Quarterly Financial Information (Unaudited) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 26, 2020	Sep. 26, 2020	Jun. 27, 2020	Mar. 28, 2020	Dec. 28, 2019	Sep. 28, 2019	Jun. 29, 2019	Mar. 30, 2019	Dec. 26, 2020	Dec. 28, 2019	Dec. 29, 2018
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 675,851	$ 619,105	$ 500,168	$ 602,919	$ 543,839	$ 608,602	$ 666,394	$ 611,781	$ 2,398,043	$ 2,430,616	$ 2,507,878
Gross profit	122,344	118,325	97,009	94,204	94,358	97,814	102,446	100,388
Consolidated net income	37,254	43,957	28,487	33,951	29,973	30,444	28,676	17,139	143,649	106,232	106,820
Net income attributable to Mueller Industries, Inc.	$ 36,420	$ 42,702	$ 27,956	$ 32,415	$ 28,170	$ 29,093	$ 27,986	$ 15,723	$ 139,493	$ 100,972	$ 104,459
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.65	$ 0.77	$ 0.50	$ 0.58	$ 0.50	$ 0.52	$ 0.50	$ 0.28	$ 2.50	$ 1.81	$ 1.84
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	0.64	0.76	0.50	0.57	0.50	0.52	0.50	0.28	2.47	1.79	1.82
Dividends per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.10	$ 0.10	$ 0.10	$ 0.10	$ 0.10	$ 0.10	$ 0.10	$ 0.10	$ 0.40	$ 0.40	$ 0.40