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Updated: May 2026
A jump on the DEWA bill with no obvious cause, no puddles, no drips, no soggy carpet, then a faint warm patch on the kitchen tiles, is the kind of story that gets passed around our WhatsApp groups. "Slab leak, get it scanned before you rip anything up" is usually the first reply. This post pulls together how plumbing actually works in TAG villas, and which numbers to save before you need them.
Neighbor's Tip
- Leak you can't see? Call a detection specialist first, not a plumber with a hammer.
- Slow drain or smell? That's a drainage job, different team, different tools.
- Once the leak is located, a general plumber does the actual repair.
If you'd rather see the full map, here's all home services in Tilal Al Ghaf in one place.
Before you panic, do the meter test. Turn off every tap, every appliance, the irrigation, and the washing machine. Walk to your DEWA water meter and watch the last digit for two minutes. If it's still ticking, water is leaving your villa somewhere it shouldn't.
A 30-50% jump on your monthly DEWA bill, with no extra guests and no garden change, is the classic slab-leak fingerprint. Other tells: warm spots on floor tiles, a hot-water boiler that runs constantly, low pressure on one tap only, or a damp shadow climbing a gypsum wall. Catch it at the meter stage and you save thousands. Wait six weeks and the bill alone will hurt more than the repair.
Leakdtech is the team you call before you let anyone smash a wall. They do non-invasive leak detection using thermal cameras, acoustic listening discs, and tracer-gas. They'll scan your villa, mark the exact spot on the floor with tape, and hand you a report. They don't fix the leak, that's the point. You then book a plumber who knows precisely where to cut, instead of one who guesses.
They have a dedicated TAG inspection page on leakdtech.com and are familiar with how the developer ran the pipes under the slab in the handed-over villa stock (Harmony, Aura Gardens, Elan, Aura).
Neighbor verdict: Saves you from blind demolition.
If your kitchen sink is draining slow, the master-bath shower is pooling, or you're getting that sweet drain smell after a hot day, this is not a leak job. It's a drainage job, and Drain Surgeons are the specialists. They run motorized snakes, high-pressure jetting, and CCTV cameras down the line to clear blockages and check for pipe damage. They also handle pest issues that come through drains, ants, drain flies, the occasional gecko.
They cover the handed-over TAG communities and are realistic about what they can and can't reach without lifting a manhole.
Neighbor verdict: They show up with the right kit.
Once Leakdtech has marked the spot, you need a plumber to open it up and fix it. Expat Group is the all-rounder our group chat keeps coming back to: AC, electrical, and plumbing under one roof. That matters in a TAG villa, because a slab leak repair often touches three trades, the plumber cuts the pipe, the tiler reinstates the floor, and sometimes the electrician has to move a circuit out of the way.
They're the natural repair-side counterpart to Leakdtech, and you'll see the same pairing recommended across community groups.
Neighbor verdict: One contact for plumbing, AC, and electrical, fewer headaches.
While they're already on site, it's worth asking about AC maintenance for your villa or one of those annual home maintenance contracts, the per-visit math usually works out cheaper.
The realistic path from "something's off" to "fixed and dry":
Always ask each provider to quote you directly before work starts.
Tilal Al Ghaf villas are well-built, but a few things make plumbing here particular. Most cold and hot pipes run under the floor slab and inside wall chases, which is fine until a fitting fails and the water has nowhere to go but sideways. Showers and ensuite drops sit above gypsum ceilings, so a slow upstairs leak shows up as a stain on the ground-floor ceiling weeks later, never directly underneath the source.
Dubai humidity also takes a toll. Rubber seals on mixer taps and angle valves age faster in this climate. Add in hard water scaling, which narrows pipes and stresses joints, and you get a small but steady stream of repair jobs. None of it is dramatic, but it's why every villa needs two numbers saved: detection and repair.
Same week, ideally same day. A damp patch on a wall or skirting means water has already been moving for a while, drywall and gypsum hide leaks beautifully. Mold can start within 48-72 hours in Dubai humidity, and mold remediation costs more than the original plumbing fix. Snap a photo, message a detection team, and run the meter test tonight.
Most TAG home-contents policies cover the damage from a sudden leak (ruined flooring, soaked furniture) but not the pipe repair itself. Read your "escape of water" clause carefully. Get a written report from your detection company, that's what insurers ask for. If the leak was gradual and you ignored it, claims often get denied, which is another reason to act on the meter test fast.
A detection survey tells you exactly where to cut. Guesswork means a plumber opens one wall, finds nothing, opens another, and bills you for both, plus the re-tiling. The survey is usually the cheapest insurance you'll buy on a leak.
Garden irrigation runs on a separate line from your villa's domestic supply, but it's still your responsibility once it's past the meter. A leaking irrigation valve can quietly add hundreds to your DEWA bill. If your garden plumbing or pool feed is the suspect, a pool maintenance provider often catches it before a general plumber does.
If you only do one thing after reading this, save these three contacts: Leakdtech for detection, Drain Surgeons for blockages, Expat Group for the actual repair. Test your meter tonight. If the digits move with everything off, message Leakdtech tomorrow morning. The earlier you catch a leak, the smaller the bill at every stage.
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