Hear from Our Customers
If your Foresthill home was built between 1995 and 2007, there’s a real chance you have Kitec plumbing. And if you do, you’re living with pipes that experts say will fail—not might fail, will fail.
The fittings corrode from the inside out. The pipes become brittle. One day you’re fine, the next day you’re dealing with a burst pipe, standing water, and an insurance claim that might not even get approved.
Replacing Kitec plumbing in Foresthill, CA means swapping out every compromised fitting and pipe with copper that won’t dezincify, won’t corrode in our hard water, and won’t leave you scrambling for a plumber at 2 a.m. You get a system that works, insurance companies accept, and you can actually trust. No more checking for wet spots. No more wondering if today’s the day.
We know Foresthill homes. We know how the hard water in El Dorado County accelerates Kitec failure faster than it does in other parts of the state. We know which neighborhoods have it, which builders used it, and how to replace it without tearing apart more of your walls than necessary.
We’re not a call center dispatching the nearest available truck. We’re local, licensed, insured, and we’ve been handling emergency plumbing in this area since before Kitec was even recalled. When you call, you get someone who answers, not a voicemail. When we quote a job, that’s what you pay—usually less.
You’re not hiring the cheapest option. You’re hiring people who show up on time, explain what’s happening, and fix it right the first time.
First, we come out and confirm whether you actually have Kitec. A lot of homeowners in Foresthill aren’t sure, and we’d rather check than guess. We look at your fittings, your pipe material, and any visible corrosion or leaks.
Once we confirm it’s Kitec, we map out which sections need replacing. In most cases, that’s the whole system—fittings can’t be patched, and leaving some Kitec in place just delays the inevitable. We give you a flat-rate quote before we start. No surprises.
Then we remove the old Kitec and install copper piping and fittings. Copper handles Foresthill’s hard water, doesn’t corrode the same way, and lasts decades. We test everything, check for leaks, and walk you through what we did. Most jobs get done the same day you call, and if it’s an emergency, we’re available 24/7.
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You get a full system replacement with copper pipes and brass fittings that won’t fail in five years. We handle everything—hot water lines, cold water lines, connections to your water heater, and any Kitec that’s hiding behind walls or under floors.
In Foresthill, the hard water is rough on plumbing. Kitec wasn’t built for it. The sandy sediment in our water wears down those fittings faster than in other areas, which is why we see failures here sooner than the national average. Copper holds up. It doesn’t dezincify. It doesn’t create zinc oxide blockages that restrict your water flow and increase pressure until something bursts.
We also handle the insurance side. A lot of carriers in California won’t cover homes with Kitec, or they’ll raise your premiums until it’s replaced. Once we’re done, you can show them proof of a full copper system, and that problem goes away. You’re not just fixing your plumbing—you’re protecting your coverage and your home’s value.
Check your exposed pipes near the water heater, under sinks, or in the basement or crawl space. Kitec pipes are usually blue or orange, sometimes gray. The fittings are brass-colored and often stamped with “Kitec” or “KTC.”
If your home was built or renovated between 1995 and 2007, the chances are higher. That’s when Kitec was most commonly installed in California, including here in El Dorado County. A lot of Foresthill homes from that era have it, especially in developments that went up quickly.
If you’re not sure, we’ll come out and check. It takes a few minutes, and it’s better to know now than to find out after a pipe bursts and you’re dealing with water damage and an insurance claim.
No, and here’s why: Kitec fittings aren’t made anymore. The sizes don’t match standard plumbing fittings, so you can’t just swap one out. Even if you could, the problem isn’t just one fitting—it’s the entire system.
Kitec fails because of dezincification. The zinc in the brass fittings corrodes, creates blockages, weakens the structure, and eventually the whole thing gives out. If one section is leaking, the rest of the system is degrading too. Patching one spot just buys you a few months until the next failure.
Replacing the full system with copper is the only permanent fix. It’s not what people want to hear when they’re hoping for a cheap patch job, but it’s the truth. We’d rather be straight with you now than have you call us back in six months with another burst pipe.
Most Kitec replacements in Foresthill run between $4,500 and $15,000, depending on the size of your home, how much Kitec is installed, and how accessible the pipes are. If we need to open walls or floors to get to hidden sections, that adds to the cost.
We give you a flat-rate quote before we start, so you know exactly what you’re paying. No hourly rates that climb while we work. No surprise fees when we’re done. What we quote is what you pay—and in a lot of cases, the final bill comes in lower than the estimate.
It’s not a small expense, but compare it to the cost of a burst pipe. One inch of flooding can cause $25,000 in damage. A quarter-inch leak wastes 10,000 gallons of water a month. And if your insurance won’t cover the damage because you have Kitec, you’re paying for all of it. Replacing it now is cheaper than dealing with the fallout later.
Probably not. Most insurance companies in California won’t cover the cost of replacing Kitec because it’s considered a maintenance issue, not sudden damage. They see it as a known defect that you’re responsible for fixing.
What’s worse is that some insurers won’t cover water damage caused by Kitec failures either, or they’ll raise your deductible if they find out you have it. A few carriers have even dropped coverage entirely for homes with Kitec plumbing still installed.
Once you replace it with copper, that problem goes away. You can show your insurance company proof of the replacement, and they’ll treat your plumbing like any other standard system. It protects your coverage and keeps your premiums from spiking. If you’re buying or selling a home in Foresthill, having Kitec replaced before closing makes the whole process smoother too.
Most full Kitec replacements take one to three days, depending on the size of your home and how much of the system needs replacing. If it’s a smaller home with accessible pipes, we can often finish in a day.
If we need to access pipes behind walls, under floors, or in tight crawl spaces, it takes longer. We’re not rushing through it—we’re making sure every connection is solid, every fitting is secure, and there’s nothing left that’s going to fail in two years.
We work fast, but we don’t cut corners. And if it’s an emergency—like you’ve already got a leak or a burst pipe—we’re available 24/7. Most emergency calls in Foresthill get same-day service. We’re not making you wait three days while water’s pouring into your home.
Foresthill’s water is hard. Really hard. The mineral content and sandy sediment in El Dorado County water accelerates the dezincification process that causes Kitec fittings to corrode and fail.
Dezincification happens when zinc leaches out of brass fittings, leaving them weak and prone to cracking. In areas with softer water, that process takes longer. Here, it happens faster. We see Kitec systems in Foresthill failing in less than 10 years, sometimes sooner.
That’s why local knowledge matters. A plumber from outside the area might not understand how our water chemistry affects Kitec, or how quickly it degrades compared to other regions. We’ve been working in El Dorado County for over two decades. We know what fails, when it fails, and how to replace it with materials that actually hold up in our conditions.
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