Quarterly Financial Information (Unaudited) (Details) (USD $) Share data in Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended
	Dec. 29, 2012		Sep. 29, 2012		Jun. 30, 2012		Mar. 31, 2012		Dec. 31, 2011		Oct. 01, 2011		Jul. 02, 2011		Apr. 02, 2011		Dec. 29, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 25, 2010
Quarterly Financial Information (Unaudited) [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 504,006,000		$ 514,165,000		$ 594,099,000		$ 577,668,000		$ 491,384,000		$ 585,809,000		$ 652,923,000		$ 687,681,000
Gross profit	65,287,000	[1]	64,447,000	[1]	71,248,000	[1]	84,493,000	[1]	63,442,000	[1]	61,825,000	[1]	79,046,000	[1]	97,807,000	[1]
Consolidated net income	16,746,000		15,570,000		18,540,000		32,817,000	[2]	13,072,000		10,741,000		22,731,000		40,542,000	[3]	83,673,000	87,086,000	87,535,000
Net income attributable to Mueller Industries, Inc.	16,368,000		15,511,000		17,917,000		32,599,000		12,928,000		10,475,000		22,331,000		40,587,000		82,395,000	86,321,000	86,171,000
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.59	[4]	$ 0.41		$ 0.47		$ 0.86		$ 0.34		$ 0.28		$ 0.59		$ 1.08		$ 2.33	$ 2.28	$ 2.29
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.58	[4]	$ 0.41		$ 0.47		$ 0.85		$ 0.34		$ 0.27		$ 0.59		$ 1.07		$ 2.31	$ 2.26	$ 2.28
Dividends per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.125		$ 0.10		$ 0.10		$ 0.10		$ 0.10		$ 0.10		$ 0.10		$ 0.10		$ 0.425	$ 0.40	$ 0.40
After tax litigation settlement															6,800,000
Effect of LIFO Inventory Liquidation on Income							8,000,000
Gain on insurance settlement							$ 1,500,000
Shares repurchased from Leucadia	10.4

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

[2] Includes $8.0 million gain from liquidation of LIFO inventory layers and $1.5 million gain from settlement of insurance claims.

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

[4] Includes the repurchase of 10.4 million shares from Leucadia in September 2012