Professional Plumbing Inspection Services in Southern California

Which Inspection Do You Need?

Most people call us with a symptom, not a diagnosis, and the symptom usually says which inspection to book. A warm spot on the floor, the sound of running water when every fixture is off, or a water bill that jumped with nothing to show for it points to a supply line under the foundation, which is slab leak detection work. Stains on a wall or ceiling, a musty smell, or a patch that stays damp after a visible leak was fixed means the leak is hiding behind a surface or underground, and an exploratory leak search finds it before anything is opened.

Drains that back up or run slow together, sewage odors, or a soggy patch in the yard are a drain or sewer problem, not a supply leak, and the right tool is a video camera inspection that shows the inside of the line. And when the utility has shut off the gas, a home is in escrow, or a permit needs a passing test, it is gas pressure testing. If you are not sure which of these you have, call and describe what you are seeing; that conversation is how most inspections start.

Slab Leak Detection and Repair

A slab leak is a leak in a water line running beneath the concrete foundation. Because the pipe is buried under solid concrete, it cannot be found by looking, and left alone it erodes the soil under the slab, cracks flooring, and feeds mold. We locate it from above with electronic listening equipment, line tracing, and pressure testing, so the only opening made is where the leak actually is rather than exploratory jackhammering.

Finding it is half the job. Because slab leak repair is our work too, the crew that finds the leak is the crew that repairs, reroutes, or repipes it, and the recommendation follows the evidence: a first-time leak on an otherwise sound line is a spot repair, a run that would do more damage to reach than to bypass is a reroute, and a leak that turns out to be one of several is the start of a repipe. Read how we make that call on the slab leak detection and repair page.

Exploratory Leak Search: Behind Walls, Under Floors, and Underground

An exploratory leak search is for the leak whose location is not obvious: water damage with no clear source, a bill that climbed, moisture that keeps coming back, or a standard inspection that came up empty. It combines pressure testing, acoustic listening equipment, moisture meters, and line tracing to isolate the leak first, so any access opening is small and made only where the repair is needed. The same methods find hidden gas leaks as well as water leaks. Most residential searches take a couple of hours, and you have an answer and a repair plan the same visit.

Video Camera Inspection of Drains and Sewer Lines

A video camera inspection puts a waterproof, high-resolution camera into the drain or sewer line and shows its real condition from the inside: roots, cracks, offsets, grease, corrosion, or a collapse, along with where the problem sits and how deep. You can watch the live feed with us, and the recorded footage is yours to keep. It is the inspection we run before recommending any sewer line replacement, because it settles whether the line needs a spot repair or a full replacement before anyone digs. It is also the right check before buying a property and after major work, to confirm the repair was done properly.

Gas Pressure Testing for Escrow, Utility Restoration, and Permits

Gas pressure testing proves a gas system is tight. We shut off the gas, cap the system, pressurize the lines with air, and monitor a calibrated gauge for a set period; if the pressure holds, the system passes, and you get written results that meet the requirements of inspectors and the utility. The test is required most often when SoCalGas has shut off service over a suspected leak, when a home is sold and escrow asks for it, after a remodel or addition involving gas work, and before a new gas line is put into service. If the system fails, we trace the leak, complete the gas line repair, and retest, usually in a single visit.

What an Inspection Includes, and What You Take Away

Every inspection starts with your symptoms and history, because a spiking bill, damp flooring, or a prior inspection result narrows the search before any equipment comes out. The detection work itself is non-invasive wherever the method allows, and where a small opening is unavoidable it is made only after the location is confirmed. You get a straight explanation of what we found, where it is, which line it is on, and how we confirmed it.

You also get it in writing. Slab and exploratory searches end with written findings you can hand to your insurer, since many policies turn on documentation of where the leak was and whether it was sudden or gradual. Camera inspections end with the recorded footage and a summary of findings with locations, which is what escrow negotiations and competing contractor bids need. Gas pressure tests end with the documentation SoCalGas and the city require to restore service or sign off a permit.

After the Inspection: Repair, Reroute, or Repipe

An inspection is worth having because the same company does the detection and the repair, so the recommendation follows what we found rather than the size of the invoice. If the leak is a single failure in otherwise sound pipe, we say so and repair it. If the pipe we open is corroded along its length, or this is the second or third leak on the same system, another patch is buying a few months, and we will show you why a whole-house copper repipe or PEX repipe is the more economical fix. Reroutes sit in the middle: a sound fix for one failed run under a slab, and sometimes the first section of a repipe you end up doing anyway.

Repairs, reroutes, sewer line replacements, and gas line work are all permitted and inspected, and workmanship on a repipe is warranted for 15 years. Repipe Once is a licensed California contractor, CSLB #1004038. See the full range of repiping and plumbing services the inspection can lead to.

Where We Inspect

Repipe Once is based at 2508 W Beverly Blvd. in Montebello and inspects properties across Los Angeles County, the San Gabriel Valley, the Inland Empire, and Orange County. We have dedicated pages for Los Angeles, Montebello, Glendale, San Gabriel, Temecula, and Orange County, and the full list of cities is on our locations we serve page. The equipment, the written findings, and the crew that follows up are the same wherever you are in that area.