CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Parenthetical) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 25, 2010
Current assets:
Allowance for doubtful accounts	$ 1,564	$ 5,447
Mueller Industries, Inc. stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock- par value (in dollars per share)	$ 1.00	$ 1.00
Preferred stock- shares authorized (in shares)	5,000,000	5,000,000
Common stock- par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock- shares authorized (in shares)	100,000,000	100,000,000
Common stock- shares issued (in shares)	40,091,502	40,091,502
Common stock- shares outstanding (in shares)	38,236,568	37,854,760