Leak Detection and Repiping in Atlanta

A water bill that jumps without explanation is usually the first sign. The meter is the cheapest leak detector you own.

Water dripping from a chrome tap, in black and white

Test it yourself first

Turn off every tap and appliance in the house and look at the water meter in its box near the street. Most meters have a small dial or triangle that spins with any flow at all. If it is moving with everything off, water is leaving the system somewhere. Then close the main shutoff at the house and look again. If the meter still moves, the leak is on the service line between the meter and the house, which the City of Atlanta’s Watershed Management says is the homeowner’s to repair. If it stops, the leak is inside.

Where hidden leaks hide in older houses

Toilets

A flapper that does not seal lets water trickle into the bowl around the clock. Put a few drops of food colouring in the tank and wait fifteen minutes without flushing. Colour in the bowl means a leak. It is the most common cause of a high bill and the cheapest to fix.

The service line

Older service lines can be galvanized steel, which corrodes from inside, or in some houses polybutylene from the 1980s and early 1990s. A leak underground often shows up as a patch of lawn that stays green or soft in dry weather.

Under the floor

In a crawlspace house, slow leaks drip onto soil and nobody sees them for months. A musty smell, a damp patch of subfloor, or a sagging floor near a bathroom are worth a look with a torch before calling.

Repiping

Galvanized steel supply pipe, common in houses plumbed before the 1960s, closes up with rust from the inside until the pressure at the shower is a fraction of what it should be. Polybutylene, a grey plastic used in some houses from the late 1970s into the 1990s, is known for failing at its fittings. Once a house has either and has started leaking, patching one joint tends to be followed by the next. Repiping, usually in PEX or copper, replaces the supply lines through the house. In a crawlspace bungalow much of it can be run underneath without opening many walls. In a two-storey house with plaster walls it is a bigger job, and the quote should say how much wall will be opened and who patches it.

If the meter is spinning with everything off, call or send the details.

Call (470) 243-2699 Send the details

Common questions

Will the city adjust my bill for a leak?

Ask Watershed Management through ATL311. Utilities commonly want proof the leak was repaired, so keep the plumber’s invoice.

PEX or copper?

Both are used for repiping. PEX is quicker to run through an old house and usually cheaper; copper costs more and some owners prefer it. Ask for both prices if you are undecided.

Other plumbing help in Atlanta

Also serving

Leaks & Repiping is available beyond Atlanta, across Kirkwood & East Atlanta , Decatur , Brookhaven and Sandy Springs .

Get help with leaks & repiping

Say what is happening and a local plumbing company will call you back within one business day. Phones answered Mon–Sat, 7am–7pm. Night cover is set by the plumber. Or call (470) 243-2699. If water is still coming in or sewage is coming up, call instead.