Hear from Our Customers
You stop wondering when the pipes will fail. That’s the first thing you notice—the stress lifts.
Your water pressure comes back. No more weak flow when someone’s running the dishwasher. The brass fittings in Kitec systems corrode from the inside out, choking your water supply until everything slows to a trickle. Copper doesn’t do that.
Your insurance company stops treating your home like a liability. Most carriers in California either refuse coverage outright for homes with Kitec or jack up your premiums with special exclusions. Once it’s gone, that conversation ends. Your home becomes insurable again at normal rates.
And if you’re thinking about selling, you’re not handing buyers a $15,000 negotiation tool. Kitec kills deals or tanks your price. Replacing it before you list means you control the timeline and the cost—not some buyer’s inspector.
We’ve worked in El Dorado County for over 24 years. We’ve seen what happens when Kitec fails—the flooded basements, the ruined drywall, the five-figure repair bills.
Kelsey homes built between 1995 and 2007 are the ones at risk. That’s when Kitec was installed across California before the recall hit in 2005. A lot of homeowners here still don’t know they have it until a pipe lets go.
We show up fast when you call. We tell you the cost before we start. And we don’t leave until your plumbing actually works the way it should.
First, we inspect your plumbing to confirm you have Kitec. It’s usually orange and blue pipe with brass fittings, but not always obvious if it’s behind walls. We check your water heater connections, under sinks, and anywhere supply lines run.
Once we map out the system, we give you an upfront price for full replacement. Most Kelsey homes need between $8,000 and $15,000 worth of work depending on square footage and how much pipe needs to go. We don’t patch Kitec—the fittings aren’t made anymore, and temporary fixes just delay the inevitable.
We replace everything with Type L copper piping. It handles higher temperatures, resists corrosion, and it’s what California code requires for lasting residential plumbing. The job usually takes two to four days depending on your home’s layout.
We test the new system under pressure before we close up walls. You get proper water flow, no leaks, and plumbing that’ll outlast the next 50 years.
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Kitec fails because of dezincification. The brass fittings lose their zinc content when they’re exposed to hot water, which makes them brittle. They crack under normal pressure. It’s not a question of if—it’s when.
The pipes themselves aren’t much better. They were recalled in 2005 after widespread failures across North America. The average lifespan is under 10 years, and most Kitec systems in Kelsey are now pushing 20 to 30 years old. You’re on borrowed time.
Insurance companies know this. That’s why they either refuse to cover homes with Kitec or add exclusions for water damage caused by plumbing failures. If your pipes burst and flood your home, you might be paying for all of it out of pocket.
Kelsey sits in an area where a lot of homes were built during that 1995-2007 window. Subdivisions that went up in the early 2000s are especially at risk. If you bought a home here in the last decade and haven’t had the plumbing inspected, you should.
Check your water heater connections first. Kitec pipe is usually marked with “Kitec” or “KTC” on the outside, and it often comes in orange or blue.
Look under sinks, behind your washing machine, and anywhere supply lines connect to fixtures. The pipe itself is flexible plastic (PEX), but the fittings are brass. If you see brass fittings connected to orange or blue flexible pipe, that’s Kitec.
Not all Kitec is color-coded, though. Some installations used unmarked white or gray pipe. If your home was built or remodeled between 1995 and 2007 and you’re not sure what’s behind the walls, call us. We’ll inspect your system and tell you exactly what you have.
We don’t recommend it. The fittings that connect Kitec pipe aren’t manufactured anymore, so there’s no way to properly repair a section without jury-rigging something that’ll fail again.
Even if we could patch one leak, the rest of your system is the same age and under the same stress. Fixing one spot doesn’t stop the next fitting from cracking or the next pipe from bursting. You’re spending money to buy a few months, maybe a year if you’re lucky.
Full replacement with copper piping costs more upfront, but it’s the only fix that actually solves the problem. You’re not patching—you’re done with Kitec for good.
Most homes in Kelsey run between $8,000 and $15,000 for a complete Kitec replacement. The final cost depends on your home’s size, how much pipe needs replacing, and how accessible your plumbing is.
Single-story homes with crawl space access cost less than two-story homes where we’re opening walls. If your Kitec is only in part of the house—say, just the water heater or one bathroom—the price drops.
We give you an exact number before we start. No surprises, no “we’ll see when we get in there” pricing. You’ll know what it costs, and you can decide if you want to move forward.
Probably not. Most California insurance carriers won’t cover the cost of replacing Kitec as a preventive measure—they see it as a maintenance issue, not a covered loss.
If your Kitec bursts and causes water damage, some policies might cover the damage to your home (drywall, flooring, belongings), but they won’t pay to replace the plumbing itself. And that’s only if your policy doesn’t already exclude Kitec-related claims, which many do.
The bigger issue is that once your insurer finds out you have Kitec, they may non-renew your policy or require you to replace it within a set timeframe to keep coverage. Replacing it now keeps you insurable and avoids a forced timeline.
Most jobs take two to four days depending on your home’s layout and how much plumbing we’re replacing. Single-story homes with accessible crawl spaces go faster. Two-story homes where we’re running new copper through walls take longer.
You’ll have water shut off during parts of the job, but we work in stages so you’re not without water for days straight. We’ll coordinate with you on timing—if you need us to avoid certain days or work around your schedule, we’ll make it happen.
Once we’re done, we test everything under pressure, check for leaks, and make sure your water flow is back to normal before we leave.
You’re looking at thousands of dollars in water damage on top of the plumbing repair. Kitec doesn’t just leak—it bursts. The fittings crack under pressure and release a full flow of water until you shut off the main supply.
If it happens while you’re home, you might catch it fast enough to limit the damage. If it happens while you’re at work or on vacation, you’re coming home to flooded rooms, ruined floors, and soaked drywall. One Kitec failure in a California apartment building caused over $1 million in damage.
We offer emergency service if your Kitec is already leaking. Call us and we’ll get someone out fast to stop the water and assess what needs replacing. But if you know you have Kitec and it hasn’t failed yet, replacing it now is a lot cheaper than waiting for it to burst.
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