Mr. Rooter Plumbing replaces polybutylene pipe with cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) or copper, both code-compliant and far more resistant to the chlorine and chloramine used to treat Charlotte's municipal water supply. PEX handles clay soil movement and freeze-thaw cycles better than rigid pipe, since it flexes instead of cracking when the ground shifts. Copper costs more but holds up longer in exposed runs.
Poly-B isn't only inside the walls. Many of the same homes have a "Blue Max" polybutylene water service line running from the street to the house, and that line fails most often at the connection near the meter. Piedmont red clay expands and contracts with rainfall, and that movement stresses the joint over years. If a leak detection call turns up a wet spot near the meter, a failed Blue Max line is a common cause. A video camera inspection confirms the failure point before anyone digs.
Whole-home repiping is one of several plumbing replacement and installation services we handle for older Charlotte housing stock. Homes from the 1920s through the 1950s in Myers Park and Dilworth carry cast iron drains and galvanized supply lines instead, while anything from 1996 forward is more likely PEX or CPVC.
