Niguel Woods

Polybutylene piping in our homes

Posted in: Niguel Woods
  • Stock
  • borders
  • Respected Neighbor
  • Laguna Niguel, CA
  • 4 Posts
  • Respect-O-Meter: Respected Neighbor
As many of you already know, and some of you don't know, our neighborhood was one of many in the US that had a product call Polybutylene piping installed as our main water line pipe, (from the water meter to the main house line) when our homes were built.

This product is defective, and was involved in a class-action lawsuit because of its high failure rate. Most professional plumbers state that this piping bursting or leaking, is not a matter of ''if'' but WHEN!!!

Mine when this week, and it is costing me over $2,100.00 plus some new brink work, to do a 'trench-less' replacement (do to all of my hard-scape in my front yard).

If any of you have had success with getting reimbursement from the class-action lawsuit on the product, please let us know? Or if you would like to tell us about your experiences, we would all like to know more?

If you don't know if you have this type of pipe, below is a link to a photo of what mine looked like when pulled out of the ground...
http://www.pbpipe.com/images/q_blue_qest_pic.jpg

You could see it just at the water meter hole, from the meter to the house.

For more info... http://www.pbpipe.com/index1.htm

Also, most of us have copper plumbing in our homes. The piping that plumbers have always stated ?“would last forever?” isn't. Unfortunately, copper is VERY susceptible to pen-hole slab leaks, as I have found after suffering THREE slab-leaks in the last four years! No one seems to have a good explanation as to what makes the copper get a leak, however stories have been passed around regarding everything from erosion from our overly acidic clay soil, to new chemicals that are placed in our tap water.
Either way, these ?‘slab-leaks?’ can cause REAL damage if not caught early.

My suggestion is to occasionally check the water meter (at the street) and make sure no one is using any water in the house at that time. Next see if the small red-dial is spinning on your water meter. If no one is using any water at that moment, and the red dial on the meter is spinning (even very slowly), you might have a slab-leak or main leak.
The next step is to shut off your house main (usually located next to the from spicket of your house, next to the garage). After shutting it down completely, check to see if the small red-dial at your water meter is still spinning. If it is not spinning anymore, you very likely have a copper line leak somewhere in your house or slab. If it is still spinning, after shutting off he main, you then likely have a main line leak (from the meter to the main shut-off).

Regards,

-CB


Water Leaks

Chris,

This is an incredibly appropriate e-mail and should be mandatory reading to everyone in the neighborhood. It should also be noted that your leak could potentially cause even more extensive damage to your neighbors home, than even your own. Due to the flow of the water and gravity, the damage can be catastrophic to your neighbors. Bottom Line: Be a good neighbor and check your water meter on a regular basis! I wish mine did....

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