detection systems senses. Moisture sensing detectors are best suited for point-of-use applications that are under-sink. Leak detection devices all over the house continue to monitor the use of water to prevent potential leakage. At Works Plumbing, we guarantee 100% clients satisfaction for your leak repair.
Every job comes with upfront pricing, licensed and background-checked technicians, and a 100% satisfaction guarantee . No surprises, no pressure, ever.
Snap a photo of the problem before you call, it helps us bring the right parts on the first visit.
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The City’s Eichler neighborhood design guidelines note that of more than 11,000 Eichler residences in California, “well over 2,000 are located in Palo Alto.” They were built on concrete slabs with “Radiant heating … embedded in the concrete slab flooring.”
The same guidelines describe the trouble that creates. The plumbing and the original radiant heating system were “placed within a home’s concrete slab foundation and may be difficult to repair without highly invasive intervention.” The pipe matters too. Copper pipes found in the heating systems of some Eichlers may be repairable without removing concrete, while “The steel pipes found in other Eichlers are much more difficult to repair if corroded.”
So a warm or damp patch on an Eichler floor has at least two possible sources: a domestic hot water line or a radiant heating loop. They look similar from above. The fix, the cost, and sometimes the trade you need are different.
That is why we separate the systems before we search. We test the domestic water supply on its own, then check whether the radiant system is losing water or pressure. Once we know which system is leaking, we pinpoint the spot and explain what kind of pipe we are likely dealing with before anyone cuts concrete.
We also serve these neighboring Peninsula towns.
We’ve earned our reputation one happy homeowner at a time.
“I had a backed up kitchen drain and David from Works Plumbing came out and cleared the line in a matter of minutes. Very professional and very knowledgeable. Definitely recommend!”
“Great professional and quick service! Shamir was friendly, efficient, and professional. He fixed the leaking problem in my sink and garbage disposal in under an hour. Highly recommend!”
“Thank you again for another job well done, and thank you for responding right away. I will continue to recommend Works Plumbing because they respond right away and get the job done efficiently.”
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