Cresline Plastic Pipe Company Corp. pipes

The reports, as CPSC published them

1. No one hurt

   Made Dec 29, 2021 · , sent to the company Mar 24, 2022 · , published by CPSC Apr 7, 2022

   The product, in the report: Polybutylene pipe

   This letter is to ask for your assistance in a very important matter involving the Cresline Plastic Pipe Company, involving not only myself but tens of thousands of other homeowners nationwide.

   Back in 1997 I was notified that I was eligible to participate in a class action lawsuit settlement because of the defective polybutylene pipe plumbing that had been installed in my home when it was built. This was good news as I had already had two previous pipe failures due to improperly designed crimps which over time would fail. To resolve this problem my entire home plumbing system would be replaced with Flowguard Gold CPVC pipe which was installed 10/6/1997. Unfortunately as I would come to find out, swapping the defective poly pipe out with defective CPVC didn’t do anything to solve the problem of leaking defective plumbing.

   Just six years later I had my first Cresline pipe failure in the wall behind my master bath shower wall. Since my Cresline pipe was warranted for the life of the original owner at install I contacted Cresline and provided them with the required paperwork and samples. After its review they advised it was not a product failure but improper installation. When I pressed them on this the company really didn’t care, frustrated I let it go.

   Then in 2019 a Cresline CPVC pipe in the attic cracked and started leaking in the garage, after turning off the water I went up to check it out I found the pipe was cracked and leaking, when I was beginning the process to repair it the pipe broke apart which at the time didn’t matter as I had to fix it anyway. I replaced the damaged drywall in the garage ceiling and didn’t bother to contact Cresline concerning this matter.

   Around April 2020 I found a serious leak in the wall behind the guest bathroom sink, I didn’t notice it before because it was a slow leak but was worse when I found it. When I checked out the area under the cabinet, I could see the cabinet bottom started to warp, the cabinet base had expanded from absorbing water. When I tracked the water leak, I saw it didn’t originate from the water system immediately supplying the sink, so I cut out a small hole in the back of the cabinet and saw it was leaking in the wall badly. For access I had to cut a hole in the guest bedroom wall behind the bathroom and saw the pipe had cracked like in the attic and was still attached but barely, when I put my hand on the pipe is just came apart, luckily I had shut the water off but the water in the pipe poured out inside the wall.

   This leak was a problem as it caused a decent amount of damage, ruined the bathroom cabinet, the drywall behind the cabinet, floor tile damage from the water leak, ruined my bamboo wood floor in the guest bedroom, estimated cost to repair about 8,000.

   Now because of this damage I contacted Cresline and have been working with a [REDACTED], since April of 2021. While Cresline was not forthcoming I was persistent and demanded answers because I wanted my damage repaired and paid for by Cresline. Bottom line their engineer advised that CPVC pipes get brittle over the years, in [REDACTED] last email he said quote “As long as the pipe was properly installed, is not abused, and is handled properly (see the guidelines we sent you), it should provide trouble-free service. Cresline stands behind its pipe and its warranty, but here the failure in the pipe (manufacturer unknown) was not caused by any defect in the pipe’s material or workmanship.”

   Let’s take this statement apart. I didn’t install the Cresline Pipe a licensed contractor did, it was inspected as required by the city to make sure it met building code. However, I don’t know if Cresline gave the contractor written instructions on how to install its plumbing as they had recently sent to me or advised the code enforcement of their special installation requirements. Yet they felt it important to tell me like I would know or had some control over the contractor or code enforcement in 1997 concerning the pipe installation.

   Not sure how you can abuse pipes in a closed wall, but they brought it up. They also claim a piece of the pipe I send them was not theirs (unknown), but both pieces of the pipe in question says Cresline on it.

