Income Taxes - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Thousands, CAD in Millions	3 Months Ended			6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 CAD
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
U.S. federal statutory income tax rate					35.00%	35.00%	35.00%
Dividends received from Kronos Worldwide, Inc.					$ 21,132	$ 21,132	$ 21,132
Non-cash income tax benefit related to uncertain tax positions			$ 3,000		0	4,600	0
Benefit over effective income tax rate				$ 12,200	12,200	12,200	15,200
Canadian Income Tax Audit
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Aggregate letter of credit outstanding amount | CAD								CAD 7.9
Adjustment to the reserve for uncertain tax positions, net							3,000
U.S. Income Tax Audit
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Adjustment to the reserve for uncertain tax positions, net							3,100
Kronos
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Dividends received from Kronos Worldwide, Inc.					21,100	21,100	$ 21,100
Non-cash deferred tax expense (benefit)		$ 150,300		$ (8,700)	(2,200)	159,000
Increase (decrease) in non-cash deferred income tax asset valuation allowance					$ 6,700	$ 9,800
Kronos | US-Canada APA
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
U.S.-Canada Advance Pricing Agreement, description					As a result of ongoing audits in certain jurisdictions, in 2008 Kronos filed Advance Pricing Agreement Requests with the tax authorities in the U.S., Canada and Germany. These requests have been under review with the respective tax authorities since 2008 and prior to 2016, it was uncertain whether an agreement would be reached between the tax authorities and whether Kronos would agree to execute and finalize such agreements. During 2016, Contran, as the ultimate parent of our U.S. Consolidated income tax group, executed and finalized an Advance Pricing Agreement with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and our Canadian subsidiary executed and finalized an Advance Pricing Agreement with the Competent Authority for Canada (collectively, the “U.S.-Canada APA”) effective for tax years 2005 - 2015.
U.S Income tax benefit					$ 3,400
Kronos | US-Canada APA | Earliest Tax Year
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Effective tax year	2005
Kronos | US-Canada APA | Latest Tax Year
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Effective tax year	2015
Kronos | German
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Increase (decrease) in non-cash deferred income tax asset valuation allowance					(2,200)
Kronos Canadian Subsidiary | US-Canada APA
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Income tax payable					$ 2,300			CAD 3.0