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Depending on the severity, a slab leak can go undetected for months or even years, especially if you don’t carry out routine foundation inspections to find foundation leaks early. However, minor leaks are likely to turn into more severe leaks over time, so you might notice increases in water bills and issues with yard drainage, even if the problem is minor.

It’s usually not an immediate safety risk to live in a house with foundation problems, but you don’t want to let those problems persist. Most foundation issues don’t lead to a house’s sudden collapse, but they can lead to health issues like mold growth and pest intrusion, as well as problems like uneven floors or rotten beams and joists, which can pose injury risks and be costly to fix.

Minor slab leaks normally take around three hours to access and fix, provided the leak is in an accessible location. However, a more extensive leak or a leak in a hard-to-reach location can take several days to fix, depending on the resulting damage. You might also want to consider the timeline for the build-back if the leak damages building materials like flooring or cabinets, which can take several weeks, including delivery of the materials.

Sometimes cracked brick can mean a foundation problem, such as when the crack appears indoors and is vertical, or long horizontal cracks either inside or outside. If the crack widens at the top, then it’s safe to assume there is structural damage. Other things to look for are uneven floors, diagonal cracks indoors, and doors and windows that stick.