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What is Polybutylene Piping?
Polybutylene is a brand name of a very popular type of pipe used in residential and commercial
installations. It hit the peak of its popularity in the latter part of the ’70’s and the ’80’s. It is not sold today!
Polybutylene pipe is gray colored and flexible when used in a home and is blue colored when used in a
yard. It is used for both hot and cold plumbing. Pieces of Polybutylene pipe are joined by using fittings of
plastic or copper that are inserted into the pipe and then compressed with a copper band. The fittings
may be of copper or a gray/blue colored plastic. The outer compression band is of copper and is crimped
on with a tool that looks similar to a bolt cutter.
What’s the problem?
Even though you might not have experienced a leak as of yet, the
problem with polybutylene piping is still there. Polybutylene pipe itself
is subject to deterioration and leaks. The plastic fittings harden, and
leaks develop first at the fittings, but the pipe itself also hardens and
becomes brittle. The use of copper fittings delay the onset of leaks,
since the pipe ages much more slowly than the plastic fittings do.
However, it is still a time bomb.
The fear is that homeowners insurance companies may begin to
issue exclusions to homeowner’s policies for water damage to
homes plumbed with polybutylene. In addition, the sale of a home
plumbed with this material will probably become a disclosure item on
a real estate listing or sale. In any event, a home inspector for a
buyer would notice the polybutylene plumbing and would certainly
call it to the attention of the buyer.
How do you know?
The first step is to verify that your home is indeed plumbed with polybutylene piping and that there were
numerous plastic fittings of the type that developed leaks first. At Ace Empire Plumbing and Solar, we offer
Video Inspections and Leak Detection.
What can you do?
The only solution to the problem would be to totally remove all Polybutylene plumbing from the house,
including inside the walls and to replace it. Ace Empire Plumbing and Solar can solve this problem for
you and offers this service, commonly referred to as
Re-piping.
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