What is Polybutylene?

Polybutylene is a form of plastic resin that was mainly used for the piping of potable water and manufactured from the late 1970's until the mid 1990's, found in most residential homes.

How To Tell You Have Poly?

 

Interior: Polybutylene used inside your home can be found near the water heater, running across the ceiling in unfinished basements, and coming out of the walls to feed sinks and toilets. In some homes plumbers used copper "stub outs" where the pipe exits a wall to feed a fixture, so seeing copper here does not mean that you do not have poly.

 

Exterior: Polybutylene underground water mains are usually blue, but may be gray or black ( do not confuse black poly with polyethylene pipe). It is usually 1/2" or 1" in diameter, and it may be found entering your home through your basement wall or floor, concrete slab or coming up through your crawlspace; usually it enters the home near the water heater.

 

What makes it fail?

What causes polybutylene pipes to deteriorate can be attributed to the oxidants in the water. With the increased usage of chemicals like chlorine and other bacteria fighting ingredients significantly more failures occurred. These oxidants react with the polybutylene making it brittle and help in the development of micro cracks in the pipe that cause pipe bursting and severe floods.

How long does it take to re-pipe a home?

An average 2 1/2 bath home will take roughly 1-2 days.

Will we have to move out during the work?

No. We respect your privacy and do our best to work around your needs.

Will my water be turned off?

Yes, for most cases it will be turned off if it is a one day project. If it goes into the second day or more, we could restore the water service each evening for your convenience.

Do I have to move anything out of the way?

Yes, we ask that you move any fragile pieces and personal property. We respect our customers home and personal property.

Some people have told me that you need to take out the walls. Is that true?

We only need to make relatively unobtrusive cuts through the drywall. Unless, for example, you have an unfinished basement or the pipe is already exposed, there is less debris involved. We are not responsible for any drywall repair.

Do you offer financing?

No, but we accept Visa or Mastercard.