Are water pipes ever run under a concreat slab foundation?

Answer 1

Yes, most of the time there are sewer and drinking water pipes under concrete. My sewer line broke under the slab and I had to dig it up and repair. Yuck, it was a mess.

Answer 2

Yes. If the house is built on a slab the water pipes are put in place and covered up before the slab is poured. The pipes are brought up in appropriate places to feed the bath rooms, kitchen, etc.
My house is on a slab and after 35 years I started developing leaks in some of the piping and I had to reroute the pipes through the attic. The pipes today may be of more durable material which hopefully is used to give them more longevity. But I would suspect a contractor might go the cheapest rout to save construction cost if it is legal..

Answer 3

Here in Texas the copper is typically run in or slightly under the slab. There are not supposed to be any joints in the copper in the slab, but rather in upturned manifolds in the walls. I would look there first. If there is a leak in the slab, it may be because of the copper pipe being in contact with the steel reinforcement. Doesn't seem likely that the water could still be hot after moving through several feet of soil. You might want to confirm the leak by watching your water meter with all the valves turned off. And check again with the hot water turned off at the water heater. If you confirm a leak, look in the wall where the manifold is first. Most likely close to and below the locations in the wall with the valves come out.

Answer 4

Its best not to but it is done at times using ducting , usually using a larger diameter pipe as a casing so that if there were any problems later down the track it could be removed.A not so professional method is to use denso tape , a cloth like roll that is coverd in a petroleum jelly. This protects the pipe from the lime in the concrete but does not allow for expansion and contraction which will occur in the concrete and the pipe.And of course it can be done without either protection but this wouldn't be by anyone with any plumbing knowledge .

Answer 5

All of the line in Las Vegas Nevada are run under the slabs, they have no basements there and this is the only way they have of running lines, and, they all are like this including gas.
A plumber makes good money on leaking lines, you have to have specialized equipment for the lines.

Answer 6

Here in Florida all the pipes are run through the slab - that is - the pipes are laid out and then the slab is poured over top of them. What they use is soft copper tubing.

Answer 7

Yes they are covered by gravel at the point they come up thur the concreat a blue or red covering is put over them so the copper doesnt contact the concreat and corrode oh by the way red is hot blue is cold

Answer 8

Yes but when they get corroded you have a terrible problem! Especially if you have thermal spring hot water the minerals destroy copper quickly and other materials even faster so under slab water lines are not a good idea.

Answer 9

Hey I'm here for the first time. I came across this question and I find the replies truly helpful. I hope to give something back to the community and help others too.

Answer 10

vote for chris! the answer is yes, often. to be done properly, they should be sleeved in a larger hard plastic pipe, all solder joint above ground. everything has gone to cpvc & pex