Homeowners in Georgia and across the country are blaming a water pipe manufacturer for tens of thousands of dollars in damage to their homes, according to an Atlanta News First investigation. The investigation found widespread complaints from homeowners and a string of federal lawsuits against the company. All of them point to PEX water pipes made by Uponor, which have apparently been causing a significant amount of damage to the homes they’ve been installed in.
The complaints came from homeowners in two different metro Atlanta neighborhoods, built by different developers but plumbed with the same brand of pipe. Erica Skolnick lives in one such home, where leaks have damaged the ceilings and walls for about a year. Stephen Nagorny, in Canton, has dealt with similar leaks in a home that was brand new when his family moved in.
Court records reviewed by Atlanta News First show that homeowners and business owners in at least 10 states have sued Uponor in federal court over its PEX pipes. The lawsuits identify what plaintiffs describe as a manufacturing defect in the product. The company’s pipes carry a 25-year warranty when correctly installed.
Uponor declined Atlanta News First’s request for an interview and instead sent a written statement. The company said its PEX pipes have a very low in-field failure rate across billions of feet installed worldwide. Uponor also said that allegations in lawsuits do not equate to findings of liability and that multiple cases against it have already been dismissed.
What Homeowners Say They Are Seeing
Erica Skolnick told Atlanta News First that water damage has been a constant concern for about a year, and that she now scans the ceilings and walls of her home whenever she walks into a room. Three of her neighbors shared photos and documentation of similar leaks with the station, all from townhomes that were about five years old when the pipes began to fail.
In Canton, Stephen Nagorny and two of his neighbors provided records showing leaks from their Uponor PEX pipes that began within the past year, in homes that had been brand new five to eight years earlier. Eight days after Atlanta News First’s interview with Skolnick, additional pipes leaked at her home, forcing her to re-pipe the entire house.
The federal lawsuits against Uponor share the same basic claim: that the company’s PEX pipes are deteriorating and cracking earlier than they should. The complaints point to a possible manufacturing defect involving the oxidation process Uponor uses to apply the color coatings on the outside of its red and blue pipes. Most of the lawsuits, according to court records, have been filed within the past three years.
How Uponor Has Responded
In its written statement, Uponor said its PEX piping is manufactured under strict quality controls and rigorously tested by international agencies to verify safety and reliability, and that multiple independent experts have concluded there is no systemic issue with the product. The company also said that pipe performance can be influenced by operating and environmental conditions, including pressure and temperature exposure, and by whether non-Uponor components in the system are functioning properly.
When issues are reported, the company said, it conducts on-site testing and engages independent experts to assess each installation. Uponor also said it does not have records of claims for many of the homeowners cited in the Atlanta News First reporting and encouraged any affected customers to file through its warranty process.
Some homeowners who tried to use the warranty process told Atlanta News First their claims were denied. Following on-site visits, Uponor inspectors found either that the water pressure in the home was too high, or the temperature of the hot water was too high. Skolnick told the station she plans to ask Uponor to cover the cost of re-piping her home, and that she would like the company to be more transparent about what homeowners around the country are reporting.