Most leaks in Summerville homes are found by the water bill rather than by sight, because slab construction hides them until damage is already done.
Confirm you have one
Turn off every fixture and check the water meter. If the dial still moves, water is going somewhere. That single test tells you whether to worry, and takes a minute.
Finding it without opening walls
Acoustic listening, pressure isolation and thermal imaging narrow the location down before anything is opened. That matters here because so much Summerville housing is slab-on-grade, where the alternative is breaking concrete on a guess. You should not have to demolish your way to a diagnosis.
Where they tend to be
In newer builds, at connections and fittings rather than in the pipe itself — supply connectors, hose bibs, and irrigation tie-ins. In older Summerville homes, at corroded sections and previously repaired joints. Hard water contributes on both, since scale wears valve seats and fittings faster.
Why waiting costs more
A slow leak inside a wall or under a slab does not stay a plumbing problem. It becomes flooring, cabinetry, drywall and eventually mould remediation. The plumbing repair is almost always the cheapest part of a leak found late.