Mon–Sat 7am–6pm · 24/7 Emergency Line
Serving Santa Ana & Central OC
Once a leak is located precisely, repairing it is a decision rather than an emergency: open and repair the one spot, reroute the line around it, or replace the run. We locate first, then quote all the options that genuinely apply in writing, and we say which one we would choose and why.
Almost every hidden water leak comes down to one of three, and the right answer depends on where the leak is, what the rest of the pipe looks like, and how many times this house has been here before.
| Situation | What we usually recommend |
|---|---|
| First leak, pipe otherwise sound | Spot repair |
| Slab leak, accessible from above | Reroute, keeps the slab closed |
| Second leak on the same run | Reroute that run |
| Third leak anywhere in two years | Repipe: the pipe is telling you |
| Leak under finished tile or hardwood | Reroute, almost always |
| Leak in an accessible wall or cabinet | Spot repair |
| Galvanised supply lines still in place | Repipe, the material is the problem |
The pattern behind the table is simple. One leak is an event. Two on the same run is a condition. Three is a decision you have already made and are paying for one leak at a time. We will tell you which of the three you are in before you spend money on the wrong one.
Ranges, not quotes. What moves a job inside its range is access more than anything else: a line under a cabinet and a line under a tiled entry are the same repair and very different jobs. Your price is quoted in writing after we see it.
| Included | Not included |
|---|---|
| Locating the leak | Replacing flooring we did not open |
| Cutting access where needed | Painting and finish work |
| The pipe repair itself | Drying and mold remediation |
| Pressure testing after | Damage that existed before we arrived |
| Patching what we opened | Anything on the utility’s side of the meter |
Restoration is the line people are most often surprised by, so it is stated on the quote rather than left to be discovered. Everything we price is on the pricing page.
Most single repairs are a same-day job. A reroute usually runs one to two days, a repipe longer, and you get the schedule in writing before the first cut.
The same failed inch of copper is a ninety-minute job in one place and a two-day job in another. It is worth knowing which one you are looking at before the number lands.
| Location | What the repair involves |
|---|---|
| Under a cabinet or in an accessible wall | Open, replace, test, patch, usually same day |
| Inside a finished wall | Small controlled opening; drywall patch, finish work separate |
| In a ceiling below a bathroom | Access from below; the ceiling is the restoration cost |
| Under a concrete slab | Spot repair means cutting concrete, reroute usually wins |
| Under a raised floor | Access through the crawl space; often the easiest of the set |
| Buried in the yard | Excavation at the located point; restoration depends on what is above |
| Under a driveway or patio | Reroute or trenchless if the route allows, concrete is the expense |
Read that table sideways and it says one thing: the pipe is rarely the expensive part. What is on top of the pipe is. That is also why locating precisely is worth paying for, an approximate location on a tiled floor is an expensive approximation.
People sometimes hear “reroute” as the cheaper, lesser option, and it is not. It leaves the slab intact, it puts the new line somewhere it can be reached again, and it takes the failing run out of service permanently rather than repairing one point on it. On an older slab home it is frequently the better engineering answer as well as the cheaper one.
Two materials cover almost all residential supply work here, and the choice is a real one rather than a preference.
The comparison in full is on PEX vs copper. Whatever goes in, it is named on the quote — material should never be a surprise you find out about later.
People ask what a repair costs when the thing they actually want to know is whether they are about to do this again. That is a fair question and it has a fairly honest answer.
Worked through properly on repipe vs slab leak repair.
We are licensed and insured plumbers, and this site is about leaks — finding the ones you cannot see and repairing them properly. Roughly half of what looks like a plumbing leak turns out not to be one, so the boundary is worth stating plainly.
Roof leaks are a roofer. Water under an air handler is an HVAC technician clearing a condensate drain. Water under an appliance is appliance repair. Drying, restoration and mold are separate trades again, and gas line repair is SoCalGas or a licensed gas fitter. We detect gas leaks, we do not repair gas lines.
The full list, with the trade to call for each, is on what we don’t do.
Repairs carry a two-year workmanship warranty. That covers our work: the joint we made, the line we ran, the connection we cut in. If it fails because of how we did it, we come back and it costs you nothing.
Full terms on guarantees and warranties. It is worth reading the exclusions on any warranty you are offered — ours included.
We locate the leak precisely first, then quote every repair option that genuinely applies.
(714) 386-7923Call or text, day or nightSchedule a VisitA spot repair typically runs $1,500 to $3,500, a reroute $2,000 to $4,500 per line, and a whole-house repipe $6,000 to $15,000. Access moves a job within its range more than anything else. Your price is quoted in writing after we see it.
Usually not. Most leaks are a spot repair or a single reroute. A repipe is the answer when the pipe itself has reached the end of its life, typically after repeated leaks on different runs rather than after one.
Only if a spot repair under the slab is the option you choose. A reroute exists precisely to avoid it: the failing line is abandoned in place and a new one runs overhead. On finished tile or hardwood that is almost always the better trade.
Often, yes: the crew that detects is the crew that repairs, and the van carries materials for common repairs. A reroute or a repipe gets scheduled, because doing those properly takes more than an afternoon.
We patch what we opened and we clean up. Finish work — matching tile, refinishing hardwood, painting — is a separate trade, and it is named as an exclusion on the quote rather than left for you to discover afterwards.
Two-year workmanship warranty on the repair we performed, and it transfers with the property. It does not cover a new leak elsewhere on old pipe. That is a different event, and full terms are on the guarantees page.
Read your own policy, because they differ. The general pattern is that policies treat sudden damage more favourably than damage that developed slowly, and that many cover the damage rather than the pipe. Our written report and photographs are what a claim rests on, and you get both either way.
Then we tell you before we cut, not after. We re-confirm the location on arrival even when a report already exists. That is a few minutes against the cost of opening the wrong square foot of concrete.
Only as far as the repair requires. Part of arriving is finding the isolation point that takes the least of your house out of service, and telling you roughly how long it will be off.
Yes. See commercial leak detection. The repair methods are the same; scheduling around occupancy is what changes.