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You stop worrying about coming home to a flooded house. Kitec systems fail without warning, and when they do, the damage is severe—walls soaked, floors ruined, belongings destroyed. The fittings are made with high-zinc brass that deteriorates from the inside out, leaving your pipes one temperature spike away from bursting.
A complete Kitec repipe in Shingle Springs means removing every inch of that defective material and replacing it with copper that’s built to last 70 years or more. Your water pressure improves immediately. Your insurance company stops treating your home like a liability. And you can sell your property without scaring off buyers who know what Kitec means.
This isn’t about upgrading for the sake of it. Homes built in Shingle Springs between 1995 and 2007 were installed with a recalled plumbing system that’s already failing across El Dorado County. Getting ahead of it protects your $740,000+ investment and keeps your family safe from sudden flooding that happens when you’re not home.
We’ve been handling emergency plumbing and full repiping jobs in El Dorado County for over 15 years. We’re not new to Kitec failures—we’ve seen what happens when homeowners wait too long, and we’ve helped dozens of Shingle Springs families replace their systems before disaster hits.
You’re not getting a sales pitch from us. You’re getting a licensed contractor who shows up on time, gives you transparent pricing before we start, and finishes the job in a few days with minimal disruption. Our crews know how to work in occupied homes without tearing your life apart.
Shingle Springs homeowners deal with unique challenges—older properties, rural water systems, and a tight-knit community where reputation matters. We’ve built ours by doing the work right and charging what’s fair, which is why people call us back when the next issue comes up.
First, we inspect your home to confirm you have Kitec and map out where it runs. Most Shingle Springs homes have it feeding hot water lines, but we check everything. You’ll know exactly what needs replacing before we touch a pipe.
Next, we shut off your water and start removing the old Kitec system—pipes, fittings, valves, all of it. We replace it with Type L copper, which is thicker and more durable than standard residential piping. Every connection is soldered properly, tested for leaks, and built to code.
We work in sections so you’re not without water for days. Most residential Kitec repiping jobs in Shingle Springs take two to four days depending on the size of your home and how accessible your plumbing is. We patch walls, clean up daily, and make sure your home is livable while we’re working.
Once it’s done, we pressure-test the entire system and walk you through what we replaced. You’ll have documentation for your insurance company and future buyers, plus the peace of mind that comes with knowing your plumbing won’t fail in the middle of the night.
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A complete Kitec repipe means we’re removing every section of that recalled plumbing—not just the parts that are easy to reach. That includes all supply lines, fittings, valves, and connections. We replace it with premium Type L copper that’s manufactured in the USA and guaranteed for 50 years, though it routinely lasts much longer.
In Shingle Springs, many homes sit on larger lots with complex layouts and crawl spaces that make access tricky. We handle that. Our crews are used to working in older homes with tight spaces, and we know how to route new piping without destroying your walls or creating unnecessary mess.
You also get better water quality. Old Kitec systems accumulate buildup that affects pressure and taste. New copper piping delivers clean, consistent water throughout your home. And because Kitec failures often happen on hot water lines—where the material breaks down faster—you’ll notice the difference immediately in your showers, dishwasher, and washing machine.
This work also solves your insurance problem. Many carriers in California either refuse coverage or charge higher premiums for homes with Kitec. A professional repipe removes that risk and gives you documentation to prove the system’s been replaced, which can lower your rates and make your home easier to insure.
Most residential Kitec repiping projects in Shingle Springs run between $8,000 and $18,000 depending on the size of your home, how much Kitec is installed, and how accessible your plumbing is. Homes with crawl spaces or multiple stories take longer and cost more because of the labor involved.
That price includes removing all the old Kitec, installing new Type L copper piping, pressure testing the system, and patching any drywall we need to open. It doesn’t include major cosmetic repairs like repainting, but we keep wall cuts to a minimum and always clean up before we leave.
It’s not a small expense, but compare that to the cost of emergency water damage—which can easily hit $30,000 or more when a Kitec system fails and floods your home. Insurance might not cover it either, especially if they know you had Kitec and didn’t replace it. The repipe is an investment that protects your property value and eliminates a known liability.
Most Kitec repiping jobs in Shingle Springs take between two and four days for a typical single-family home. Larger homes or properties with complicated layouts might take a bit longer, but we work efficiently and keep disruption to a minimum.
You won’t be without water the entire time. We work in sections and restore service at the end of each day whenever possible. If we need to keep water off for an extended period, we’ll let you know ahead of time so you can plan accordingly.
The timeline also depends on how accessible your plumbing is. Homes with open crawl spaces or unfinished basements go faster. If your pipes are buried in walls or running through finished spaces, it takes more time to access them, replace the piping, and close everything back up properly. We give you a realistic estimate upfront so there are no surprises.
Most homeowner’s insurance policies won’t pay to replace Kitec as a preventive measure—they only cover damage after a failure happens, and even then, coverage can be limited if they know you had Kitec and didn’t address it. Some insurers in California are refusing to cover homes with Kitec at all or charging significantly higher premiums.
That said, once you complete a professional Kitec repipe, your insurance situation improves. You’ll have documentation proving the defective material has been removed and replaced with code-compliant copper piping. That can lower your premiums and make it easier to get coverage in the first place.
If you’re buying a home in Shingle Springs and the inspection reveals Kitec, you can often negotiate with the seller to cover the repipe cost or reduce the purchase price. Lenders and insurers are increasingly aware of Kitec’s failure rate, so it’s becoming a bigger issue in real estate transactions across El Dorado County.
Kitec fittings are made with high-zinc brass that breaks down through a process called dezincification. Essentially, the zinc leaches out of the brass when exposed to water, leaving the fittings weak and brittle. Over time, they crack and burst—usually without warning.
The pipes themselves were also designed to handle water up to 180°F, but hot water systems regularly exceed that, especially during high-demand periods. The material degrades faster under heat, which is why most Kitec failures happen on hot water lines. When they fail, it’s not a slow leak—it’s a full rupture that floods your home in minutes.
Kitec was recalled in 2005 after widespread failures, and the manufacturer paid out $125 million in a class action settlement. But that doesn’t help homeowners who still have it installed. The system has a 100% anticipated failure rate, meaning every home with Kitec will eventually experience a failure. The only question is when, and whether you’ll be home when it happens.
You could, but it doesn’t solve the problem. The fittings fail first because of dezincification, but the pipes themselves also degrade over time, especially on hot water lines. Replacing just the fittings leaves you with aging pipes that will eventually need replacement anyway.
More importantly, partial repairs don’t give you the documentation you need for insurance or resale. Buyers and insurers want proof that the entire Kitec system has been removed and replaced with reliable materials. Patchwork fixes don’t provide that assurance, and they don’t eliminate your liability.
A full Kitec repipe also restores your water pressure and quality across the entire system. If you’re going to invest in fixing the problem, it makes sense to do it once and do it right. That way you’re not paying for labor twice or dealing with another failure a few years down the road.
We use Type L copper piping for Kitec replacements, which is thicker and more durable than the standard Type M copper used in many residential applications. Type L is built to last 70 to 80 years under normal conditions, and it’s manufactured in the USA under strict quality standards.
Copper doesn’t break down like Kitec. It handles temperature fluctuations without degrading, resists corrosion, and maintains consistent water pressure over decades. It’s also universally accepted by building codes, inspectors, and insurance companies, so you won’t have issues down the road.
Some contractors offer PEX as an alternative, and it’s a solid option for certain applications. But for a full repipe in Shingle Springs—especially in older homes where longevity and reliability matter—copper is the gold standard. It’s what we recommend, and it’s what we install when homeowners want a permanent solution.
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