Jeff T.
11/02/2022 12:00:00 SA
Ok, the leak detection process is either wonderful - find it exactly and right away - or terrible - spend a bunch of money and find nothing. That is how it works, and from these guys, I had both.
To be clear, this review is for American Leak Detection of Austin, San Antonio and Boerne. And they have 3 phone numbers and serve three distinct regions. Its a franchise business. Robert runs this office and he is knowledgeable, fair and reasonable, but extremely busy. They try hard, and, I think, want to do the right thing. There is a lot of stress on both the customer and service side of this transaction.
After spending a bunch of money on plumbers, who could not find the leak or even my main water line, for a 1-2 gal/hr leak, I had someone from ALD come out and spend 3 hours, 3 tanks of gas and say I think it's around here. Nice guy, tried hard, but not good enough for me. The three tanks of gas, which can indicate a big leak, really annoyed me. So I called Robert, and he, kindly and fairly, agreed to send someone else out, at no charge, for a quick visit to at least find the main water line, which is PVC. That was where the original tech thought the water was leaking. Robert said: I don't think we can find that line for you.
He didn't count on his tech, Ryan, or my tenacity. I had already dug two holes, close, using old pics of the line, but no luck, and needed some directional guidance. Ryan, not only confirmed I was very close and which way to dig (and he was right) but he found the copper manifold just outside the house (and under 2 1/2 feet of soil) where the main water enters the home. So if I ever decide to add a cutoff valve, I now know where to dig.
And although American Leak Detection of A/SA/B isn't perfect, I think they have good people, good intent and good technology. And Ryan, in my opinion, is a rock star. Thank you Robert and Ryan.
General advice for anyone trying to get help finding a leak: Before you call, try to figure out the location of every water outlet inside or outside the house, the general location of the main water line (or pool lines) and the leak rate, in gallons per hour.