Built for San Juan winters
Boilers and radiant heat that run all winter, high-altitude water heaters at 6,512 ft, and frozen lines — we know your climate.
Leak Detection in Durango
The stain is a clue, not the location
Water follows framing, pipe runs and gravity, so the wet spot on your ceiling may sit several feet from the pipe that’s actually failing. Around Durango the usual suspects are aging galvanized supply lines, copper under a slab, a yard line shifted by frozen ground and, in homes with radiant floors, a heating loop that slowly loses water. Guessing at any of them means cutting holes in the wrong places.
Leak detection is the search, done before any repair. We isolate sections of the plumbing and watch the gauges, scan walls and floors with thermal imaging, and listen along the lines with acoustic equipment until the readings agree. Then we mark the spot, show you what we found and price the fix. Most finds go straight to our leak repair service; if a heating loop is the culprit, our radiant heat technicians take it from there.
- Section by Section Pressure checks show which part of the system is losing water.
- Marked, Then Opened We pinpoint the spot before cutting drywall or concrete.
- Findings Before Fixes You see the results and approve the repair price first.
Symptom Check
Clues worth a leak search
When two or more of these show up together, water is escaping somewhere you can’t see.
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Usage That Doesn’t Add Up
The bill climbs in a month when nothing about the household changed.
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Well Pump That Won’t Rest
On a private well, a pump kicking on with every tap closed is losing pressure somewhere.
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Boiler Pressure Keeps Dropping
A radiant system that needs frequent refilling may have a leak in a floor loop.
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A Ceiling Ring That Grows
A stain below a bathroom that spreads after showers or flushes.
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One Green Strip in a Dry Yard
A lush line across the lawn in late summer can trace a buried supply pipe.
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A Faint Hiss at Night
In a quiet house, a pressurized leak in a wall or floor is easier to hear.
Where We Look
Leak detection for every part of the system
Inside the walls, under the floor and out to the meter or the well.
- Walls & Ceilings Supply and drain lines behind drywall, located before anything is cut.
- Slab Leaks Hot and cold lines under concrete, narrowed to a small patch of floor.
- Yard & Service Lines The buried pipe running from the meter or well to the house.
- Radiant Floor Loops Pressure loss in hydronic tubing traced to the leaking zone.
- Silent Fixture Leaks Toilets, valves and supply lines that leak without leaving a puddle.
- Shower & Tub Pans Drain and pan failures soaking the subfloor below a bathroom.
How It Works
How we narrow down a hidden leak
A typical search takes one visit and ends with a clear answer.
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Share What You’ve Noticed
Bills, sounds, stains or a pump that won’t rest. Every clue helps.
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Isolate the System
We close off sections and watch which one loses pressure.
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Pinpoint and Mark
Thermal and acoustic checks confirm the exact spot.
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Review the Fix
You see what we found and the repair price before work begins.
Durango crews. Mountain‑tough service.
Why Durango homeowners choose Element
Local to Southwest Colorado
A real office on Turner Drive and crews serving Durango, Bayfield, Ignacio, Hesperus and Pagosa Springs — not a call center.
Licensed in Colorado
Colorado Plumbing Contractor PC.0004697 and Master Plumber MP.03001859, with every job backed by our full service guarantee.
Here 24/7
Burst pipe at 2 a.m. or a cold boiler on a Sunday — a real technician answers the call.
Paying for water you never used?
Our Durango plumbers will trace it. Mention the $50 plumbing offer when you schedule.
Maintenance Membership
Ready for San Juan winters.
Seasonal checkups for every system in your home.
Seasonal checkups catch small problems before they become emergencies — and keep your systems running efficiently all year.
- Annual whole-home plumbing inspection
- Water heater flush & safety check
- Seasonal boiler tune-ups
- Priority scheduling for members
- Member savings on repairs
Leak detection questions from Durango homeowners
What’s the difference between leak detection and leak repair?
Detection is finding the leak; repair is fixing it. When the source is obvious, like a drip under a sink, we go straight to the fix. When water is turning up somewhere it shouldn’t and nobody knows why, we run the search first so the repair is aimed at the right pipe. See leak repair for what happens next.
Can you find a leak in a home on a well?
Yes. Without a city meter, the pump and pressure tank become the clues. If the pump runs or the gauge drops while every fixture is off, water is leaving the system. We separate the house plumbing from the line to the well and test each part on its own. It’s routine work for us around Hesperus, Bayfield and Pagosa Springs.
My boiler keeps losing pressure. Could that be a leak?
It can be. A closed radiant or baseboard system shouldn’t need regular refilling, so steady pressure loss often points to a leak in a loop, a fitting or the relief valve. A worn expansion tank can cause similar readings. We check the boiler side first, then trace the loops if needed. Our boiler service team handles the repair.
Do you have to break concrete to find a slab leak?
Not to find it. We locate it from above with pressure, thermal and acoustic readings, then mark a small area. Opening the slab is one way to repair it; running a new line through a wall or ceiling is another, and in an older house it’s sometimes the smarter choice. You decide after seeing both prices.
Can freezing weather cause hidden leaks?
Yes. A pipe that froze and thawed may crack without bursting, then seep for weeks inside a wall or under the house. After a hard cold snap in Durango, watch for new stains, a damp crawl space or a jump in usage. Finding it early costs far less than replacing drywall and flooring later. Active flooding is a job for emergency plumbing.
*Offers cannot be combined with other promotions or applied to dispatch fees. No cash value. Must present offer at time of service. Call for details.