Homeowner Anita Phillips was getting ready to leave her South Lubbock Home when she says she heard a strange noise coming from a wall in her living room.
"Ran and got the mail, came back in. The noise was worse and I was standing there thinking, 'What am I going to do about this noise?" when water came bursting through my wall," Phillips said.
She says the water ran for about forty minutes, flooding several rooms in her home.
"I had no way of turning the water off. I didn't know how to turn it off," Phillips said.
She says she and her husband knew they had a�real problem after talking to the insurance adjuster. The problem was bursting pipes thanks to Kitec plumbing connectors, which were recalled in 2005. The brand is manufactured by Ipex.
Phillips says she did her research on the internet and came to find she wasn't alone. In Nevada, Ipex settled a $90 million class action suit. The company faces more in Texas.
Phillips says she found Delta Mechanical, a company out of Nevada that specializes in replumbing.
"And they totally replaced our plumbing," Phillips said. �
To avoid the home's foundation, plumbers had to go over the Phillips' head, running pipes through the attic. It may be�harmless�during the the warm months, but in the winter, it takes a lot of insulation to protect them.
"We had two pipes freeze this winter. One of them burst, and so we will now have to go in and reinsulate, blow foam insulation into the walls to make certain those pipes are protected," Phillips said.
Delta Mechanic Representative Andy Peck�says homes built between the years 2001 and 2007 are most likely to have Kitec plumbing. He says there are signs to look out for.
"Reduced water flow, reduced water pressure," Peck said. "You may see appliances start failing like dishwashers not washing as good or appearing not to wash as good." �
He�says some electrical boxes are marked with a Kitec label on the inside, but this isn't always the case. Many homeowners�will have a much harder time knowing what brand of plumbing they have.
"Code did not allow us, or plumbers at the time it was installed, to run the piping exposed outside of the walls. So they transition to Copper. So basically it's like a phantom sitting in the wall you don't know about," Peck said.
He says people who�think they may have Kitec plumbing should call a professional to inspect their plumbing right away.
"It was expensive, but at the same time, it was something that had to be done," Phillips said. "It's not if Kitec will break, but when will Kitec break."
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