Quarterly Financial Information (Unaudited) (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011		Oct. 01, 2011		Jul. 02, 2011		Apr. 02, 2011		Dec. 25, 2010		Sep. 25, 2010		Jun. 26, 2010		Mar. 27, 2010		Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 25, 2010	Dec. 26, 2009
Quarterly Financial Information (Unaudited) [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 491,384		$ 585,809		$ 652,923		$ 687,681		$ 526,901		$ 507,240		$ 540,388		$ 485,268
Gross profit	63,442	[1]	61,825	[1]	79,046	[1]	97,807	[1]	69,380	[1]	69,643	[1]	73,743	[1]	72,220	[1]
Consolidated net income	13,072		10,741		22,731		40,542	[2]	17,952		18,747		16,037		34,799	[3]	87,086	87,535	5,337
Net income attributable to Mueller Industries, Inc.	12,928		10,475		22,331		40,587		17,746		18,909		15,558		33,958		86,321	86,171	4,675
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.34		$ 0.28		$ 0.59		$ 1.08		$ 0.47		$ 0.50		$ 0.41		$ 0.90		$ 2.28	$ 2.29	$ 0.13
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.34		$ 0.27		$ 0.59		$ 1.07		$ 0.47		$ 0.50		$ 0.41		$ 0.90		$ 2.26	$ 2.28	$ 0.12
Dividends per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.10		$ 0.10		$ 0.10		$ 0.10		$ 0.10		$ 0.10		$ 0.10		$ 0.10		$ 0.40	$ 0.40	$ 0.40
After tax Insurance settlement							6,800								23,300		0	22,736	0
Impairment charges, primarily goodwill																	$ 0	$ 0	$ 29,755

[1] Gross profit is net sales less cost of goods sold, which excludes depreciation and amortization.

[2] First quarter of 2011 includes gain from litigation settlement of $6.8 million after tax.

[3] First quarter of 2010 includes gain from insurance settlement of $23.3 million after tax.