Polyethylene pipes?

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Mad Plumber

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My wife and I are in contract negotiations w/a seller for their home and upon inspection (my paid professionals) he said the home was plumbed w/polybutylene, which was not disclosed on the sellers disclosure.

The seller called his builder and said that the builder and a plumber came and inspected the plumbing and that it was not polybutylene, but polyethylene instead. He also stipulated that the water main was not "blue pipe".

I realize that noone's perfect, so I called my inspector and he said he would go over and re-inspect the plumbing - but he felt sure of his initial analysis. He said he would get the info from the pipe itself and gather info on the product.

This inspector came fairly highly regarded: ex-home building exper. w/Traton homes, private contractor, etc. When questioned by me he said that he didn't know that much about polyethylene pipes (class action suits, durability, reliability, etc.). For the last 3 hours I've been trying to research the stuff - and all I can tell is that the stuff I saw under the sink that the inspector pointed out to me looks like the stuff I've seen on all the polybutylene websites.

The home was built in 1996 - if that helps.

What I saw in the home was gray pipes w/metal fittings - not the blue or red colored stuff I see on a few ployethylene websites.

We would love to purchase this home - but I'm sort of freaking out over this "he said" vs. "he said".

Is there a definitive guide about residential polyethylene usage that would help me? Would my local water utility help me?

I feel very lost at this point.

Again - sorry for the wordiness of this - I joined the website to post questions, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to post one. So I thought I'd take a chance w/you.

The inspector should get back to me tomor. w/his final report.

In the mean time, I would be GREATLY appreciative of any and all help.
Bill Sikkelee
 

Cass

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The "blue pipe" is called blue max and there was a class action over it which has expired.

The gray pipe sounds like what is called Quest which also was a problem and is PB.

Wait and see what the inspector says.
 

Jimbo

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Polybutylene pipe was usually gray, sometime black, inside the house. Underground was usually blue, but could be black or gray.


Polyethylene was never an approved pipe inside. It was and is used for underground mains.

Now, recently, a type of tubing called PEX ( which stands for "cross-linked-polyethylene" has come into common usage. But the difference between PEX and PB is obvious to any casual observer. My guess is that you have PB. 1996 does seem a little late for PB. I thought they had stopped using it by then, and PEX was starting to come into play. But I repeat, it is very easy to tell the difference, and both types will have extensive identification markings on them . This should not be that hard.

PB was approved by plumbing codes at the time. If the owner never had any leaks, the issue of whether he was LEGALLY obligated to dislose that pipe to you is an issue for Matlock and Perry Mason.

As far as buying the house, this should not be a deal breaker. You could quickly get an estimate on the cost to repipe the whole house. Then, as they say, its "hagglin' time"!
 

Gary Slusser

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I agree with Jimbo, this should not be a deal breaker. I will add that you can't tell what type of material by it's color. Or the fact that the connections are crimped ring etc..

Polyethylene comes in blue, black, orange and yellow IIRC. The orange and yellow are not for potable water lines; hydronic heating and gas. PEX is white, opaque(cloudy), blue and red.

Polyethylene and PEX are both used underground and inside to well pump pressure tanks. It normally uses insert/barbed fittings with hose clamps. Polyethylene is not used inside the house for distribution, only supply. PEX is used inside. PEX is a replacement for PB which was used the same as PEX.

And I wouldn't go with what the 'inspector' says until he actually reads the label.
 
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