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Is Poly B pipe or Polybutylene really bad? Are they still being recommended by licensed or certified plumbers in Calgary? Are they still popular to use right now? So many fears and questions with regards to Poly B pipe or Polybutylene. Poly B pipe was most commonly used in both residential and commercial areas in Calgary metro area. It has been used worldwide since the -90s due to its affordable cost compared to the others.
Poly B pipe was manufactured around 1975 and after quite some time it was banned or discontinued around 1998. Around 2005, Poly B was totally removed from the standard plumbing code of Canada. Despite the popularity of Poly B piping, why was it removed?
Poly B pipe is very flexible, easy to install, and low cost. The composition of Poly B piping is made up of plastic resin and it was an alternative to copper piping due to its high cost.
Many of the homeowners in Calgary took this as an advantage to replace copper piping with Poly B. However, it didn't last long compared to copper piping. It seems that the quality outweighs the quantity when it comes to plumbing pipes. Poly B was named before as a century of plumbing pipe to a problematic pipe. Wherein fact there were lawsuit filed against the manufacturer of Poly b and the coverage of home insurance was put into very minimal. If you are the owner of the house, you will not be very happy with the outcome.
The most common issue of Poly B piping is the leakage. It usually happens when you have it installed in your plumbing service for about 10-15 years. It will start with a hairline crack, and after some time, the pipe will have a leakage causing damage to the walls or slab in your home.
Another contributing factor to leakage is the incompatibility of Poly B to high levels of chlorine in the plumbing pipe system. Poly B doesn't last if it is connected to a boiler, any exposure to high temperature or heat system. Poly B is a flexible plumbing pipe and if it's not installed properly, it can be overbend and put the pipe under too much stress which will cause leakage or burst and damage your home. Once there is water leakage it could stain the walls and worse will be the presence of molds which could affect the health of your family. Also, when Poly B is exposed to certain chemicals, it will not show on the outer layer of the pipe rather it will start slowly on the inner layer of the pipe and once the inner layer is damage already, the pipe is ready to rupture or burst. Therefore, there is no way to identify if the Poly B is already in bad shape, not unless if you will remove the pipe and inspect the inner layer of it.
There are so many reasons for you to change your water piping system. You may want to select a piping system that will last until 50 years or more. Better go for quality instead of quantity.
You still can't decide what are you going to install in your piping system? We have the best certified or licensed plumbers here in Alberta Indoor Comfort that can help you decide on your needs.
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