American Leak Detection

Antonio F.

So, I consider this a work in progress.
I've been getting intermittently high water bills, so I called my go to plumber (Anchor Plumbing in San Antonio) for help. Their plumber tried some tried and true methods, and finally told me to contact ALD, as they would most likely find the leak much faster than he could.
When ALD showed up, they did their various tests, and told me my system isn't leaking. Their pressure tests showed no leaks in my irrigation system or inside my house. So they kept troubleshooting, and eventually discovered that the expansion tank for my water heater was intermittently indicating water was being pulled in then pushed out about .4 gallons per hour, repeating several times every five minutes. But, the SAWS meters only register water coming into the house, so when the expansion tank pushed the water out, the action didn't register--I was charged for water that I didn't use!
I'm having the expansion tank removed tomorrow, and will hopefully remove the "Work in progress" notice next month.
I was impressed. They spent much more than the hour I was told was included in the base price, and after determining my system wasn't leaking, they stayed until they found what appears to be a very logical solution to my problem. Consider me a fan!

Jeff T.

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.

TravelHappy I.

I will make this short. ALD agreed there is a leak in my backyard. I paid $575 as they were positive, they could find it. The person that came out was all talk and kept telling me over, and over, how I need to call him since only one visit is included and he would come back out. My neighbor's yard is affected, and she even said it is obvious where the leak must be.
What did I get for this much money? An inaccurate report (in so many ways) and a 'Well, I don't know' result.
I had another detection company come out and they found the leak within 1 hour.
Lesson learned and waste of money.

Nancy R.

Frantic with a $9K city water bill I called these folks. They were late. Finally, I saw their truck and went outside to investigate. They were working on our neighbor's water system! That should have been my first clue!

They did find a break in the irrigation. After 2 tries (jackhammer needed), Domingo did fix it ($1,560.00). Still leaking, I asked them to come back. Over the course of trying to resolve this problem I learned it takes TWO people to operate the sonar etc. They sent ONE person and after poking around for an hour or so....he said, "the leaking pipes are too deep for me to determine where the leak is....." So, "THE ORIGINAL LEAK SPECIALiSTS" left me with a continuing leak of 3-4 gallons per HOUR and charged $575 for the service, Nice guys..... Just not sure they have the equipment or know how to solve leak problems. Irrigation and pool are off. Still leaking. Roto Rooter uses cameras.....I'm hoping they are on top of it!

Jay D.

Fabulous service.
On time and very professional.
Worked very hard to uncover my underlying issue.
Will definitely use again

Nao W.

I hired ALD for $575 to find a leak in my yard that was leaking 2 gallons an hour. They detected it under my driveway and so I had a company come in and give me a $ignificant driveway tear up quote. Thankfully I couldn't get the driveway work scheduled until next month and this past weekend the ACTUAL location broke 30 feet away from the blue mark they made in my driveway. It was NOT UNDER MY DRIVEWAY. I now have no leak and the problem is solved after a $700 emergency Saturday night repair. I have called ALD and informed them that I was unhappy with what has transpired. On the call I asked to speak to the owner and I told them I was going to report my experience here. The receptionist was not concerned but did tell me someone would call me. I will report back if I am contacted.

Alexander D.

American Leak Detection will be my go to plumbing company as long as I call Texas home. Had my first interaction with them today and could not have been more pleased. They were prompt, professional and very informative. My technician, Kaleb, took the time to walk me through everything ensuring I understood what he was talking about as we went along. Highly recommend this company!!

See W.

Best customer service around. When I was down and out and couldn't get anyone to come over to help find a leak that was destroying my first floor this company made the drive to Austin and found and repaired the pipe. So thankful for ALD.

Thomas K.

My insurance company had ALD come to my home after I had discovered a leak in my over the garage apartment on 02/17/21, a leak which resultEd in water escaping onto and thru the garage sealing. Their services were requested as the plumbing company I had initially called had failed to locate the leak and had failed to return as promised. ALD responded on 03/22/21 though they too were unable to locate the leaks exact location. The technician said it was a hot water leak, something I already knew, and somewhere between the shower enclosure faucet and the kitchen sink (all of which are in the same ten foot or so area). Their representative further said that they would have to reroute that particular water line to limit costs and damages to my custom kitchen and bathroom cabinets, confirming what I had already told him. The represent also said that ALD would provide a report to the insurance carrier in a few days and would provide me an estimate to complete the repair so I can compare it to other estimates should I decide to contact other plumbers and obtain other estimates. It took about two weeks for them to send the report to my insurance carrier and have never provide me an estimate and it is now 04/16/21, and I still don't have hot water. I don't know how much they charged as the bill was apparently sent to the insurance company. I realize they are or were extremely busy due to the various electric companies turning the powere on and off again, causing "blackouts" which exasperated the freeze, though feel that should be able to provide an estimate of repairs. I wouldn't recommend their services or request their services again as they couldn't actually find the leak and have yet to follow thru and provide an estimate as promised.

Linda S.

We hired them to find a pool leak. They did not find it though we paid them $2000. It got worse and worse. The auto fill is turned off and the pool is now down 2 ft. I just called to have them come back out and they said it will be ANOTHER $2000. This is criminal!