Updated October 2026
Leak detection in an Irvine home starts at the water meter: if the leak indicator turns with every fixture off, water is escaping from the pressurized side. From there we test hot and cold lines separately, scan with a thermal camera, and listen with acoustic sensors before anything is cut open.
Why a Hidden Leak Costs More Every Week It Runs
Most leaks we trace aren't dramatic. A pinhole in a copper line, a weeping fitting behind a shower valve, or a hot line under the slab can lose water for weeks before a stain appears. All that time, drywall and framing wick it up.
Detection keeps the repair small. A leak marked to within a few inches needs one square of drywall instead of a trench across the room. We also measure how far the water traveled, since the wet area is almost always larger than the leak point. Wet framing calls for drying the wall cavity before any patch.
Three Leaks People Ask Us to Find
Hidden Leak Behind a Wall
The first clue is usually paint bubbling near a baseboard, drywall that gives under a thumb, or a musty closet sharing a wall with a bathroom. We scan with a thermal camera, which shows evaporating water as a cooler pattern, then confirm with a pin meter at the bottom plate. Supply leaks often run down a stud bay first, so the wettest spot isn't always under the leak. Scope grows when water has crossed into the next room, soaked exterior wall insulation, or reached a second-story subfloor.
High Water Bill With No Visible Leak
When the bill climbs and your habits haven't changed, water is leaving the system out of sight. We start at the meter with every fixture off and watch the leak indicator. Then we split the problem: toilets first with dye tablets, irrigation second, the house supply last. If the meter stops when the irrigation valve closes, the leak is outside. If it keeps turning, we pressure test hot and cold sides separately. Plenty of these calls end at a worn toilet flapper.
Slab Leak Detection
Slab leaks show up as a warm patch on tile, a hiss at floor level, a damp tack strip under carpet, or a water heater that seems to run constantly. Hot lines are the usual suspect, since heat cycling works the copper against the concrete. We isolate the line by pressure test, listen through the slab with ground microphones, and follow the warm path with thermal imaging. The marked spot decides between a spot repair and a reroute, and the wet slab then needs slab leak drying.
Signs Water Is Escaping Where You Can't See It
- Meter moving at restThe leak indicator turns while every fixture and appliance is off.
- Warm spot underfootA patch of tile or wood feels warmer than the floor around it.
- Hissing in a quiet houseYou hear running water inside a wall or under the floor.
- Paint lifting at baseboardsPaint blisters or drywall softens low on a wall with no visible source.
How a Leak Search Runs From Meter to Marked Spot
- Meter and fixture checkWe shut every fixture, watch the meter, and rule out toilets and irrigation.
- Isolate hot and coldSeparate pressure tests show which side is losing water and whether it sits under the slab.
- Thermal and acoustic scanThe camera finds the temperature pattern, and ground microphones narrow it to a spot.
- Mark and photographWe mark the location and photograph the readings.
- Map the wet areaMoisture readings around the leak show what needs drying before anything is patched.
Chloramine, Copper Pipe and Leak Calls in Irvine
IRWD says it uses chloramines to maintain a robust disinfectant in its drinking water. In a 2005 Newport Beach press release, the California Professional Association of Specialty Contractors said research linked chloramine use in California water systems to pinhole leaks in copper pipe. The article presented this as the group's claim, not an independent finding. We don't treat it as settled. In practice, when an Irvine home with copper lines has one pinhole, we check the rest of that run before calling the search finished.
What Changes the Price of a Leak Search
Detection cost depends mostly on how many tests it takes to isolate the leak. A wall leak with a clear stain may need one thermal scan and a meter check. A slab leak in a home with a recirculating hot water loop can need pressure tests on several branches before the acoustic search starts.
- Number of lines that need isolation testing
- Leak location in a slab, wall or ceiling
- Recirculation loops or more than one water heater
- Floor finish and furniture over the suspected line
- Whether a full moisture map of the spread is needed
Slab leak detection: $150 to $400 (about $280 to pinpoint a slab leak). Source: HomeAdvisor, Updated Jun 19, 2026.
These are published planning ranges from cost guides, not our prices. Your scope comes from the moisture map.
Non-Invasive Detection vs Opening the Wall to Look
Cutting drywall to search feels faster, but a guessed opening usually means more repair.
| Non-invasive detection | Exploratory opening | |
|---|---|---|
| Drywall removed | One opening at the marked spot | Several cuts until the leak turns up |
| Accuracy | Narrows the leak before any cut | Depends on guessing the right stud bay |
| Slab lines | Pressure and acoustic tests find the line | Breaking concrete blind is rarely justified |
| Repair afterward | One patch, texture and paint | Several patches to blend |
| Best fit | Meter moving, no visible water | Water already pouring from a known wall |
Questions about water leak detection
Usually, yes. Thermal imaging, acoustic sensors and pressure tests let us mark most leaks first, so the only opening is the one the repair needs.
Turn off every faucet, appliance and irrigation zone, then watch the small leak indicator for several minutes. If it moves, there's water leaving the system.
No. Running toilets and irrigation leaks cause many high bills. We rule those out before testing lines under the slab.
We mark it, photograph the readings, and map the wet materials around it. Once the line is repaired, we dry the area so nothing gets closed up wet.
It reads surface temperature, not water. A leaking hot line under tile often shows as a warm band, but cold line leaks don't, so we add acoustic and pressure tests.
If you see water or hear it pouring, shut the main valve. If the only sign is the bill, leave it on so we can run the meter and pressure tests.