atlantamoi

I just went outside to spray off some dirt on the side of our home. I had the water on for about 15 minutes. Came back inside and my wife noticed that a 4 foot by 4 foot water puddle was on our hard wood flooring close to the window where the outdoor faucet is. My first thought was that a bunch of water came through a crack in the window, but it's completely dry, as is every inch of wall and ceiling around the puddle. Busted pipe from below it seems.

We have hard wood flooring over slab concrete (no basement). The house is two years old. I guess I wouldn't have thought that a busted pipe could force water up through the slab, but I'm probably wrong here.

Have any of you dealt with this before? I'm scared that this might be a very nasty (expensive) fix. The only good thing I can think of is that the leak seems to be close to the outside of the house. If anyone would need to get to the pipe they'd have to knock trough the concrete (just below where the hardiplank ends). Geez, I don't know. The idea of them having to go through the floor makes me sick if that was necessary. I know that home owner's insurance is really to only be used for catastrophic damage, not something like this.

I can leave the water valve shut off outside and there is no flooding going on with it off. Damn ice storm! I should have gone outside and turned on the water a bit over the weekend (?).

Advice?

OldDude

I think this statement is key, If the pipe going to the faucet were leaking, there would still be water and water pressure in the pipe when the faucet is off, that is, it would leak all the time.

If it only leaks when the faucet is on, there may be a leak in the faucet itself, or water from your squiting was getting inside the wall and running down the wall somewhere.

You could try repeating what you did before with your wife watching to see where the water is coming from.

atlantamoi

Yeah, we just repeated to see what would happen. There is a clear leak coming from the faucet. I could see water coming out of a crack in the concrete outside the house below the bottom plank. Inside, the water came out from just under the moulding where it meets the hardwood.

Okay, guess it's time to call a repair man. But damn, I think they might have to go through the hardiplank to get to the problem.

Heat

If it's just the faucet, just replace the faucet yourself, will be much cheaper than hiring a plumber.

Turn off the water to that pipe, then take off the old faucet and take it to a small plumbing supply store. They will be able to sell you a replacement part as well as give you tips on installing the new one (such as use teflon tape).

So you are on a slab and you don't have a crawl space? I'm not sure how to get to the faucet then, is there an access panel from inside or something like that?

Sdallnct

This may sound obvious, but clean up the water on your hard woods ASAP. Use towels and do NOT turn up the heat in hopes of drying quicker.

atlantamoi

No crawl space.
Yeah, after my first post where I was kind freaking out over the possibilities it is probably just the faucet. Not sure how I'm going to get to it properly, but I'll figure it out.

thanks

Mongo

Exactly the reason I would never build or buy that a house with that type of foundation. No help to you, sorry, but just thought I'd toss that in.

devilshalo

Sdallnct

Pipe breaks in slab foundations are really not that big of a deal. In fact it is far less worse then say a leak in the attic, floor of a 2nd or 3rd story home, etc. True there is some concrete work that may be needed, but in general it is "rough in" work. After all, you end up covering up the concrete finished flooring.

Also is some parts of the country it is the best choice of foundation. For example here in the Dallas area, I'd say close to 90% of homes built in the last 15 years are slabs.

To the OP, if you have wood floor damage and the pipe is in the slab, you might contact your insurance company to see if some coverage is available. Tho you will have to pay your deductible and depending on the policy there may be limited or no coverage, it might be worth an information phone call. But personally, I would get a plumber 1st and get an estimate. That way you know exactly what you are dealing with.

edit: I just saw that you are in Atlanta. So this is possibly a "frozen" pipe issue. There is MORE likely coverage under an insurance policy for frozen pipes. Again coverage varies greatly from company to company and policy to policy to read yours or ask.

atlantamoi

Informative post Sdallant. I thought at first it was a busted pipe from the deep freeze this past weekend, but wouldn't a frozen/busted pipe issue keep leaking even after I turn the faucet off outside?

I think I will do what you say and get an estimate. What concerns me is my homeowners policy (Travellers). I listen to Clark Howard sometimes... on his consumer advice show he talks about how many insurance companies are dropping policy owners even for making a small claim. Just $100 can have you dropped.... I actually heard him say he's heard of people being dropped even for inquiring about a problem. His advice is to only use the policy for huge damages, like part of your house burning down.

Just Lurking

You faucet probably has a frost/freeze back point. Here in Missouri, most faucets have a 12 in. frost back. It the actual point that the flow of water is shut off from the spigot portion of the faucet. When turn the handle it turn a rod inside the pipe that pulls back rubber stopper at the 12 in point and allows water follow pass it it. That why a little ater runs out spigot after you tun off the water. After the water drains out, the water is far enough back into house to insulate from freezing. Any remaining water in fauvcet can freeze and expand but not enough to crack the faucet housing.

Did you leave the hose connected? If you did, was the hose full of water? If it was full of water than than water expanded and cracked the ffaucet housing.

Since the faucet has stick further nto the house than the thickness of your intereior wall, the faucet is probably located in perpendicular wall to exterior wall by the faucet. Grab a drywall knife and cut into the wall at the height of the faucet.

Guess how i figued this out? Doh! forgot to disconnect the hose! Once is enough. You will see.

Sdallnct

Exactly why I say get an estimate 1st. This way if your estimate is near your deductible you are much better off just taking care of it yourself and don't even call your insurance company.

If your estimate is a lot of money, much above your deductible (how much will of course depend on you, but IMHO at least double your deductible), then call your agent and be very specific. Explain that at this time you are not turning in a claim, you just want to know if something like what you have is likely covered, if only part is covered how much, how the claim is handled, etc, etc. Then when you have all the information you can make an informed decision as to turn in a claim.

And yes, I agree if it is a frozen pipe I would think it would leak all the time, but it seems kind of odd that it just started leaking after the big freeze you guys had.

atlantamoi

Yeah, I would assume the same, but this was the first time I used the faucet in at least two months.... so, I can't be sure.

Thanks guys for your help.