[MineralMan]

Exactly. I use PVC outdoors for plumbing, but would absolutely never allow it inside walls. Copper is much, much more reliable, especially on hot water lines. It can also be grounded, which PVC cannot. Even with GFI circuit breakers, the additional safety of grounded plumbing is valuable. So it costs $500 more to plumb a house with copper. So what? Plastic is for sewage and drainage, in my expert opinion. For water under pressure, copper wins every time. As for repairs. I can solder up a leaky pipe with a coupling just as fast as I can do the same job for plastic. If you get to specify...specify copper for all in-wall plumbing. For external plumbing, plastic's OK.

[Mr. Bird]

Yes, yes. But the point of this article was that people weren't even given the option of PEX. I remember a few years ago steel frame houses were on the rise because the cost of steel had made it a very attractive alternative. Whatever your preference is, don't you think we should be able to decide for ourselves?

[smoking camels]

this grounding thing is a liability to the copper system rather than a benefit to the homeowner.