American Leak Detection - San Diego County

Laura D.

Very pleasant experience. Workers were professional and courteous. They found the issue with no problem. Reasonably price for detection as well for bidding on repair. Didn't use them for service because they were outbid.

Kim V.

My plumber recommended ALD when we found water in the ground under our slab during a major renovation. The technician Toby Bishop came out on schedule. He was very professional, competent and thorough. Right away I had confidence in his experience and knowledge of our water problem. Now when our renovation is complete I will be able to enjoy my beautiful home without the worry of a slab leak. It was worth the money to have that piece of mind!

J.G. J.

Hello Yelpers fans! I have to admit that I was very concerned using this company, because of the low yelp reviews. I actually called the Covina American Leak Detection and practically begged them to take my slab leak case but they stated that each area has their own company. My insurance company had recommended I use American Leak Detection and since I was on my 2nd slab leak which ended up being several leaks all over my pipes and no one seemed to be able to fix my complicated slab leak I went ahead and used ALD. I called the company and requested to get a very experienced tech out. Well.. they agreed and sent out Johnny. They did a reroute for me which ran me $1,600.00. This was a good price compared to the $2,500 I was being quoted at other places. I actually had to leave American leak detection in my home bc of a work trip and they completed the work and called me to let me know everything was done. After my work trip was completed I came home to water all over my floors. I immediately called Johnny on his cell even tho I knew they were closed on Sat. Well.. they came out the same day, even on their day off!. I actually didn't have a slab leak any longer, but it was water that was trapped in my floor that needed to get dried up. I felt bad for calling them out on their day off, but very appreciative. American Leak Detection work is guaranteed for 5- yrs I believe. The last plumber actually took my money and after I told him that my slab leak started to leak after a few days he never returned my calls/money. American Leak Detection even came out on their day off. I was very appreciative and put my mind at ease. Finally after having a serious amount of slab leaks for almost a month and several plumbers later, the leak is finally fixed. Thank You American Leak Detection and Johnny! :)

Eric S.

American Leak Detection, at least the Santa Ana office with Phil Meckley as franchise owner, cost me thousands. DO NOT USE!

We were buying a home in CA in Dec 2014. My gut told me the pool/spa would have problems just by the look of its condition and visible previous repairs. So I hired these guys to verify there were no leaks and to use in negotiations with sellers to get a credit for repairs. I received a clean report from ALD - no leaks, nothing wrong. So just based on looks and us knowing some repair was needed, the seller still provided a credit for replastering, based on a report that said there was no leaks.

We moved into the house in January. End of Janjuary and early February our water level kept going down. We discovered a leak in the pool equipment and had home warranty repair it, thinking that should solve the problem. But the water kept going down. So I contacted ALD because something clearly was wrong. I was told it was past their 30 day warranty period and they would have to charge me the $350 again.

In the meantime I started working with a contractor for replastering, so I had their plumber perform another leak detection. Immediately they found at least two leaks. He brought me out and showed me the very visible dye test leak at the skimmer, which ALD explicitly stated they tested. Also a leak in the spa jet, but not sure how many. When they repaired the leaks, it was very evident that the leaks had been there for a long time and not sudden (erroded gunite, roots growing by the leak area, etc.). We had to replace the skimmer, replace 3 spa jets with leaks, and replace the main drain - all due to leaks. Yet ALD said everything was fine and there were no leaks. The pool plumber (who was very knowledgeable and thorough) said he didn't understand how ALD didn't discover the leaks.

As can be expected, the owner won't call me back. I discussed with corporate office but now they aren't calling me back. The ALD corp office website even says you don't need any experience to own an ALD franchise - they will train you. Obviously the technician was not trained right! Or, they are a scam!!

NEVER USE ALD! Not only have I lost money from the cost of a 2nd test and leak repairs just a couple of months after ALD's testing, I lost out on funds I could have further negotiated with the seller.

Chris D.

I am giving American Leak Detection (ALD) 5 Stars because, the service technician, Matt, went out of his way to assist me simply because he was being himself and that meant being extremely professional. I was NOT his service call, he was in my neighborhood doing work at a neighbor's house and I merely asked a question. He offered to come to my location and check out my problem, which he did when he was finished with his original job, and also provided guidance on what ALD could do to fix the problem. The service technician was absolutely professional and because of that I have no problem giving ALD an excellent review. Thank you ALD and keep up the great work.

John D.

If you ever encounter a ""slab leak"" in your home, you should consider ADL for the service of determining and fixing the leak. We had the disturbing experience of water flooding the ground floor of our home from a leak in the below slab cold water supply pipe. Johnny, Lucas and Jaison determined the causes, provided a competitive quote and stood by that quote beyond expectation. We were impressed by their patience, courtesy and expertise in solving our problem. It was nice to see workmen who concentrated on their tasks, took the time to explain in detail what was occurring, double checking details, and performing thorough clean up after the work. These men were the best and we thank them again.

Josh B.

Glenn and John were extremely professional and accomplished exactly what they set out to do in their quote. The job took extra time and they did not charge me more. I would definitely recommend them. I also got a quote from Water Savers and was not impressed with their customer service.

