Polybutylene Pipe Class Action Plumbing Claims for Underground Slab Water Leaks on Service Lines

Many of our customers have questioned why they still have polybutylene main lines under there homes when they had there outside line replaced under the polybutylene class action settlement. First some basic info. The shutoff valve for a house can be located in a box before it enters the slab or can be located at the water heater, under a sink, behind the clothes washer, under a stairway or any location typically within 5 feet of entering the house. The location of a service line is typically near other pipes because plumbers like to cut the least amount of trenches and mark off the least amount of wall when roughing a slab house. The pipe coming out of a slab house can be blue polybutylene, grey polybutylene, copper pipe, pex, cpvc or just about any type of pipe. However, general rule of thumb is there should be a shutoff valve on service line within 5 feet of entering the house. During the beginning of the polybutylene claims, the transition point for many contractors was simply at the end of the blue polybutylene pipe, which for many house was just at the edge of the slab of the house. The Consumer Protection Recovery Center stated that "The transition point is where the yard service line enters the building through an exterior basement floor, first floor, or slab and connects with the inside plumbing at the water heater, a fitting, a cutoff valve, a pressure reducing valve, a manifold or a water meter or where the yard service line connects to the inside plumbing system at a valve, manifold or near the outside perimeter of the foundation". Given the fact that bidding on service lines replacement contracts under the lawsuit was based almost solely on lowest price (the contractor had to meet license requirements, insurance and possibly some referral or connection). Contractors wanted to do the least amount of work, since each job paid X dollars whether it took 1 hour or 8 hours. Transition points on polbutylene service lines were taken to be at the fitting normally located just at the edge of the house. Even though arguably, the polybutylene pipe should have been replaced to the shutoff valve which is typically within the home. Legally, nothing was done wrong but now many people are wondering that if they had told the contractor to replace up to the main valve (which was provided for in the class action lawsuit reimburstment), they would not be dealing with a slab leak on a high pressure service line.