Home insurers are particularly interested in learning about the type of plumbing you have in your home, especially if you want to purchase a home with Kitec plumbing. They may refuse to cover you if your plumbing is prone to leaks.
Otherwise, they may insure your home but raise your deductible or refuse to pay for losses caused by a plumbing system failure. Determine the type of plumbing in your home and tell your insurance agent the truth. You don’t want your coverage to be refused in the case of a loss because you provided false information when you applied.
Most homes with Kitec plumbing can be insured by Square One, especially if the system has never leaked before. Any damages caused by the Kitec system, however, will be subject to a higher deductible. If you ever replace your Kitec plumbing, you can get rid of this particular deduction.
Will my home insurance cover water damage from burst plumbing?
Home insurance policies typically cover any sudden or accidental water escape in your home, such as burst water lines or overflowing appliances.
That’s why insurance companies inquire about your home’s plumbing system. To charge the proper rates and offer you with the right coverage, they must accurately analyze the risk. A firm may not be able to insure you at all depending on your plumbing condition, so you’ll have to search aroundand possibly pay a higher rateif you can get coverage at all.
Don’t allow this tempt you to tell your insurance broker a white lie. When such misrepresentation is detected, your insurance may be voided. Always be truthful! If you realize that replacing your plumbing is the only option, the cost will be much less than discovering after a loss that you have no insurance coverage.
When creating a policy, keep in mind that there will always be exceptions and limitations. Always read the fine print of your policy, paying special attention to any water exclusions. If you have any questions, contact your insurance agent or broker.
If you’re going to be gone for more than a few days during the winter, you’ll almost certainly need to shut off your main water supply or arrange for your home to be checked daily.
Damage caused by frozen or burst plumbing may not be covered if you neglect to do so. Because the criteria change from one organization to the next, phone your broker before you leave on vacation to make sure you understand what is expected of you.
Should I buy a house that has Kitec plumbing?
Kitec plumbing should not be installed in a home. This is due to the fact that these pipes are prone to leaks, bursts, and breaks. They’re also costly to maintain, and insurance companies may refuse to pay for them.
Kitec plumbing, in fact, was only on the market for ten years before being recalled in 2005 owing to a class-action lawsuit.
As a result, it is preferable to avoid homes with Kitec plumbing in favor of alternatives.
How long does it take to replace Kitec plumbing?
For an entire building, the projected duration ranges from 9 to 12 months, or up to 3 full days for larger homes. During the piping replacement, residents will not be compelled to vacate their homes. Furniture may need to be relocated away from work areas where the plumbers will be working.
What do you replace Kitec with?
Between 1995 and 2007, Kitec plumbing was widely employed as a copper-free option for drinking water pipes. It was touted as being more corrosion-resistant than copper when it was first developed, but it was quickly discovered that the opposite was true. Kitec plumbing and fittings not only corroded significantly faster than copper, but industry experts now fear that all Kitec plumbing and fittings will fail prematurely. When Kitec pipes fail, they may not just leak; there’s a good risk they’ll explode, resulting in flooding.
For people who have Kitec plumbing, the only long-term remedy is to have it replaced with copper pipes. This will almost always necessitate access behind walls.
Is Kitec a deal breaker?
Kitec Plumbing has quickly risen to the top of the plumbing industry “In real estate, a “trigger word” is a phrase that has the ability to destroy a deal. UFFI, Fuses, Aluminum wire, Knob & Tube wiring, asbestos, lead or galvanized pipes, and mould are among the current list of trigger words. Home buyers and sellers are aware of them, but with Kitec, the majority of the time “Condo owners and buyers are “victims” of misinformation.
- For hot/cold water delivery and radiant heating, Kitec was the first version of plastic plumbing (also known as PEX).
- Kitec is likely in your home or condo if it was built between 1995 and 2007. It was suitable to building requirements and less expensive at the time.
- Kitec has been known to fail, with the fittings being the most typical place for it to fail. The issue is that the fittings come loose, allowing enormous amounts of water to escape. Although the failure rate is minimal, the damage is far more expensive than previous copper pin-hole leaks. Insurance companies are being summoned.
- Kitec is being replaced because of insurance companies. They have recently begun to refuse to cover both condo owners and entire condo complexes with Kitec, and their insurance policies will not be renewed. As a result, several buildings are in the process of updating the Kitec or seeking contractor quotations.
- Individual owners are usually responsible for the replacement costs. Individual owners may hire their own contractors in some instances. Before drywall is replaced, the work must be examined.
- Carson Dunlop offers some excellent Kitec advice. It is recommended that you determine if you have it, register with the class action lawsuit, and monitor the situation while looking for corrosion on the fittings or black spots/blisters on the pipe.
