We are looking at buying a house in Kill Devil Hills North Carolina. The house has Polybutylene piping but the connectors have been replaced according to the Realtor and the Home Inspector. I have no reason to doubt them. They both say that the connectors are the problem and not the pipes themselves. The house is 30 years old, built in 1988, and the Realtor and Home Inspector both say that if a problem was going to happen due to the pipes, it already would have happened. This is going to be our retirement home and we do not need to buy a money sink hole on a fixed income.
My questions is: Are these pipes safe or should they be replaced???
My opinion is that statement is incorrect. According to above, it has not been a problem so it is AOK from now on.
I would replace the pipes. They can deteriorate from the inside from disinfectants (chlorination) in the public water system. That has nothing to do with the connectors. Polybutylene for Inspectors - InterNACHI