Is there a class action lawsuit against Kitec piping?

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ultimachi

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I recently just bought my first house a little over a month ago. One of my water pipes blew and flooded the house while we were asleep. The home warranty company sent out a couple plumbers to fix the problem, but both say that this Kitec plumbing has been recalled and is not repairable. They state that the whole house needs to be repiped.

Now the home warranty will not cover the cost of repiping the home.....but they also won't approve the repair of this pipe due to the manufacturers recall. They say it has to come out of pocket!!! I also spoke to the homeowner's insurance and they will cover all the damages from the water to the rest of the house.

So what can I do? Is there a class action lawsuit against the manufacturer? The home warranty company stated that alot of people have filed lawsuits against this manufacturer, but they won't give me any details. I'd really appreciate some direction towards a solution.
 

Bob NH

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What kind of home warranty is it that won't pay for a problem that they did not reveal to you when they inspected the house before you got the warranty? I would be looking to sue the home warranty people or the inspector that told you the house was ok and resulted in you getting the warranty.
 

Master Plumber Mark

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Kitech pipe

their is no lawsuit about Kiteck that I know of


I have a salesman that is trying to get me to use it right now.....

and I will ask him about this subject....



I do know that the did have problems with

useing it in radiant systems in concrete........



those plumbers should be able to repair a simple broke pipe.....
 
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Mike Swearingen

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Consult an attorney immediately. Seems like someone else should be responsible for this.
If there is a legal problem with that plumbing, the seller or the seller's agent may have been responsible for disclosing the problem to you prior to purchase, and may be liable if they did not.
Depends on your particular state laws.
Good luck!
Mike
(20-Year NC Real Estate Broker)
 

Lakee911

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Those warranties are a bunch of bullshit. After I read mine, I called and canceled and they gave me the $360 back that the seller had paid. After you use it, you can't get a refund. They look like good selling points, but they're just free money in their pocket. I used my refund to buy a new water heater.

Sorry about your luck.

Jason
 

ultimachi

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Bob NH said:
What kind of home warranty is it that won't pay for a problem that they did not reveal to you when they inspected the house before you got the warranty? I would be looking to sue the home warranty people or the inspector that told you the house was ok and resulted in you getting the warranty.


Sorry for the long delay.

Ok here's the update. The warranty company keeps sending out plumbers from different companies as if they're going to actually fix the problem. But they all say the same thing. "We will not touch this piping due to liability issues. They don't make the fittings nor make this pipe anymore." One of the plumbers told me that alot of warranty companies wont' cover repiping of the whole house......as that's what needs to be done to mine. He said the warranty company will usually write me a check, and tell me to take care of it. More often than not, the check isn't sufficient to cover the cost of repiping the house. The plumber also stated that Kitec is Bankrupt, and many people around here have tried suing but to no avail. He said, I'm basically screwed.

As for the warranty company not covering it.....they say that they don't cover recalled items that have been issued by the manufacturer. So they are still "deciding" on what they're going to do.

As for the Homeowners insurance, the adjustor came out for all the damages and came up that the total damage alone is in excess of 21,000 dollars.

This is a bunch of crap. I know there's something I can do. I'm not going to accept a measly check to cover this. One thing that is making me wonder is that before I bought the house, I had an inspection done. The inspector found small water leaks around the bar area (Which was put in after the house was built) and leaks in the sprinkler system. We gave the option to the owner to either fix it or give me 750 dollars and I'll take care of it. They decided to give us the 750. It's funny because they were such insignificant leaks.

Another thing I noticed was that the carpet was all removed and replaced with tile in the walkways and wood floor laminate in all the rooms. And when I moved in all the walls were painted different colors. Master was green, living area and hallway lavender, rooms were purple and gold. So I had the house painted all one color when I moved in. Now when we had the baseboards removed after the flood, the same paint was underneath the baseboards.....as if maybe they had a similar problem, and had the house repainted. Also, there are cans of paint in my laundry room which match the paint they used.

Is there a way to find out if the previous owner filed a claim and to actually know if they knew they had a problem but did not disclose this? Isn't this illegal for them not to do so? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
 

serge

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? "Kitec is bankrupt" ?

I don't understand. I thought that Kitec is going just fine?

Is this about polybutylene?

Serge
 

Master Plumber Mark

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are you sure about Kitech??

Are you absolutely sure youare talking about KITEC PEX pipe????

can you take some picutures of it and post them here to look at????

They still sell it her ein Indiana and have not heard a bad work about it....


I am going to pass this on to my sales rep for fun....


but I would really like to see some DIGITAL PICS of your nightmare......


to be sure we ar talking apples and apples......
 

ss3964spd

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Read all the paper work from the warrenty company. If the paper work does not specifically state that they do not cover re-piping the house, or specifically state they do not cover "recalled" products (assuming you are in fact dealing with a recalled product), then they are responsible to cover the claim.

