The Poly-B census
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About one BC strata in ten whose plumbing record names a pipe material lists Poly-B. Almost all of them went up between 1985 and 1999, and where a replacement year is given, the median is 2032.
Polybutylene, Poly-B to anyone who has shopped for a condo in BC, is the grey plastic supply pipe that went into a generation of Canadian homes as a cheaper alternative to copper. It has been out of the national plumbing code since 2005, and insurers now ask about it by name. [1] What is harder to find is how much of it is still in the strata stock. So we counted. Across 2,000+ samples drawn from our pool of BC strata reviews, we took every plumbing record that names a pipe material, built from depreciation reports, engineering reports, insurance applications and minutes, and looked for Poly-B.
1 in 10 | ~91% | 2032 |
|---|---|---|
BC stratas listing Poly-B in their plumbing | of BC Poly-B stratas built 1985 to 1999 | median planned replacement year, BC Poly-B |
A pipe with a birth certificate
| Category | Share listing Poly-B |
|---|---|
| Before 1980 | 3.2% |
| 1980 to 1984 | 5.2% |
| 1985 to 1989 | 17% |
| 1990 to 1994 | 23% |
| 1995 to 1999 | 22% |
| 2000 to 2009 | 0.3% |
| 2010 or later | 0% |
Poly-B may be the most precisely dated material in a BC strata. Among stratas built from 1990 to 1994, about 23% list it, and from 1995 to 1999 about 22%. From 1985 to 1989 the share is about 17%. Before 1985 it falls to about 5%, and before 1980 to about 3%, which may be later repairs rather than original pipe. After 2000 it all but disappears: about one strata in 350 built from 2000 to 2009, and none built since 2010. Put the other way round, about 91% of the BC stratas that list Poly-B were built between 1985 and 1999, and the median one went up in 1993.
Copper is still the standard. About 79% of BC plumbing records that name a material list copper, and about 38% list PEX, the flexible plastic that replaced Poly-B and the usual choice in a repipe. The shares add up to more than 100% because most buildings have more than one material: copper risers feeding plastic branch lines in the suites is a common combination.
Smaller buildings, and often in the suites
The pipe went mostly into smaller buildings. The median BC strata that lists Poly-B has about 52 units, and about 47% have fewer than 50. Among stratas built in the same 1985 to 1999 window, the median Poly-B building has about 54 units against about 72 for the rest.
Where it sits matters as much as whether it is there. In about one BC Poly-B record in four, the pipe is described as being inside the suites or on the owner's side of the line. Depending on the bylaws, piping inside a strata lot can be the owner's to repair and replace, while the risers and mains are the strata's. [2] So a building can repipe its common lines and still have Poly-B in some suites.
Same era, similar leak record
| Category | With Poly-B | Without Poly-B |
|---|---|---|
| Plumbing leak in the minutes | 81% | 88% |
| Plumbing flagged for corrosion | 33% | 52% |
| Plumbing rated aging or worse | 56% | 53% |
| Repipe underway or just done | 17% | 4% |
The obvious question is whether Poly-B buildings leak more. To keep age out of it, we compared them with other BC stratas built between 1985 and 1999. In the minutes, the two groups look much alike. About 81% of the Poly-B stratas record at least one plumbing leak, against about 88% of the others. Per 100 units a year, the median Poly-B building logs about 1.7 plumbing leaks and the median same-era building about 1.5, and the averages are the same at about 2.1. About 14% of the Poly-B buildings' plumbing leaks are serious, against about 12%.
The plumbing records differ somewhere else. About 52% of the same-era buildings without Poly-B have plumbing flagged for corrosion, the copper pinhole problem, against about 33% of the Poly-B buildings. Both groups are rated aging or worse at about the same rate, around 56% and 53%. And about 17% of the Poly-B buildings have a repipe underway or just completed, against about 4% of the others.
Poly-B buildings log about as many plumbing leaks as other BC buildings their age. They are about four times as likely to be in the middle of a repipe.
Insurers treat Poly-B as a pipe that becomes more prone to bursting and leaking as it ages, and say they may respond with a premium surcharge, a deadline to replace it, or by declining water-damage cover or the property altogether. [1] The repipe gap is consistent with councils acting on the pipe's age and its standing with insurers rather than on a leak tally.
What happens next
In about one BC Poly-B record in three, there is replacement work done, underway or planned: a full repipe, a phased one, owners replacing suite by suite, or a depreciation report recommending it. In about one in four, some or all of the pipe has already been replaced or is being replaced. Where the record gives a planned replacement year, the median is 2032, and the middle half falls between 2027 and 2039.
Cost is what moves those dates. Across all approved BC piping and repipe levies, of any material and not only Poly-B, the median is about $250,000 for the building and about $2,800 per unit, with the middle half between about $590 and $7,900 a door.
What to do with this
If you are buying in a 1985 to 1999 building: ask which pipe is in the suite you are buying, not only in the building, and look in the depreciation report and the minutes for a repipe plan and its year.
If you own a unit: find out whether in-suite piping is yours to replace under the bylaws, and check that your own condo policy's deductible coverage matches the strata's water deductible. [2] [3]
If you are on council: this is the base rate. A repipe in the low thousands per door is ordinary, and a planned year in the depreciation report gives owners time to prepare for the levy.
How we counted. Based on 2,000+ samples drawn from our pool of BC strata reviews. Figures come from the plumbing records and the council and general-meeting minutes in those samples. A strata counts as listing Poly-B when its plumbing record names polybutylene among its pipe materials or describes it in the building; mentions that rule it out are not counted. Shares are of BC stratas whose plumbing record names at least one pipe material. Build year is the corporation's first section. Leak rates divide plumbing incidents in the minutes by unit count and by the years of minutes read. Levies are approved piping and repipe levies of any material. Figures are medians, middle half (p25 to p75) or shares, rounded. No building is identified. If you use these figures, a link back to this post is appreciated.
Further reading
Frequently asked questions
How common is Poly-B in BC stratas?
About one BC strata in ten whose plumbing record names a pipe material lists Poly-B. Among BC stratas built from 1990 to 1999, it is between one in four and one in five.
Which BC strata buildings have Poly-B?
About 91% of the BC stratas that list it were built between 1985 and 1999, and the median was built in 1993. It is close to absent in BC stratas built after 2000.
Do Poly-B buildings leak more?
Not by much in the minutes. Compared with other BC stratas built from 1985 to 1999, the median Poly-B building logs about 1.7 plumbing leaks per 100 units a year against about 1.5. Poly-B buildings are about four times as likely to have a repipe underway or just completed.
What does a repipe cost in a BC strata?
The median approved BC piping or repipe levy is about $250,000 for the building, or about $2,800 per unit, with the middle half between about $590 and $7,900 a door.
What happened in a building, and whether it is normal
StrataReports reads the full document package of one strata or condo building and reports what happened in it. It then compares the whole building with similar buildings nearby, from finances and insurance to repairs, the condition of its components and disputes, and shows what is normal and what is not. Every finding links to its source page.