Encinitas's 1980s housing boom coincided with the widespread use of polybutylene (poly-B) supply pipes — a plastic material that was later found to degrade when exposed to chlorinated water. Polybutylene is no longer manufactured or approved by U.S. building codes, but thousands of Encinitas homes still have it running through their walls and under their slabs. The material deteriorates from the inside, becoming brittle and developing micro-fractures that eventually cause sudden, catastrophic failure — often with no warning symptoms beforehand.Homewerx replaces polybutylene and aging copper systems with modern PEX piping, which is specifically designed to resist chlorine degradation and has a projected lifespan exceeding 50 years. For Encinitas's tract-home construction, repiping is relatively straightforward: standardized floor plans allow efficient routing, attic access is typically available for overhead runs, and drywall repair is simpler than the plaster found in older San Diego neighborhoods. A typical Encinitas repipe completes in 2–3 days.