It does not matter a bit what they may have said over the phone.

Dan
 

ultimachi

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Hey guys....sorry for another long delay. I will take pics of this nightmare and post them up. The pipe is going to the master shower. There's 2 plastic pipes in there going into 2 copper pipes. They're held on there by some plastic fittings. Well the one that blew was orange in color and says Kitec Canada on it. The other pipe is blue in color with the same writing. Give me about a half hour I'll get some pics up.
 

OldPete

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Boy oh boy... ok. Base on those pics, what is it, exactly, that failed? Did a joint fail? Please be VERY specific.

Pete
 

Master Plumber Mark

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that is Kitech

theie is no class action lawsuit on this product.....

I called my KITECH salesman and asked him about

it myself......


This should be a simple repair unless someone
rigged up this Kitech with stainless steel clamps
and did not use the proper connectors to install it...



from your one pic it looks like they riggedup something with
SS clamps tothat shower....and it blew




Probably what you got are some lazy crooked plumbers that
are trying to pull one over on you or your insurance company


call your home warranty insurance company and try to
find an honest one to come out...
 
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Abikerboy

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I have been helping out a plumber friend lately. Very interesting, and Im learning a lot as well. We have repaired some of this type of tube, but we dont use the hose clamps like in the picture. I would think that this is a big no no, and an accident in the waiting. We use a retaining ring (cant remember what he calls them) and a tool to clamp and crimp this ring. Very simple and secure if you do it right. I cant see why there would be any legal issue with this tube because we can get all of the rings and as much of the tubing that we want.
 

OldPete

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Yup. Basically, if you found this:
in your home, with the stainless radiator clamps, and all, and YOU didn't do it, that is totally WRONG WRONG WRONG.

The crimp method (pics above) are correct...

I don't know about the pics that have the "indents" in them... that doesn't look right... anyway... sounds to me like you have more homework to do. :(

Pete
 
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Cass

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The close up of the piece of bad pipe looks like / similar to the holes in the hose clamp.
 

Phil H2

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ultimachi,
Perhaps you should explain the pictures. To me, it looks like the adapter going to the copper pipe broke rather than the tubing failing. The photo with two worm drive hose clamps looks like a carriage bolt plugging the end of the tube. I assume that your homeowners insurance will cover the water damage. You might try contacting the manufacture of Kitec to see if they know someone in your area that can evaluate your piping and perform the repair. I think Ipex makes Kitec http://www.ipexinc.com/ . I guess you could contact an attorney if you think that the home warranty company is renigging. I know this must be a very frustrating time for you. But, the previous homeowners may not been aware of any problems. People paint and remodel for many reasons. It does not sound like you have uncovered any signs of previous water damage.
 

robert520

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Kitec Recall

Kitec had a recall in 2005 because of leaks at the fittings. It was their PEX-AL-PEX product (pex, aluminum, pex). The leaks were caused by bimetallic corrosion that would be brought on by expansion and contraction of the tubing rubbing against the brass fitting. The inside layer of pex would wear away and expose the aluminum. Aluminum and brass in contact would leak pretty quickly.

Sometime later, some bubba saw this leak and added a hose clamp to stop it. If the hose clamp was installed during original installation then the plumber was most likely not certified by the manufacturer or is an idiot or both.

PEX is easy to install but rules have to be followed. The water valves have to be supported if they are subject to weight, like a hose bib on the side of your house. Water stop valves on toilets and sinks are usually not subject to weight problems, yanking and constant on and off of the valve handle so leaving them unsupported is OK. Would I want a clamp on the short brass stub on the stop valve? You bet, as a nice to have.

I am dealing right now with a manufacturer certified plumber that thinks kinks are OK as long as it is in PEX-AL-PEX. He thinks the aluminum protects the pipe. The purpose of the aluminium is to stop O2 migration through the pipe wall, the secondary benefit is it lays straight and has a slightly smaller bend radius And that is it!

Its a dangerous world out there.
 
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ultimachi

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Sorry for the long delay again. Ok. I spoke to a plumber that I was referred to by the homeowners insurance adjuster (not the warranty company just to be clear). The plumber also stated that Kitec is still in business, just like you guys stated. He also stated that it is repairable.

The clamp you see on the pipe was rigged by me. I stuffed a bolt covered in teflon down in there, and clamped it down using the metal clamps so I can turn the water back on in the rest of the house.

I just looked at a piece of the plumbing and it is Pex-aluminum-Pex plumbing. There is a thin layer of aluminum in between the Pex.

Now this is really pissing me off because someone could have fixed this and I would have been able to get the repairs on the house started. I will contact the warranty company tomorrow and see what they say. Shouldn't there be some sort of compensation for all the crap that I have to go through? I had to live without water in the house for 2 weeks all the while the toilets smelled like an outhouse, and showers had to be taken at a friends place. It's just ridiculous.
 
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