# finding a loop line



## irishplumber29 (Jun 23, 2010)

hey guys im having trouble locating the main manifold cause a slab leak, anyone have any good tips


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## ILPlumber (Jun 17, 2008)

Hot or Cold?

On hot, I have called the FD to bring out the thermal imaging camera.


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## Nevada Plumber (Jan 3, 2009)

What have you tried already? Do you have something to energize the line and something else to trace it out with?


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

If you were looping water lines for a 1st rough, where would you normally put the manifolds? You'd put the manifolds behind the W/H, behind lav sinks, behind kitchen sink. That is where I would look. If you don't have location equipment and don't want to pay American Leak Detection $ 500 to locate the leak, then you'll have to become a detective.
First, isolate if it is a hot or cold line leaking. Valve off W/H and see if meter stops turning. If it does, then you know it is a hot line leak. Then open walls to find manifolds. If poly sleeve has water running out of it, then you've found leaking line. Or you could cut water piping and look to see which one isn't holding water (that is the leaker). 
After finding leak, I would run an alternate line either overhead or around wall (if line leaking is a short run). I beleive where you are in Miami, you won't have to worry about freezing temps in winter. Here in South FL we commonly run lines overhead in attics. Hope this helps.


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## Richard Hilliard (Apr 10, 2010)

I would need a layout before I could give any ideas.Water main location, bathrooms,kitchen, laundry, water heater.


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## kindredplumbing (Sep 17, 2010)

It may not have manifolds. Could be joints done under the concrete,


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## kindredplumbing (Sep 17, 2010)

My instructor at school taught us how to find headers in a regular plumbed house. he used a small drain machine with quarter cable and no end. The cabe had to be new and so did the machine just a hand cranker machine. he dug the main water pipe up in the front yard where the main stop valve is and used the cable to put into the pipe. The cable follows the pipe and goes up into the manifold and rattles the wall. then you cut that wall open and divide the pipes and keep doing it until you find them all. It cheap way to do it and it workd for us. He used bleach to clen the pipes when we finished the job.


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## JK949 (Mar 18, 2009)

I agree with everything Tommy Plumber said as that is the usual order of things that our guys use. Some custom homes may be more difficult but tract houses are done similarly with each floor plan.

Cutting open pipes and running drain cables to trace lines may help find a hidden manifold without electronic equipment. We want to use all available info to minimize collateral damage and be time efficient to guessimate what is behind the drywall.:thumbsup:


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

We use a fish tape locating PVC. It'll work for copper too. Bang into the manifold at the end of the run. You'll hear it.


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