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Buyer Beware: Dux Qest Plumbing
Home buyer beware: Dux Qest Plumbing
Dux Qest is another product you need to be aware of if you’re in the market to purchase property. Notorious for spontaneously failing and causing leaks throughout homes in New Zealand, this is one product you do not want in your home.
Dux Qest was introduced in the mid - late 1970’s as one of the first plastic plumbing products to replace copper plumbing.
Commonly used throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s it was installed in 20,000 – 40,000 homes. In the late 80’s the product hit the headlines as it began to fail in homes across New Zealand and the manufacturer, Dux industries, withdrew the product from the market. Dux Industries offered to pay homeowners for the replacement of the product however it is unknown how many took up this offer.
Dux Qest is black in colour and can be difficult to distinguish from other black polybutylene plumbing. The tell-tale sign is that you can often find “Qest Dux” written in white on the pipe, however this has been known to rub off so it is not always reliable way of identifying the plumbing.
The product has caused so many problems across New Zealand that many insurance companies are now refusing to cover any damage resulting from the splitting and leaking of these pipes. To make matters worse, we see many cases where owners cannot afford to replace the entire system of plumbing in their home, so they just replace the area of the leak. Unfortunately the rest of the Dux Qest will undoubtedly fail and if the home has been sold in that time, the new owner will then be left with the bill.
Despite the failures of this product and many insurance companies refusing to cover resulting damage, the government has never issued an official warning on the product.
Your biggest protection against purchasing a home with this plumbing is to have a building inspection completed. A professional building inspector will be able to advise you on the plumbing and recommend any further investigation that is required.
