All Plumbing Guides for Slab Houses
These plumbing guides cover 31 topics in five groups, from slab leaks and sagging sewer lines to water heaters, New Orleans and Jefferson Parish tap water, freezes and the plumbing code.
Key takeaways
- 31 guides sit in five groups: slab leaks (8), sewer and drains (8), water heaters (4), city water (8), and home and code (3).
- Slab leak costs use Fixr's national estimate of $1,000 to $4,000 (May 2025), never a local quote.
- Water numbers come from the 2025 Carrollton Water Works report and the other plants' 2025 reports on the Louisiana Department of Health site.
- Insurance pages follow the Louisiana Department of Insurance consumer guide on what homeowners policies exclude.
- The code pages note that the old Louisiana State Plumbing Code was voided on January 1, 2016, per the Louisiana Department of Health.
The guides in numbers
- 10 ppbFederal lead action level from November 1, 2027 (15 ppb until then)EPA, Lead and Copper Rule Improvements
- 5.9 gpgHardness on the East Bank (100.7 mg/L), Carrollton 2025 reportLDH 2025 water quality report
- 1.6 in/yrSinking measured behind the Bonnet Carré SpillwayNASA JPL, 2016
- 8.0 inSnow at New Orleans International Airport, January 21, 2025, a daily recordNational Weather Service, via Iowa State Mesonet
Which slab leak guides should you read first?
Start with the signs, then detection: a running water meter with every fixture off is the clearest early clue, and confirming the leak comes before any repair choice. The group then covers the three repair routes (cutting the floor at the leak, tunneling in from the yard, or rerouting a new line through walls or attic), insurance under the Louisiana Department of Insurance guide's exclusions, and how soil movement reaches the pipes.
Which sewer and drain guides fit your problem?
Pick by symptom: repeat clogs in one line point to a belly or roots, a flattened line in a mid-century house points to fiber pipe, and sewage at a floor drain is a backup. The City of Ann Arbor dates Orangeburg pipe to roughly the early 1950s through the early 1970s. A camera inspection usually comes before any cleaning or replacement decision, and the cost pages give Fixr's dated national ranges.
Which water heater guides answer cost and lifespan?
Four guides cover the full life of a heater: how long a tank lasts (10 to 15 years, per the U.S. Department of Energy), how to flush it, what replacement costs nationally, and whether tankless pays back. The flush guide follows the maker's manual, such as the A. O. Smith gas heater manual, which calls for a full drain and flush every six months.
What do the New Orleans and Jefferson Parish water guides cover?
They report the utilities' own 2025 numbers: hardness, chloramine, lead, boil water advisories and the 2023 saltwater wedge. Chloramine is regulated at an EPA limit of 4 mg/L, and Carrollton's 2025 running annual average was 3.3 ppm. Five of these pages link to SoftPro Water Systems, a store owned by the same team as this site; each says so beside the link, and filters and softeners are presented as optional.
New Orleans & Jefferson Parish waterIs New Orleans tap water safe?
New Orleans & Jefferson Parish waterNew Orleans water hardness
New Orleans & Jefferson Parish waterBoil water advisory: what to do
New Orleans & Jefferson Parish waterChloramine in water
New Orleans & Jefferson Parish waterWhole house water filter for city water- New Orleans & Jefferson Parish waterDo I need a water softener?
- New Orleans & Jefferson Parish waterLead in drinking water
- New Orleans & Jefferson Parish waterSaltwater intrusion in the Mississippi River
Which guides cover freezes, backflow and the plumbing code?
Three guides cover rare freezes, yearly backflow testing and permits. On January 21, 2025, New Orleans International Airport recorded 8.0 inches of snow, a single-day record. The Sewerage and Water Board requires backflow assemblies to be tested every year, and the code guide explains who may pull a plumbing permit in New Orleans.
Home & codeFrozen pipes in the Gulf South
Home & codeBackflow prevention
Home & codeLouisiana plumbing code
| Group | Guides | Main primary sources |
|---|---|---|
| Slab leaks | 8 | NASA JPL, LSU soils study, Louisiana Department of Insurance |
| Sewer and drains | 8 | City of Ann Arbor, U.S. Forest Service research, FEMA |
| Water heaters | 4 | U.S. Department of Energy, A. O. Smith manual |
| New Orleans and Jefferson Parish water | 8 | 2025 water quality reports, EPA, CDC, NOLA Ready |
| Home and code | 3 | National Weather Service, State Plumbing Board of Louisiana, City of New Orleans |
How we put this page together
This hub lists every guide on the site and sums up each group from the same primary sources the guides use: the 2025 water quality reports on the Louisiana Department of Health site, EPA, NASA JPL, the Louisiana Department of Insurance, the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Weather Service and the City of New Orleans, checked October 2026. Left out: contractor price lists, product rankings and forum anecdotes.
Common questions
Where should a first-time slab house owner start?
Read the slab leak signs guide and the sewer camera inspection guide first. Together they cover the two failures that are hardest to see on a slab: a pressurized supply leak and a sagging or blocked drain.
Are the cost figures in these guides local New Orleans prices?
No. They are Fixr's national estimates, named and dated on each page. Local quotes vary with access, pipe length, floor coverings and permits.
Why do some water guides link to a store?
Five city-water guides link to SoftPro Water Systems, which is owned by the same team as this site. The ownership disclosure page explains how those links work and which claims are the store's own.
Do the water guides cover Metairie and Kenner?
They cover East Jefferson in general terms only. The parish's 2025 report was blocked when these pages were researched, so no East Jefferson figure is printed.
How often are the guides checked?
Each guide shows an updated date in its byline. The current figures were checked in October 2026 against the sources named in each method note.
Is there a single page of short answers?
Yes. The FAQ page gives short, sourced answers on slab leaks, water heaters, tap water and boil water advisories, with links to the full guides.