Leaky pipe saga goes back decades, traumatised WA home owners warn

Families traumatised by decades of what they describe as “ticking time-bomb” plumbing pipes are pleading for compassion after being excluded from a deal to remediate leaky newer homes.

The state government industry deal with pipe manufacturer Iplex and several WA builders was announced in August after an allegedly bad batch of polybutylene pipes made with a faulty resin were installed in homes between 2017-2022.

Joan Wotton and the damage to her house from leaky pipes and remediation (inset).

While Iplex – owned by Fletcher Building Australia – and WA builder BGC continue to pass blame for the faulty pipes, owners of homes built in the 2000s say they are the real losers.

Since August, more than 20 homeowners outside the claim period contacted this masthead to share how catastrophic leaks had led to a living nightmare.

One of those is Joan Wotton who bought her 2003-built Butler home in 2007.

Since then, the family has seen half the house torn apart and put back together again after four separate leaks.

While a number of smaller leaks after they moved in were attributed to “one-offs”, a major burst in 2022 in a kitchen wall saw water flood through cupboards and under flooring.

A few months later, water pouring through a bathroom light revealed a burst pipe in the ceiling.

Two more leaks in an en-suite bathroom caused further upheaval, stress, and financial costs.

The family now turns the mains water off whenever they leave the house for more than a day.

“It’s like living in a ticking time-bomb, wondering when the next one might be,” Wotton said.

“It’s the stress – when we had to have all the floors ripped up we had to have all the skirting boards taken off, trades in and out, dehumidifiers running, separate people to paint, it went on for months.”

The issue is not limited to homes in the metro area.

Shane and Julie of Donnybrook – who asked their last names not be used – estimated insurance costs to fix 13 separate pipe failures in their 2005-built home have run into the hundreds of thousands, with the couple themselves footing about $10,000 over that time.

“We are one of the thousands of WA homes that have Iplex polybutylene piping installed in their homes,” Shane said.

“I’m aware that [Commerce Minister] Sue Ellery has made announcements on this matter, however she/the government are only considering properties built within the past six years.

Home owner Nicole Rogers has redrawn on her mortgage to spend $50,000 on repiping her 2011 home. During one leak, water started seeping through electrical points in her son’s bedroom. Credit: Nicole Rogers

“We, and at least five other Donnybrook locals that I’m aware of, are stricken with this time bomb in our homes.”

This masthead asked Ellery if the government was aware of the large number of affected homeowners outside the claim period, and if there was going to be an investigation into allegations of historical cases of polybutylene pipe bursts.

In response, Ellery said customers who built outside the six-year limitation period should claim under warranties set up by the manufacturer.

However, warranty claim documents and communications obtained by this masthead show defect claims are subject to a number of conditions.

In Shane’s case, when he claimed through Iplex’s 25-year warranty he was told sample testing found no defects, thus the issue was “beyond the control and responsibility of Iplex”.

“The testing did not reveal the existence of any manufacturing related defects in the pipe which may have contributed to its premature brittle failure,” the document said.

“The testing did, however, find a significant concentration of copper ions deposited on the bore of the PB-1 pipe.

“Copper ions are known to accelerate the oxidation of polyolefin materials including polybutylene, which can lead to premature brittle pipe failure.”

Iplex confirmed the company had received a number of warranty claims for pipes made before 2017.

Quinns Rocks homeowner Vesa Mcauley was told damage to Iplex plumbing pipe installed in 2005 was caused by increased water mains pressure which voided the manufacturer’s warranty.Credit: Vesa Mcauley

“Those claims were assessed for product defects consistent with Iplex’s product warranty process,” a spokesperson said.

“If a product defect is found after our inspection and NATA-certified laboratory testing, Iplex honours its product guarantee.”

One Perth plumber is now speaking out in support of all homeowners with polybutylene pipes.

Damian Batajtis, co-owner of Wizard Leak Detection, claims the pipes have a 10-year lifespan, with inherent flaws that leave them susceptible to cracking and splitting, particularly when exposed to certain chemicals and environmental factors.

“This pipe part doesn’t necessarily burst – it cries, it weeps, it bleeds,” he said.

“Whatever you want to call it, Pro-fit, Iplex, polybutylene, it’s all the same, they’re just trying to pass each badge under a different name, but it’s the same pipe.”

On Thursday, the state government introduced legislation to extend the building service complaint period for complaints relating to Typlex pipes specifically from six to 15 years.

WA builder BGC, which is not taking part in the industry deal despite building up to 65 per cent of the homes impacted, has highly criticised the industry response.

BGC said the deal’s $180 million package to fix impacted homes was wildly underestimated – instead suggesting costs could blow out to more than $1.2 billion.

Batajtis said if the estimates included homes built before 2017, costs could escalate on an “economy ruining” scale.

“Our research shows more like $44 billion,” he said.

“It’s everywhere from Joondalup to Mandurah, to mansions to high-rise apartments – the only place I don’t think they’ve put it is in hospitals, veterinary clinics and places that sustain life, thank God.”

In the 1990s, many polybutylene piping systems experienced premature oxidative (brittle) failures in the US.

After a $1 billion class action settlement, manufacturer Shell stopped supplying pipe grade Polybutylene resin and the product has since been removed from plumbing and mechanical codes in the US and Canada.

WAtoday contacted the Master Plumbers and Gasfitters Association of WA for independent comment but they declined to comment saying: “MPGA supports the government’s recent announcement concerning this matter.”

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