Hear from Our Customers
You’re not dealing with a slow drip that gives you warning signs. Kitec pipes burst suddenly, flooding rooms in minutes and causing damage that runs into tens of thousands of dollars.
When you address Kitec plumbing problems in Roseville before failure happens, you’re protecting more than just your walls and floors. You’re keeping your insurance coverage intact, because many carriers in California now refuse claims on homes with known Kitec systems. You’re preserving your home’s value, since buyers and their inspectors will flag this issue immediately during any sale.
The right move is a full assessment followed by replacement with modern materials that won’t corrode from the inside out. That means no more wondering if today’s the day your hot water line gives out. No more worrying about what your insurance company will say when they find out. Just a plumbing system that works the way it’s supposed to, backed by people who show up when they say they will and charge what they quoted.
We’ve been handling emergency calls and full system replacements across El Dorado County and the greater Sacramento area for more than 24 years. That’s long enough to have seen the first wave of Kitec failures start rolling in, and long enough to know exactly what needs to happen when you discover those orange and blue pipes in your walls.
We’re not the biggest name in the phone book, but we’re the ones who answer at 2 AM when your water heater line bursts. We’re the crew that shows up on time, walks you through what’s actually broken, and gives you a price that doesn’t mysteriously inflate once the work starts. Our Google rating sits at 4.7 out of 5 because we do what we say we’re going to do.
Roseville homeowners call us because they need someone who knows the local building codes, understands how homes in this area were plumbed during the Kitec era, and can get the job done without the runaround.
First, we come out and confirm whether you actually have Kitec. The orange and blue pipes are the giveaway, but we also check the fittings and assess how much of your system is affected. Most homes have it running to the water heater and throughout the hot water lines, though some installations went further.
Once we know what we’re dealing with, we give you a clear recommendation. If the system hasn’t failed yet, you’ve got time to plan a full replacement on your schedule instead of in panic mode at midnight. If you’re already dealing with a leak or burst, we handle the emergency repair to stop the damage, then map out the permanent fix.
Replacement typically means running new PEX lines to replace the Kitec sections. We work in stages if that makes sense for your budget and timeline, though most people prefer to get it all done at once. The process involves accessing the existing lines, removing the old pipe and fittings, installing the new system, pressure testing everything, and making sure your walls and ceilings are closed back up properly.
You’ll know the cost before we start, and if something changes during the job, we tell you before we proceed. No surprise bills, no “oh by the way” charges after the fact.
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When we take on a Kitec repair in Roseville, you’re getting a full assessment of your plumbing system, not just a patch job on whatever’s leaking today. We identify every section of Kitec in your home, explain which areas are highest priority, and lay out your options for repair or replacement.
For emergency Kitec leak repair in Roseville, we’re available 24/7. That matters when a fitting fails at 11 PM on a Sunday and water’s pouring into your living room. We’ll stop the immediate problem, assess the damage, and help you figure out next steps once the crisis is contained.
Full replacement projects include removing all Kitec pipe and fittings, installing new PEX or copper lines depending on your preference and budget, updating connections to your water heater and fixtures, pressure testing the entire system, and coordinating any necessary drywall or ceiling repairs with trusted local contractors. Roseville homes built in the late 90s and early 2000s often have Kitec running through attics and crawl spaces, which means the replacement process needs someone who understands how to work in those tight spaces without tearing your house apart.
We also handle the permitting and inspection requirements for Placer County, so you’re not left figuring out the paperwork on your own.
Look for orange and blue plastic pipes, usually near your water heater or running through your attic or crawl space. The orange pipes carried hot water, and the blue carried cold. The fittings connecting these pipes are brass and often stamped with “Kitec” or the manufacturer names like IPEX or KTC.
If your home was built or renovated between 1995 and 2007 in the Roseville area, there’s a real chance you have it. Builders used Kitec because it was cheaper and easier to install than copper, and it was marketed as a reliable alternative. That turned out not to be true, but thousands of homes in the Sacramento region still have these systems.
If you’re not sure, we can come out and check. It takes about 20 minutes to identify whether you’ve got Kitec and how extensive the installation is. Better to know now than to find out when a pipe bursts and you’re dealing with an insurance claim.
