Acquisitions and Dispositions (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended			0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	0 Months Ended					12 Months Ended
	Dec. 27, 2014	Jun. 28, 2014	Sep. 28, 2013	Dec. 27, 2014	Dec. 28, 2013	Dec. 29, 2012	Aug. 09, 2013	Mar. 29, 2014	Nov. 21, 2014	Nov. 30, 2014	Feb. 28, 2014	Aug. 16, 2012	Oct. 17, 2013	Aug. 31, 2013
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Severance	$ 4,200,000			$ 7,296,000	$ 0	$ 3,369,000
Proforma net sales				2,364,227,000	2,158,541,000	2,189,938,000
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Cash proceeds from sale of property		5,000,000
Pre-tax gain on sale of property	4,800,000		39,800,000	6,259,000	39,765,000	0
Goodwill allocated to disposal group							10,500,000
Minimum [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Lease-back term							8 months
Maximum [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Lease-back term							14 months
Land and Building Assets [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Cash proceeds from sale of property								4,700,000
Pre-tax gain on sale of property								1,400,000
Impairment charge recognized on fair value of disposed assets			3,200,000
Manufacturing assets [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Carrying value of assets disposed							15,900,000
Cash proceeds from sale of property							61,200,000
Pre-tax gain on sale of property			39,800,000
Total sales price of property							66,200,000
Amount of pre-diluted share after tax			$ 0.41
Mueller Primaflow Limited [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Proceeds from sale of outstanding capital stock of Primaflow									24,900,000
Net sales				57,500,000
After-tax net income				4,400,000
Carrying value of the assets disposed									25,300,000
Fair value of the liabilities disposed									7,100,000
Cumulative translation loss									(6,000,000)
ABS [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Carrying value of assets disposed										1,900,000
Cash proceeds from sale of property										6,000,000
Pre-tax gain on sale of property										4,100,000
KME Yorkshire Limited [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cost of acquisition											30,100,000
Pro forma net sales						196,100,000
Fair value of assets acquired											20,700,000
Fair value of assets acquired - inventories											17,600,000
Fair value of assets acquired - property, plant and equipment											2,100,000
Fair value of assets acquired -other current assets											1,000,000
Fair value of liabilities assumed											15,600,000
Fair value of liabilities assumed - accounts payable and accrued expenses											15,200,000
Fair value of liabilities assumed - other current liabilities											400,000
Remaining purchase price allocated to goodwill											8,100,000
Remaining purchase price allocated to other intangible assets											16,900,000
Severance				7,300,000
KME Yorkshire Limited [Member] | Subsequent Event [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Expected additional expenses to be incurred	2,700,000			2,700,000
Westemeyer Industries, Inc. [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cost of acquisition												11,600,000
Fair value of assets acquired												7,500,000
Fair value of assets acquired - inventories												1,900,000
Fair value of assets acquired - receivables												2,000,000
Fair value of assets acquired - property, plant and equipment												3,600,000
Remaining purchase price allocated to goodwill												2,300,000
Remaining purchase price allocated to other intangible assets												2,700,000
Portion of outstanding stock acquired (in hundredths)												100.00%
Fair value of assets acquired - current liabilities												1,000,000
Howell Metal Company [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cost of acquisition					55,300,000								55,300,000
Fair value of assets acquired								63,000,000
Fair value of assets acquired - inventories								27,600,000
Fair value of assets acquired - receivables								14,600,000
Fair value of assets acquired - property, plant and equipment								20,300,000
Fair value of assets acquired -other current assets								500,000
Fair value of liabilities assumed								11,400,000
Fair value of liabilities assumed - accounts payable and accrued expenses								9,900,000
Fair value of liabilities assumed - other current liabilities								1,500,000
Remaining purchase price allocated to goodwill								1,300,000
Remaining purchase price allocated to other intangible assets					2,300,000			2,300,000
Proforma net sales														$ 156,300,000