Sher R.

Boy I wish I would have checked out Yelp before calling these guys. Unfortunately my plumber recommended them (who has also since been discontinued). They came out to find a leak under our slab in the yard. I showed them where the water was and they apparently ran a test? Their findings were all of a masking tape arrow on our bar exactly where I said the leak was. When I asked if it could be resolved through the irrigation system the guy said ""no, it has to be dug up."" Well, we dug and found no pipe where he said it was and we just had it repaired in the irrigation system which cost less than having these crooks come out and point to where they thought the leak was. Do not hire these guys.

Matt H.

My Mom was having unusually high water bills and we called ALD. Osa and his partner took 15 minutes of their time to inspect the property and noticed it was an irrigation leak. Osa gave me an honest assessment of the situation and I really appreciated this, since I had no idea where the leak was. I like to deal with good people and I would recommend Osa and ALD. Thank you and I would recommend to family and friends.

Wayne M.

My wife and I bought a house with an older pool/spa that needed a complete remodel. The spa has a waterfall to the pool over some boulders. The pool/spa were leaking and losing water at about 7/16 inch per day, of which about 1/4 inch was due to evaporation as confirmed by a ""bucket test"".

We hired a contractor who placed pressure gauges on the 4 lines that ran to the pool/spa. Two lines to the spa slowly lost pressure. The contractor recommended that I contact a leak detection company that could precisely locate any leaks.

So I called the Santa Ana branch of American Leak Detection (ALD) and arranged for them to come out. Their inspector arrived and noted the pressure gauges that were already installed. Then, using his equipment on the gauges, he pressurized the lines and again the same spa lines lost pressure at the same rates. That's all he did. I asked if he had audio equipment he could use to locate the leaks. He said the leaks were too small for his equipment to detect. He didn't do any dye-testing or other testing to observe the leaks. And he didn't do anything to fix them. He said the pressure losses were insignificant and the water loss would be of no consequence. Other than hooking his equipment to the already installed fittings, during the time he was there he never had a tool in his hand. He just lounged around. After about an hour I said ""Don't you have other inspections you need to go to""? He said, ""No. I'm here for the 'minimum' time and the cost will be $350"". He then just ""hung-around"" for at least another hour...doing nothing. With great reluctance I paid him the $350 but didn't get a receipt or a report.

Based on ALD's verbal report that the leaks were insignificant, my contactor and I decided to go ahead with the restoration. I otherwise may have decided not to go forward because the leaks could be in the spa plumbing under large real boulders, which could have made repairs very difficult and costly. I might have opted to just demo the pool/spa.

However after restoration, I noticed the pool was still losing water at exactly the same rate as before. So I began taking measurements to get readings before and after the pumps ran. I did this for about 8 weeks, raising and lowering the water level in both the pool and the spa in an attempt to pinpoint where the water loss was occurring. I also did some dye testing at certain fittings but observed nothing. But when I lowered the water in the spa to a level below the upper jets and return, while holding the water in the pool to a level above the skimmer, the leak stopped! This established that the leak(s) were not in the pool's skimmer, light, jets or drains, but were in fact, in the spa plumbing, and likely under the boulders.

So I called ALD and asked if I could talk to the owner. I was told he was not in and the guy on the phone asked if he could help me. I explained everything and asked if ALD could send someone out and try to pinpoint the leaks at no cost because I had already paid the ""minimum"" and didn't get anything for my money. He said he would talk to his supervisor later that day and get back to me. Two days later, I had not received any contact from ALD. So I called again and talked to the same guy and he promised he would talk to his supervisor ""first thing in the morning"" and call me back. He did not call me back. Nothing! No one ever called from ALD. They were obviously trying to avoid me in hopes I would just ""go away"".

They did nonetheless email me the invoice/report and it said their inspector ""performed a pressure test on the spa jet and pool return systems, finding both to hold 15 PSI"". Sounds like he actually did something, huh? Well all he did was take readings from his equipment that he had connected to existing fittings and gauges that my contractor had installed. He also reported ""two systems lost pressure"" and ""The pressure loss is too slight to show up on the technician's pressure test, so this appears to be a non-issue."" Huh?

Since ALD was ignoring me and refusing to call me back, I subsequently hired ""Jay"" of Inland Empire Pools, Inc (AKA ""Leak Solvers"") to detect and fix the pool's leaks. He tested and discovered pressure losses in the same spa plumbing observed by my contractor and that the ALD inspector said were a ""non-issue"". However Jay said the pressure drops WERE significant and likely the cause for the water loss I was observing. Then over a period of about two weeks, he meticulously inspected the pool/spa and fixed the leaks at a reasonable cost.

On the other hand, ALD charged $350 for a worthless inspection and misleading report which is why I went ahead with the costly pool restoration. Not to mention their discourteous and inept customer service where they refused to respond to my telephone inquiries.

In summary, ALD's service was a GREEDY and WORTHLESS RIPOFF for me! If you have a plumbing leak I strongly suggest you go elsewhere for an inspection.