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Polybutylene and Plumbing Leaks in Georgia
PLUMBPROS Plumbing has extensive experience dealing with Polybutylene issues. Polybutylene pipes were popular and common throughout warmer American states like Georgia though they were also installed in the northeast. Polybutylene is a plastic resin that was easy to install, cheap and was often used to replace the more expensive and harder to install copper piping.
Polybutylene main lines were often blue but could also be gray or black. They were usually a half inch or an inch around and were often installed in the home’s concrete slab near the water heater. Polybutylene pipe was made between 1978 and 1995 and during that time it may have been in installed in up to 10 million houses.
Over time it was found that the polybutylene in many of these homes started to fail. Faulty installation was often not the cause. The pipe seemed to fail because contaminants like chlorine set down scale in the pipes and the fittings and caused them to crack. The pipes also seemed to fail for a number of other reasons.
The rate of polybutylene pipe failure eventually became so great that a class action suite was initiated and finally settled at the cost of close to one billion dollars. Unfortunately, that settlement is now past the date and those funds are no longer available to help out homeowners.
Since polybutylene pipes are often hidden, it could be difficult for the homeowner to detect a leak. One obvious symptom was a wet spot on the basement floor but spiking water bills and a drop in water pressure were also signs.
Cracks are also signs of potential problems. The best course of action for a homeowner is to hire a professional contractor like PLUMBPROS Plumbing that has experience locating these type of leaks and the solutions to repair the problem.
Faulty polybutylene pipes can be replaced ironically with the copper tubing that polybutylene was supposed to supplant in the firs place. Copper has been used successfully for hundreds of years.
When interior polybutylene pipes are removed, there may be a need to map out the plumbing system, drill holes in the walls, carefully remove the polybutylene pipes and repipe them with copper or other trusted piping materials.