In-House Plumbing

214-227-5719

VIDEO (Click on screen to view)

3960 Broadway Blvd. Suite 220-D
Garland, Texas 75043
Fax: 866-762-1432

E-mail
service@inhouse
plumbingcompany.com

PAYMENT METHODS ACCEPTED

ACCREDITATIONS

MASTER LICENSE #
M-5556

Sewer Drain Line Leak (101)

Foundation Problems?

Whether you have foundation problems, a reoccurring
sewer back-up problem, or are smelling sewer gases,
find the service you need right here.
Get it all (expertise, reputation, warranty, and a clean job)
at In-House Plumbing Company
where serving YOU is our business.

	We do it all (Leak testing, location, video camera inspection, tunneling, repair, etc.) and we can solve your sewer drain line problem.
	3 Year full materials and labor warranty on all under slab repairs.
	FREE telephone consultation on solutions for your specific problem.
	Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX, and referrals to finance companies for financing.

	What procedures are used to determine whether there is a leak in the sewer lines under the home? An inflatable rubber test ball is inserted into the main sewer line at the clean out area and is inflated to separate the sewer lines under the home from the main line in the yard. The entire system under the home is then filled with water to floor level and monitored for loss. The preferred leak test water level observation point is a commode lead bend, however it is also possible to observe the water level from a stand-up shower drain, main line sewer clean outs at slab level, or any end of the line clean out at slab level. If it is possible to observe the water level from a commode lead bend, it will require the removal of a commode from the floor. If damage to the commode and/or flooring occurs during the removal and/or resetting of the commode, In-House Plumbing & Services, LLC accepts no responsibility for the damage and will not pay for any repairs and/or replacement of the commode and/or flooring damaged. This includes the removal and/or resetting of a commode during the leak isolation process.
	How is a plumbing sewer leak(s) located? This is a process called Sewer Leak Isolation or Sewer Leak Detection . We want to isolate the leak(s) under the home by breaking the system down into smaller parts, by using different sized inflatable test balls and air hoses. We strategically place the test balls into the system to test section by section of the system until the leak(s) is located. We can also use a special tool called a sewer video camera to be able to see inside the sewer pipes. However many times, what may look like a leak on the camera may not actually be a leak, so using the camera only to locate leaks, is not a correct location technique.
	What is a sewer clean out? A main line sewer clean out is one or two pipes that normally stick up a little out of the ground, usually in the front or back yard of the home, and typically in the flower bed areas around the home. Basically this would normally be with-in 2 to 4 feet of the edge of the foundation. This clean out is one or two pipes that tee directly into the main sewer line, it’s purpose is to allow for something, normally a sewer machine cable to be inserted into the sewer line to unstop a plugged sewer line as necessary. We use these clean outs in order to insert a rubber inflatable test ball into the sewer line, or a sewer camera for testing purposes.
	Why is it necessary to install a main line sewer clean out? Main line sewer clean outs are used to gain access into the sewer line in order to unstop a clogged or plugged sewer line, test for leaks, locate leaks, and video inspect the sewer pipes if necessary.
	How is a plumbing leak(s) under the concrete slab repaired? 1. The leak(s) must be exposed. There are two ways to access a leak under the concrete slab. One is to penetrate through the slab, by Jack Hammering a hole, and digging to the leak. The other is to tunnel from outside the slab. To avoid interior reinstatement & inconvenience to the homeowner In-House Plumbing & Services, LLC prefers to Tunnel from outside to expose the leak(s), if at all possible. 2. Once the leak is exposed, we cut the bad section of pipe out, and install a new section in its place. 3. Once the leak is repaired, a final sewer and/or water test is performed before covering the leak(s) to verify there are no further leak(s). 4. Once a no leak result is reached on the final test, we re-insert the dirt back into the open hole / tunnel and then reinstate the concrete if applicable. 5. If it is necessary to access the leak(s) from the inside of the home, by Jack Hammering through the floor, and/or cutting through any sheet rock or wall coverings, In-House Plumbing & Services, LLC's proposal amount does not include reinstatement costs. Furthermore In-House Plumbing & Services, LLC accepts no responsibility for the reinstatement cost of any kind, e.i. floor covering replacement which could include but not be limited to carpet, linoleum, tile or wood flooring of any kind, and does not include any wall covering replacement which could include but not be limited to sheet rock, brick, paneling, tile or wood of any kind. If it is necessary to Jack Hammer through a tile shower bottom with or without a shower pan, to repair a leak at the shower pan or any part of the drain system in or under the slab the following applies. In-House Plumbing & Services, LLC accepts no responsibility for reinstatement cost to reinstall the shower pan and/or the tile of any kind. This statement ( # 5 ) includes at time of original repairs and/or warranty repairs. 6. It may be necessary at some times to repair 1 leak and re-test the system to determine if there are any further leak(s). In-House Plumbing & Services, LLC will submit a proposal for specific work to be performed, if it is determined that additional work is needed, additional costs will apply for the additional work.
	If you perform the location process, can I get someone else to perform the repairs, and/or if I get someone to perform the location can you do the repairs? To answer this question we are going to give you the procedures followed by our company in this regard. If someone calls us saying that they have a leak under there home, they know where it is and they would like an estimate from us to repair the leak or leaks, we explain the following. We will be glad to give an estimate to repair the leak or leaks present, however if we excavate to the leak sights and there is no leak present, it is the responsibility of the homeowner to pay us for work performed anyway. Or we offer to the customer that we will provide an estimate for repairs, if they are satisfied with that estimate, we will go in and perform a verification isolation to verify the leak locations are correct, at no cost if the customer uses us for repairs. If during the verification isolation it is determined that the leak or leaks are not located correctly, then a new estimate amount is given to