Acquisitions and Dispositions, Disposition (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands					3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2016	Jun. 01, 2015	Nov. 30, 2014	Nov. 21, 2014	Jun. 27, 2015	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 26, 2015	Dec. 27, 2014
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Cash proceeds from sale of property						$ 10,304	$ 5,538	$ 33,788
Pre-tax gain on sale of property					$ 15,400	$ 0	$ 15,376	$ 6,259
Mueller Primaflow Limited [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Carrying value of assets disposed				$ 25,300
Proceeds from sale of outstanding capital stock of Primaflow				24,900
Net sales				57,500
After-tax net income				4,400
Carrying value of the liabilities disposed				7,100
Cumulative translation loss				$ (6,000)
ABS [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Cash proceeds from sale of property			$ 6,000
Pre-tax gain on sale of property			4,100
Carrying value of assets disposed			$ 1,900
DWV Ontario Manufacturing Assets [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Lease-back term		22 months
Total sales price of property		$ 20,200
Cash proceeds from sale of property	$ 5,000	5,000
Payment to be received at end of Lease Period	$ 10,200
Pre-tax gain on sale of property					$ 15,400
Amount of diluted share after tax (in dollars per share)					$ 0.17
Carrying value of assets disposed		2,300
Goodwill allocated to disposal group		$ 2,400