CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 29, 2018	Dec. 30, 2017	[1]	Dec. 31, 2016	[1]
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 2,507,878	$ 2,266,073		$ 2,055,622
Cost of goods sold	2,150,400	1,940,617		1,723,499
Depreciation and amortization	39,555	33,944		35,133
Selling, general, and administrative expense	148,888	140,730		135,811
Gain on sale of assets, net	(253)	(1,491)	[2]	0	[2]
Impairment charges	0	1,466	[2]	6,778	[2]
Insurance recovery	(3,681)	0		0
Operating income	172,969	150,807		154,401
Interest expense	(25,199)	(19,502)		(7,387)
Environmental expense	(1,320)	(7,284)		(1,279)
Other income, net	3,967	2,951		295
Income before income taxes	150,417	126,972		146,030
Income tax expense	(30,952)	(37,884)		(48,137)
(Loss) income from unconsolidated affiliates, net of foreign tax	(12,645)	(2,077)	[2]	1,861	[2]
Consolidated net income	106,820	87,011	[2]	99,754	[2]
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(2,361)	(1,413)		(27)
Net income attributable to Mueller Industries, Inc.	$ 104,459	$ 85,598		$ 99,727
Weighted average shares for basic earnings per share (in shares)	56,782	56,925		56,572
Effect of dilutive stock-based awards (in shares)	487	559		597
Adjusted weighted average shares for diluted earnings per share (in shares)	57,269	57,484		57,169
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 1.84	$ 1.50		$ 1.76
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	1.82	1.49		1.74
Dividends per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.4	$ 8.4		$ 0.375

[1] The Consolidated Statements of Income for prior periods have been adjusted to reflect the adoption of ASU 2017-07, Compensation - Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost. The components of net periodic benefit cost (income) other than the service cost component are included in other income, net in the Consolidated Statements of Income. Refer to Note 1 for further discussion.

[2] The Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for prior periods have been adjusted to reflect the adoption of ASU 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash. The Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows reflect the changes during the periods in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash. Therefore, restricted cash activity is included with cash when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown. Refer to Note 1 for further discussion.