Terms of Use
Below the Slab offers general homeowner information on plumbing and city water; it is not plumbing, legal, medical or insurance advice, and using the site means accepting these terms.
Using this site
The guides are free to read and share. Quoting a short passage with a link back to the page is welcome; copying whole pages, images or infographics to another site is not permitted without permission. The site is offered as is, without warranties of any kind, and the team behind it is not liable for decisions made from its content.
Information, not professional advice
Below the Slab is a homeowner information guide, not a plumbing company, engineer, insurer, lawyer or health authority. Every house, policy and water line is different. Before acting, ask a licensed plumber about your plumbing, your insurer about your coverage, a structural engineer about foundation movement, and your water utility or doctor about health questions. Figures come from named sources checked on the date shown in each method note; agencies and utilities update their reports, and the latest official version always takes precedence.
Safety
Plumbing, gas water heaters, electrical work and digging near buried lines carry real risks. Follow the maker's manual, shut off power, gas and water before working on any appliance, and leave permitted work to licensed professionals. In New Orleans, plumbing permits must be pulled by a licensed master plumber, as the Louisiana plumbing code guide explains. During a boil water advisory, follow your utility's instructions rather than any general advice on this site.
Prices
Repair cost ranges on this site are national contractor-survey estimates, named and dated; they are not quotes, and local prices vary. Product prices on the city-water pages are the prices SoftPro Water Systems listed on the day they were checked. The store sets and may change its prices, and its own terms govern any purchase. SoftPro is owned by the same team as this site; see the ownership disclosure.
Changes
These terms may be updated as the site changes. The current version is always the one on this page, and continuing to use the site after a change means accepting it.
More guides: the Below the Slab home page.