By Brian Eckhouse

Sun, Nov 9, 2008 (2 a.m.)

Pulte Homes, one of the Southern Nevada’s largest developers, has agreed to pay $23.6 million to help replace pipes in thousands of homes because the pipes are vulnerable to ruptures.

The settlement requires the approval of about 4,200 Las Vegas Valley homeowners, who are represented by attorney Randall Jones of the local class action firm Harrison, Kemp, Jones & Coulthard. A vote is expected within 90 days.

An approved deal would mean Pulte — the parent company of Del Webb Corp. — will spend about $44.5 million total to replace faulty brass fittings installed at its subdivisions valleywide.

Last year, Pulte paid $21 million to repipe 2,700 homes in the Sun City Anthem subdivision, said the company’s spokeswoman, Jacque Petroulakis.

Kitec brass fittings connecting pipes in the homes tend to fray in Southern Nevada. Our infamously hard water tends to corrode the metal in the fittings, leaching zinc from the brass and leaving a powdery buildup in the pipes. This causes water pressure to drop, pipes to leak and, in the worst cases, pipes to explode.

How much each homeowner gets from Pulte in the latest settlement will be determined by District Court Judge Timothy Williams. Jones expects homeowners to get between $4,000 and $6,500, depending on how much of their plumbing needs to be retrofitted.

Regardless of what the figure is, it probably won’t be enough to repipe each home, as that cost sometimes has reached $8,000 or even $9,000.

The difference would be made up by Ipex, the Canadian manufacturer of the brass fittings, which in September agreed to a $90 million settlement with homeowners valleywide. Jones estimates Ipex’s contribution at $2,650 per home.

If the settlement is approved, homeowners in Del Webb subdivisions won’t be receiving checks, Jones said. Instead, the money will go to plumbers who would begin the repair work immediately — unless the plumbing companies that installed the brass fittings appeal the settlement, Jones said.

Pulte wasn’t the only developer valleywide to use Kitec. It was installed in an estimated 34,000 valley homes in the past decade. Some of the other homebuilders, including Richmond American Homes, have settled with the owners of those properties. Those who have yet to reach an accord with the homeowners face a May trial, a court spokesman said.