- Kitec plumbing has been added to the list of Material Facts that realtors must take reasonable steps to identify and report, according to the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO).
What is the difference between PEX and kitec?
Kitec plumbing has a 10-year average life expectancy. PEX plumbing, on the other hand, has a 40- to 50-year lifespan. However, the volume of water used, the quality of the water carried, exposure to the elements, and other factors all limit the pipes’ longevity.
When was Kitec plumbing discontinued?
KITECtype plumbing in condominium buildings has received a lot of attention. The following are the fundamentals of KITEC-style plumbing for those who are unfamiliar:
- KITEC (also known by other names) is a flexible polyethylene pipe system that was utilized to replace copper piping in a number of condominium buildings between 1995 and 2007.
- In some cases, hot water lines made of KITEC pipe have been found to fail. Unlike the more common “pinhole” leaks, KITEC pipe failure frequently results in a burst and high-volume flooding.
- On January 9, 2012, a $100 million class action settlement for replacement claims in the United States and Canada went into effect. While condominium corporations are encouraged to file claims, the vast number of claims that will be paid pro rata will likely result in only a little amount of money being recovered per corporation. These figures will not be finalized until the end of the claims period in 2020, and buildings that have had leaks will be compensated first.
It’s worth emphasizing that, despite the fact that KITEC has been in operation for 20 years, numerous corporations have had it in their buildings without issue. This raises the question of whether some batches of piping or installation methods were more prone to failure than others. We may never be able to provide a definitive answer to that issue. Many property managers of buildings built with KITEC plumbing will tell you that alternative piping has caused significantly more leaks than KITEC piping, at least anecdotally.
It could be a case of perception trumps reality, with the notion that KITEC pipe is more prone to damage. We’ve seen this phenomenon before in the context of other construction materials (such as urea formaldehyde foam installation (UFFI)), where an issue is raised about a construction material issue and, once it reaches the public consciousness, it can be blown out of proportion, resulting in a stigma that is disproportionate to the risk.
Indeed, the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO), the province’s regulating body for real estate brokers, has said publicly that the presence of KITEC plumbing is a “material fact” that a realtor’s failure to disclose might be considered a violation of RECO’s Code of Ethics.
So, how does a condominium corporation handle all of this information, as well as the worries that it may engender? How does a condominium company deal with KITEC disclosure in a status certificate, in particular? Consider the following two scenarios:
1) The Corporation “Imminent Danger”
While regrettable, the organization that has experienced a KITEC failure or where competent plumbing/engineering advise warns that failure is imminent is the simpler scenario to cope with. There is reasonable evidence to suggest that the KITEC in both the common elements and the units in these corporations should be replaced, preferably by a single contractor hired by the business, to maintain uniformity. The unit owners would be charged for the repairs. Until the replacement project is completed, the existence of KITEC and replacement attempts shall be noted in paragraph 12 of any status certificates.
2) The Corporation of “Wait-and-See”
What about situations in which a company learns that its building has KITEC plumbing but has no reason to believe it is at danger (apart from general understanding of KITEC’s flaws)? This is the more challenging scenario. The Board must now weigh the contrasting goals of avoiding culpability for an event resulting from a KITEC-related leak versus raising excessive anxiety (and the resulting fear of lower saleability) by reporting KITEC on a status certificate despite the fact that no leak has occurred.
In failing to disclose conditions that may result in an increase in common expenses, a company cannot prioritize resale prices over compliance with the Condominium Act. As a result, in most cases, a building with KITEC plumbing should declare this information in its status certifications. Alternatively, if sufficient support is available, a building in this scenario may choose to replace its KITEC prophylactically in order to have any mention of its status certificate removed. There are no simple solutions.
When business owners discover their company has KITEC, one of the first questions they ask is, “Who can we sue?” Frequently, the developer is the first to be targeted. After all, argue the owners, the developer must have been aware of the situation! While this is conceivable, it is crucial to keep in mind that each project is unique. It’s also worth remembering that KITEC was an approved construction product at the time it was installed.
In 2007, KITEC was no longer available for purchase.
The most recent structures in which it was placed are approaching a decade old. It would be difficult to prosecute a declarant who is likely to have no remaining assets unless there is hard evidence that he or she deliberately installed a faulty product, especially if important evidence is lost to time. The easiest defense in buildings where no incidents have occurred is that the KITEC plumbing is in good working order, as evidenced by a decade of trouble-free service.
In many circumstances, legal fees might be better spent maintaining the Corporation well-maintained and competitive in a crowded condominium market.
How long does Kitec last?
Kitec pipe was initially recalled in 2005, indicating that the product’s life expectancy is around ten years. Industry experts expect that Kitec pipe failure rates will continue to rise over time, and that most, if not all, residences with this plumbing will experience premature pipe breakdown.