repair the leak or leaks present. Again at that point, if the customer uses us for repairs there would be no charge for the verification isolation performed. Now if it is determined that the leak is not in the spot determined, there may at that point be an additional charge for performing the regular isolation process to determine the exact location of the leak or leaks present. We take the location process very seriously, because we believe that any company performing these types of repairs takes on the responsibility of the location whether they performed it or not once they excavate through or under the slab. The only exception to this rule is if the customer does not want to perform the verification isolation, and at that point we clearly explain that they are responsible for all costs whether the leak is present or not. It is our belief that neither us nor any other company should be held responsible for leaks not present at excavation if they performed the isolation but not the excavation. It is the excavation and repair companies' responsibility to verify they are going to the right location. With that said, no our company does not have to perform both the location and repair process, but it is best for you the customer from a responsibility stand-point to have one honest company perform both the location and repair process. We say honest company, because there are some companies out there who are never wrong on the location of the leak, the reason they are never wrong is that if the leak is not present where they said it is, they will cut out a section of pipe and say the leak is fixed and you will never know the difference. Now with this said they may go ahead and re-test the system and tell you there is still another leak and charge you two or three times for one leak repair, or they may not even re-test the system, meaning you may get charged for a leak repair and never get the leak repaired. You might say that this is not possible, however we know for a fact this is possible, and happens every day in the industry, because several of us came from other companies in this industry where this kind of fraud took place on a weekly basis. This goes back to our opening statement in the who we are section, we are people of integrity, honesty and fairness, who are willing to admit when we are wrong, and suffer the monetary loss which may occur from the error. We can supply you with several names of former customers where these exact situations have occurred. No one in this industry is perfect, including us, because we do not have ex-ray vision we will make mistakes, but we work very hard to be right in every situation, and we will treat you fairly trough-out the entire process.
	What is the warranty period on any under slab plumbing work performed? Our under slab plumbing repairs are covered by a Three Year Warranty which covers all labor and materials to excavate to the leak(s) repaired, repair the leaking area, and back-fill the excavated area. As in the original plumbing repair process, this warranty includes standard replacement materials only, and does not include replacement of any finish work, i.e., Sheet rock, Paint, Flooring, Ceramic Tile, etc. This warranty is also voided if any work is performed which compromises the integrity of the plumbing repairs perform, such as foundation movement or repair work, mud-jacking, mud-pumping, any other digging, underground vibrations, etc. If repairs are performed and during the 1 year warranty period you suspect a leak at the repaired area, we must be contacted immediately, and given an opportunity to investigate. In-House Plumbing & Service, LLC will verify whether there is a leak present on repairs previously performed, at no charge, unless one of the voided situations above is applicable. However if any other work must be performed, all work will be billed at regular rates.
	Should the leak(s) be repaired before or after any foundation work? From an honest plumbers stand-point, the best time to isolate/locate and/or repair the sewer and/or water leak(s) under the slab is after any foundation work is completed. Anytime any lifting and/or leveling is done on a foundation, it is always possible to pull plumbing pipes apart, causing a leak(s). There is no foundation repair company which takes responsibility for leak(s) that develop as a result of lifting and/or leveling. Therefore In-House Plumbing & Services, LLC. always suggests that the plumbing repairs be done after any foundation work that may be done. We have found that it is hard enough to pay for these types of repairs once, more less twice. However, there are a few reasons why it may not be possible to perform the foundation repairs prior to the plumbing repairs. 1. If there is coverage in your homeowners insurance policy, the insurance company may require that the investigation and/or leak(s) repairs be performed prior to any foundation work being done. This decision must be discussed with the homeowners insurance company involved in the process. In-House Plumbing & Service, LLC is not the insurance company, and must differ completely to the insurance company for all coverage issues. 2. From a foundation repair stand-point, it is sometimes necessary to repair the plumbing leak before any foundation work is done, and let the dirt under the foundation dry out for a period of time. This may be necessary, if the foundation repair company and/or engineer believes that there is a possibility the leak may have caused the foundation damage, and with the leak repaired, there may be a possibility no foundation work would need to be performed. This decision must be discussed with the foundation repair company, and/or the engineer involved in the foundation repair process. In-House Plumbing & Services, LLC has no experience in the foundation repair business, and must differ completely to any foundation repair company and/or engineers opinion in this matter. 3. If mud-jacking/mud-pumping (MJ ) is also required during the foundation repair process, it will be necessary to repair any plumbing leak(s) under the foundation before any MJ can be completed. In-House Plumbing & Services, LLC's recommendation in this situation, if you want the plumbing repairs to be done after the foundation repairs is as follows. First perform any lifting and/or leveling to the foundation, then repair any plumbing leak(s) that would need to be repaired, then the MJ can be performed. After all foundation repairs have been completed including any MJ work, then a final sewer and water test can be performed to make sure there are no further leak(s) in the plumbing systems under the home. 4. If foundation repairs are done before the plumbing repairs, you must be prepared to repair any plumbing leak(s) after the foundation repairs, because any undetected and/or un-repaired plumbing leak(s) left under the foundation especially after foundation repairs, could cause the foundation to shift and/or move again.