We had a leak that would reveal itself on the sidewalk flowing from the edge of our lawn. I knew it was under the front porch patio because the immediate lawn area seemed to always be saturated, and was very soft to walk on. That, and high water bills, we decided it was time to get this fixed. I put a blast on Yelp and was able to speak with a few plumbers, who recommended hiring a Leak Detection Specialist since it was possibly under concrete. They also explained how typically and frightfully expensive such a job would cost. Unfortunately, it had to be done.
In my research, I found the routine well known big companies who perform Leak Detection, but also found a newcomer in the business called Pacific Coast Leak Detection. Pacific Coast Leak Detection seemed to have just been established with no reviews yet on Yelp. In typical fashion, I was like, What the Heck! and gave them a call. I spoke with Colin Marcee, who is the owner and operator of this new company. Upon speaking with Colin, I learned that he had over a decade of experience in this field with many of those years at the big detection companies. He is also scuba certified so he is able to find and service leaks in pools. He took the time to answer all my questions and explained the leak detection process along with what to expect. I made an appointment with him and he was able to come by that afternoon.
At the appointment, he went over the details in the process of finding the leak and what the repair would entail if it was under the concrete. He was very honest, easy to talk to, knowledgeable in his field, and reassured his ability to pinpoint the leak. He went ahead and pressurized the waterlines and proceeded to listen for the leak with his specialized detector. After listening in for a bit, he marked an X where he suspected the leak was. Unfortunately, it was under the concrete, as I had dreaded. At this point, the leak detection part was complete and I had the choice of going with a company of my choice for the repairs or have Colin go to work on the leak. I chose the latter and I made an appointment with Colin for the following day.
The next day, Colin arrived to our appointment as scheduled. After setting up, he attempted to go through the dirt and dig under the concrete in hopes of saving time and money by not going through the patio. Unfortunately, it was not accessible and demo needed to be performed. He went through the concrete and dug out the area to discover the leak was EXACTLY where he had placed his listening sensor, as can be seen in my picture upload. He made the repair to the separated PVC joint with a series of right angle fittings to relieve potential torsional stress typically experienced with a single joint, which seemed to be the original cause of the leak. Then, he retested the waterlines and the pressure was holding steady with no drop off. Colin then backfilled the repair area and packed and leveled it with sand before finally pouring the concrete. In addition, he applied color to the mix before pouring and finishing with a brushed texture in attempts to match the original concrete as close as possible. When all was said and done, the final cost of the project was VERY reasonable, even undercutting the quotes I was receiving from the plumbers by more than a third!
I must say that I am Very Happy with this experience. I am very glad I called Pacific Coast Leak Detection and am delighted that I can give them 5 Stars on their first Yelp review. Hopefully, we will never encounter another issue where we will require their services, but in the event that we do, Pacific Coast Leak Detection will be our first call.