Kitec fails because of two main issues: the brass fittings corrode from the inside due to a process called dezincification, and the pipes themselves can’t handle sustained high temperatures. Your water heater likely runs hotter than the 180°F maximum these pipes were rated for, which accelerates breakdown.
The fittings are the bigger problem. As the zinc leaches out of the brass, the metal weakens and eventually cracks or bursts. This doesn’t happen gradually with a slow drip you can catch early. It happens suddenly, often under normal water pressure, and the result is a full break that floods wherever the pipe is located.
There’s no exact timeline for when your specific system will fail. Some Kitec installations started having problems within 5 to 10 years. Others have lasted longer. But every plumber who’s worked with this material will tell you the same thing: it’s not a question of if, but when. The recalls started in 2005, and the manufacturer stopped making it in 2007 for a reason.
Full Kitec replacement in a typical Roseville home usually runs between $6,000 and $15,000, depending on how much of your plumbing system is affected and how accessible the pipes are. Smaller jobs where Kitec only runs to the water heater might come in around $4,500. Larger homes with Kitec throughout the hot and cold water lines can push toward the higher end.
The cost includes removing all the old pipe and fittings, running new PEX lines, making the connections to your fixtures and water heater, pressure testing everything, and handling the permit and inspection process. If we need to open up walls or ceilings to access the pipes, that adds to the total, though most Roseville homes have enough attic and crawl space access to minimize that.
We give you a written estimate before any work starts, and we stick to it unless you approve a change. Some companies lowball the quote to get in the door, then hit you with add-ons once they’ve already torn into your walls. We don’t operate that way. The price we quote is the price you pay.
Most homeowners insurance policies won’t cover the cost of replacing Kitec as a preventive measure. They see it as a maintenance issue or a pre-existing condition, not a sudden covered loss. Where insurance sometimes comes into play is if a Kitec pipe actually bursts and causes water damage to your home. In that case, they may cover the damage to your walls, floors, and belongings, but not the cost of replacing the plumbing itself.
Here’s the bigger problem: if your insurance company finds out you have Kitec and you haven’t replaced it, they may increase your premiums, add exclusions to your policy, or even refuse to renew your coverage. Some carriers in California are taking a hard line on this because they’ve paid out too many claims on Kitec failures.
If you’re buying a home in Roseville and the inspection reveals Kitec, expect your lender or insurance company to flag it. You might be required to replace it before closing, or you’ll face higher insurance costs from day one. The settlement fund that was set up for Kitec claims closed years ago, so that’s not an option anymore either.
Replacing just the fittings sounds like a way to save money, but it doesn’t actually solve the problem. The fittings are the most common failure point, but the pipe itself is also defective. Even if you swap out every brass Kitec fitting for a new one, you’re still left with pipe that can’t handle the temperatures your water heater produces.
There’s also a practical issue: accessing and replacing every single fitting in your system is almost as much work as replacing the whole thing. You’d still need to open up walls and ceilings, shut down your water, and spend the labor hours to make all those connections. By the time you’ve done that, you might as well have run new pipe and eliminated the problem completely.
Some homeowners try to do partial replacements, fixing only the sections that have failed or are most at risk. That can buy you time if you’re not ready for a full replacement, but it’s a temporary fix. You’re still living with a system that’s going to fail again, and you’ll end up paying for multiple service calls instead of handling it once and being done.
Most full Kitec replacements take between two and five days, depending on the size of your home and how much of the system needs to be redone. A straightforward job in a single-story house with good attic access might be done in two days. A larger two-story home with Kitec running through multiple bathrooms and the kitchen will take closer to a week.
During the work, your water will be shut off for portions of each day, but we coordinate with you so you’re not left without water overnight or during times when you need it most. We also work to minimize the mess and disruption, though there will be some dust and noise when we’re accessing pipes behind walls or in the attic.
Roseville’s building department typically processes permits within a few days, and the final inspection happens after we’ve completed the installation and tested everything. We handle all of that coordination so you don’t have to track down inspectors or figure out what paperwork needs to be filed. Once the inspection passes, you’re done. New plumbing, no more Kitec, and one less thing to worry about.
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