Quarterly Financial Information (Unaudited) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jul. 01, 2017	Apr. 01, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Oct. 01, 2016	Jul. 02, 2016	Apr. 02, 2016	Dec. 30, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 26, 2015
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 523,524	$ 550,363	$ 614,266	$ 577,920	$ 472,158	$ 506,584	$ 544,071	$ 532,809
Gross profit	66,907	79,101	89,955	89,493	76,029	81,916	88,011	86,167
Consolidated net income	5,969	22,754	27,833	30,455	16,768	26,062	28,259	28,665	$ 87,011	$ 99,754	$ 88,407
Net income attributable to Mueller Industries, Inc.	$ 5,720	$ 22,258	$ 27,633	$ 29,987	$ 17,322	$ 25,978	$ 27,797	$ 28,630	$ 85,598	$ 99,727	$ 87,864
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.10	$ 0.39	$ 0.49	$ 0.53	$ 0.31	$ 0.46	$ 0.49	$ 0.51	$ 1.50	$ 1.76	$ 1.56
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	0.10	0.39	0.48	0.52	0.30	0.45	0.49	0.50	1.49	1.74	1.54
Dividends per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.10	$ 0.10	$ 0.10	$ 8.1	$ 0.10	$ 0.10	$ 0.10	$ 0.075	$ 8.4	$ 0.375	$ 0.300
Impairment charges	$ 1,100				$ 3,800	$ 3,000			$ 1,466	$ 6,778	$ 0
Interest expense	4,300
Environmental expense, non operating properties	$ 6,200								$ 4,300	$ 800