How Do I Prepare for My Slab Leak Testing & Location Service Call?

Your various shut-off valves must be accessible and functioning properly. Below, these various valves are listed in order of importance:

• Main Water Shut-Off Valve: Most homeowners think they know what this is, but they do not! The water meter is NOT where you turn the water off to your home. The water meter shut-off valve is for the city, utility providers, and licensed plumbers. That is why it is locked and requires a special key and meter wrench to operate. Every single home has a “Main Water Shut Off Valve” in place. This should be working and easily accessible—it is specifically designed for the homeowner to access in case of an emergency. Most homeowners do not know this device’s location or that it even exists. In that case, it has most likely been ignored, neglected, and will NOT be functioning or usable. If you fall into this group and your home was built before 2012, the likelihood that this device is accessible and in good working order is remote. It is also most likely a gate valve (described above). We strongly suggest NOT attempting to use this shut-off before having it inspected, as it could create a bigger leak issue. Depending on the city in which you live and the age of the home, your main shut-off valve should be located in one of the following places: Flower beds, flower bed valve boxes, garage or utility rooms, and main water manifold closet.
• Irrigation Double Check Valve: This valve is usually (but not always) in a valve box near the street and/or near the main water meter. The lid is usually green and rectangular and measures about 12” x 17”. This valve must be in good working order because it has two shut-off valves (sometimes three) that allow us to isolate the irrigation system from the main water supply. “Isolating” allows us to ensure that the potential water leak is not on the irrigation side of the system. This valve also serves a second important purpose: it operates as a water supply backflow protection device. That means it prevents soil contaminants, fertilizers, pet & rodent waste, and chemicals from entering into the irrigation head openings (or breaks) and leaching back into the main drinking water supply. So, you definitely want this to be functioning properly!
• Water Heater Shut-Off Valve: It’s pretty self-explanatory, but this valve shuts off the water going to the water heater(s). It is usually easily accessed but not always functioning. And if it is an older multi-turn gate valve (defined above), then the likelihood of it completely shutting the water off is remote. It will slow the water down in the case of an emergency water heater rupture, but it will not allow us to fully isolate to test for a slab leak.
• Toilet Supply Shut-Off Valves: The toilet shut-off valves are important. In our industry, it is also commonly referred to as an “angle stop.” We have seen a lot of situations where houses have been flooded because they cannot get the toilet to stop running and the shut-off valve does not work. If the toilet is leaking through, this shut-off either needs to fully operate or the guts in the toilet need to be replaced—possibly both. The builder-grade angle stops are cheaper, usually inferior, usually made of plastic, and have a very limited livelihood. They work similarly to a gate valve, but they’re usually plastic and break very easily with age. We always recommend replacing and upgrading to an all-metal, corrosion-resistant, quarter-turn angle stop (similar to a ball valve but smaller) when replacing the toilet. Of course, this is just a suggestion and not a requirement with Earl’s Plumbing.
• Hose Spigot or Hose Bib: To be clear, this valve is on the outside of your home: it’s what you connect your water hose to. Some people not from Texas call this a water faucet, but the technical term that we use here is “hose spigot” or “hose bib.” For testing purposes, this must be free of leaks or drips both when off and when on. The reason for this is that at least one hose spigot must be properly functioning for us to attach our pressure gauges to the domestic water supply system.