   Bottom line just as in 2004 and now none of the problems I’ve experienced was their products fault, which he advises will provide trouble free service. This last statement is what I have a problem with because its not true, a simple search online will quickly put that nonsense to rest. Online you will find many posts, some videos concerning the numerous problems people have had with Flowguard Gold CPVC. Lawsuits from those who can afford to bring them involving tens of thousands of dollars in losses etc. Currently the law firm of [REDACTED] is investigating Cresline for not standing by their warranty or taking any responsibility for homeowner losses resulting from Cresline CPVC pipe failures. You’ll find in your search the problems are pretty much all the same, Cresline pipes break at the glue joint, have defects in the pipe and or fittings, that these pipes fail prematurely, engineers have stated they should have a reliable life span of at least 40 years.

   Another problem those of us with Flowguard Gold CPVC face is like with the polybutylene I had replaced it is not easy to find homeowner insurance that will insure your home. In fact, I know of home sales that fell through because of questions about defective pvc type pipes, Insurance companies don’t want to pay claims due to a defective product. I’ve not called my insurance company yet because I already pay an exorbitant yearly premium and I’m afraid If I file a claim they will deny it because of the defective pipe, deny and cancel my policy or hike my rates even higher than they are now which I cannot afford to happen.

   The real problem is Cresline won’t accept any responsibility for selling defective CPVC because if they do, they will open themselves up to a tsunami of nationwide lawsuits.

   Can you imagine how many thousands of homeowners have suffered financial loss due to these defective pipes or had no idea when they bought their home it was plumbed with defective CPVC pipe that could burst at any moment. I’m sure once they did find out just about all would seek satisfaction causing a real financial mess for Cresline, and also their real estate company who sold them the property with defective CPVC, and fights with their insurance company to get their CPVC related claims approved.

   I wrote to you because I have no where to turn for satisfaction, I can sue Cresline but that’s a case of David vs Goliath, they can afford to hire legal counsel which I cannot, I’m sixty-eight years old, live on a fixed income the stress of a lawsuit and all the upfront and ongoing legal fees and years of litigation I would face makes that a nonstarter. This has been my home since 1986, I keep it looking good, I know over time things break but this CPVC pipe is defective and fails prematurely, my concern is that it will fail and destroy my homes interior and personal belongings as it has done to others.

   I need your help but so do all those other homeowners who have this defective pipe in their homes, some may know because of failures, and some may not but one day they will and that’s a day I wouldn’t wish on anybody. By exposing the evident financial, stress and health problems that CPVC pose to homeowners would be a great service to all homeowners, the problem is the average homeowners like myself have few if any options to fight a big nationwide corporation that will say, do and spend anything to not be held liable for selling defective products they should be liable for.

   I’m updating my report because I was notified that my complaint did not meet your criteria concerning product causing potential harm. While I understand this is not like a poorly made product that could physically harm the person using it, it does cause harm all the same.

   My wife an I are 69 years old and feel broken water pipes can cause us definite harm if we fall from slipping on water, which by the why I did have a very bad fall when the original plumbing failed and flooded our home in the middle of the night. I heard my daughter screaming because the sound of water in the walls was intense, running in without knowing about the water resulted in a serious fall that today would do me very serious physical harm or maybe worse.

   [REDACTED]

   Also my concern is the financial harm my wife and I would face should the pipes fail and destroy my home. These pipes prematurely fail during normal use but their deterioration accelerates in high temperatures and when my home was replumbed all the CPVC pipe installed runs through my attic which gets to the mid 130s during our Florida summers. There are numerous lawsuits where people incurred upwards of 50,000 in losses and their homeowner insurance would not pay the claim do to faulty defective product.

   Please reconsider your stance concerning this matter, we are talking billions in losses nationwide and the manufacturers are just gaming the system which makes it almost impossible for the homeowner to hold them responsible.

   Model

   Flow Guard Gold CPVC

   Where

   Unspecified: Unspecified

   Who was involved

   Age 66, Unknown

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Unspecified

   As this report names them

   Brand Cresline Plastic Pipe Company Corp., made or sold by Cresline Plastic Pipe Co., Inc

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Incident, No Injury

CPSC’s disclaimer

Sources