If you have any doubts about the need to replace your poly pipes, take a look at the pictures of a home that suffered from a single leak. These homeowners were away on vacation when a leak developed in the upstairs bathroom. More than 27,000 gallons of water ran through their home. When they returned, there was four feet of water in the basement and $138,000 worth of damage to their furniture, carpets, wallpaper, wallboard, ceilings and priceless family heirlooms. Call today for information an...

Not yet.......many of the high end builders in the metro Phoenix area prefer to use copper piping and tubing. Tubing made of copper was introduced in about 1900, but didn't become popular until approximately 1950, depending on local building code adoption.   If you have a home that was built in the 1950's or prior, chances are it has or once had galvanized plumbing and not copper piping.   Common wall-thicknesses of copper tubing are "Type K", "Type L" and "Type M";   Ty...

What is Polybutlylene? Polybutylene is a form of plastic resin that was used extensively in the manufacture of water supply piping from 1978 until 1995. Due to the low cost of the material and ease of installation, polybutylene piping systems were viewed as "the pipe of the future" and were used as a substitute for traditional copper piping. It is most commonly found in the "Sun Belt" where residential construction was heavy through the 1980's and early-to-mid 90's, but it is also very common...

In my experience of doing over 10,000 homes and building inspections over the last 24 years, one of the things that scares owners the most is water leaks.  And rightly so, buildings are designed to shed water not be saturated with water and the resulting damage significant. Water can enter a home or building in any number of ways.  Primarily, water typically enters during a rain event through openings in the roof surfacing.  The evidence is obvious as a wet stain on a ceiling or a full blown ...

Copper water pipes are usually guaranteed by the manufacturer against manufacturing defects for a period of 25 years. The vast majority of copper systems far exceed this time period but a small minority may fail after a comparatively short time. The majority of failures seen are the result of poor installation or operation of the water system. The most common failure seen in the last 20 years is Pitting corrosion in cold water tubes, also known as Type 1 pitting. See also Erosion Corrosion of...