Drilling Slab

9 years ago

Hey guys. Got termite treatment company coming in a few weeks. They need to drill 1/2" holes through the slab around the walls of the master bath shower. Single control lever and shower head on the bedroom wall side.

This is a slab foundation in Oklahoma. Thickness looks to be about 3 inches or so.

I asked the guy giving the quote about risks of hitting a line. He said they only had one instance where they penetrated a water line.

PEX tubing is used here.

So my question to the pro plumbing guys here, if the drill guy marks the depth accurately on the bit and eases down to that last 1/4 inch, is that a fairly safe way to get completely through the slab without overshooting into the plastic supply lines that are somewhere underneath there?

Or could those plastic supply lines be actually more shallow than anticipated?

Thanks

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

snoonyb
9 years ago
Are you sure they are in the floor and not in the attic?
weedmeister
9 years ago
or through the walls?
Related Professionals
Wolf Trap Handyman · University City Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Beachwood Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Elk Grove Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Glen Carbon Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Independence Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Jefferson Hills Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Kuna Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Los Alamitos Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Rolling Hills Estates Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · South Park Township Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Terrell Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Weymouth Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · North Chicago Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Sharonville Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers
ohmmm_gw
Original Author
9 years ago
They are subterranean. They live in the ground and come up through drain holes in the slabs, or cracks. It only needs to be the thickness of a business card for them to get through. We are figuring they are getting up around the shower drain. The pest guys have to inject the termiticide under the slab surrounding the master shower.

Back to the drilling question....anyone?
weed_cutter
9 years ago
Just guessing here, but I think the "they" Snoonyb is referring to are the pipes, not the pests.
Are the pipes in the attic and walls?
snoonyb
9 years ago
We are speaking to your assertion that the PEX is in the slab;

"Are you sure they are in the floor and not in the attic?"

Which, like copper, in many areas, is not common.
ohmmm_gw
Original Author
9 years ago
No plumbing in the attic other than the plumbing vent. Everything is in, under, or through the slab here. The supply pipes run up the wall from the slab.

Not even sure if it is possible to tell what direction they are all going. Seems like a roll of the dice drilling through the slab hoping a line is not a little bit in the slab by accident versus under it. I don't know how they run and position the lines before pouring. Might stop at a construction site to have a look.

All supply lines in the house are PEX. All drains are PVC. It's on well water and has an aerobic septic system.
User
9 years ago
"I asked the guy giving the quote about risks of hitting a line. He said they only had one instance where they penetrated a water line".

I'd want to know who paid for that repair... homeowner or pest control company?
snoonyb
9 years ago
It helps if can think like a piece work plumber, the shortest distance between two points is a strait line, and, and, it helps if you can identify how it was manifolded.
pima74
9 years ago
If run under the slab, the pex is probably buried in the soil not encased in the slab. In our case the pex was buried about 2 feet under the bottom of the slab. You might want to contact local plumbers to verify if that is the local practice.

And ensure it's not a post tensioned slab. If so it should be stamped in the slab in someplace obvious like the garage floor.