Repiping & Poly-B Replacement

Polybutylene, known as Poly-B, is the light grey flexible plastic supply pipe used in many Alberta homes built from the mid-1970s until production stopped in 1998. The Province of Alberta's own estimate, which it describes as unconfirmed, is that about 148,000 Alberta homes have it. Poly-B is no longer listed in the current plumbing codes, but codes are not retroactive: it is not illegal, and there is no rule that says you must replace it.

Alberta's safety fact sheet also notes that most installations here used copper or brass insert fittings rather than the plastic fittings that were more prone to failure.

People repipe for three main reasons: a leak has already happened, an insurer or buyer asks about the pipe, or the house is being renovated and the walls are open anyway. Some insurers ask about Poly-B, so check with yours rather than relying on what a neighbour was told.

A whole-house repipe replaces the supply lines with PEX or copper. The plumber runs new lines through walls and ceilings, reconnects each fixture, then patches the openings or leaves them for a drywall contractor, so ask which. Most houses are done in a few days, with the water off only for parts of each day.

Galvanized steel supply pipe in older inner-city homes is replaced for similar reasons: rust narrows it until pressure drops. Replacing the water service line from the house to the property line is a separate job that the City of Calgary lists as needing a plumbing permit.