Ditto coffeehaus' statement re acidity and pin-hole leaks. I had that problem in MD and slowly replaced the copper with CPVC with glue & compression fittings. CPVC is a good product but PEX has become the product of choice. PEX-to-PEX fittings are crimped on and there are solderless fittings for PEX to copper & CPVC. Also, plumbing PEX is different than radiant heat PEX. I like the idea of ON/OFF control at the main feed. A manifold is required if tubing is run individually to each fixture (homerun method as shown in pic above) or connections are made using a hybrid of homerun and branch feeds. I would also plan for a little more distance from the electrical panel. I have not heard of any problems with mice chewing plastic lines and I live in the Adirondacks where there are lots of seasonal homes and summer camps.

I have to agree with Jake on this one, that first response sounds like a bunch of hype to me. Let us review the facts: Both PEX and Copper provide an very good system however the aforementioned statement that a PEX homerun system saves water, Maybe it does, but then maybe just the opposite is true, depending upon the layout. Consider this, if you have a Main and Branch layout the lead time to get the hot water from the tank to the fixture will remain equal. On the other hand, if you have a manifold and home run system it is true that the smaller lines contain less water, but consider this. You go in the bathroom and turn on a faucet at the lavatory. The hot water must then travel from the water heater to the manifold and through a dedicated line to your lav, then you step to the shower and wait again as the hot water leaves the tank, travels to the manifold then up the dedicated line to your shower, and if you happen to have two lavatories and the wife turns the water on at her lav once again you wait for the water to travel from the water heater to the manifold, then through a dedicated line to her lav. If we were to realistically compute all those losses in most instances the end result would be nearly the same, if not less in a main and branch layout. On the other hand, there is absolutely nothing in the code that would prevent us from installing a manifold and home run system with copper. If reducing water consumption is the main concern, then the best method would be to install a Main & Branch recirculating system, which provides nearly instantaneous hot water at the fixture. Taking this to the next level, if your desire to conserve water is based upon environmental concerns then here again a recirculating system wastes much less water however, if your concerns on saving water is based upon savings on the water bill, it is highly unlikely that either system will have any major effect because even though most municipal water suppliers do measure the exact number of cubic feet of consumption, generally they bill in blocks of 100cu.ft. One hundred cubic feet of water is approximately 600gallons and it is highly unlikely that you would waste 600gal in a month even with a long lead time to the fixtures.(Typically a 3br residential structure will average 300gal per day total consumption.) Many will argue that PEX is cheaper than copper, but here again, that is not always true. If we install PEX in a main and branch layout then PEX defintely has the price advantage but if we install a PEX manifold and home run system we must then install a both a hot and cold dedicated line to all lavatories and the shower plus and additional dedicated cold water line to the water closet. Thus at a minimum we have 5 lines from the manifold to the bathroom whereas with a main and branch we only have i hot and 1 cold line from the main to the bathroom. Now when you consider that one PEX fixture stubout will cost nearly as much as a bag of 20 copper elbows in the end the material cost for a PEX manifold system is almost the same as a copper system. In can be argued that the labor cost to install PEX is much less, but here again, this is not true. While it is much easier to run the PEX tubing, if the PEX is properly installed per code and manufacturers requirements PEX can ultimately involve more labor time, by example, the manufacturers installation specs state that PEX must be protected from UV light, both direct and indirect. Technically speaking, if you run PEX through an open stud bay in a basement, and if that basement has windows the you are required to cover the underside of that stud bay with a light proof material. When the manifold is wall mounted it must either be in a windowless utility room, enclosed in a cabinet or provided with a light proof membrane curtain. Copper requires an hanger within one foot of every major change of direction and one hanger for every 48". PEX is required a hanger for every 38" and the hangers must allow movement of the tubing. In addition, all PEX runs must have an additional 10% overall length to allow for expansion and contraction. (Now ask yourself, when was the last time you saw a PEX installation that was done by the book? In my jurisdiction we have a plumbing inspector who is hell bent on insuring all PEX is by the book, in fact, he brags that he has yet to see a PEX installation that would pass on first inspection.) For re-work PEX has the distinct advantage that it can easily be fished through walls, but then, the same can be done with roll copper. For new construction if PEX is run in a main and branch configuration like copper the overall cost advantage certainly goes to PEX but when we consider how much more tubing is used in a manifold and home run system most plumbers will offer a PEX maifold system or a copper main and branch system for the same price. Now in regards to angle stops at the fixtures. The codes require that all fixtures with the exception of tubs & showers must have an individual shutoff valve, which in most instances is the angle stop, however with the advent of the manifold system the valve on the manifold meets the requirement in most jurisdictions. On the other hand, some jurisdictions such as mine have ruled that the manifold valve is a Zone valve, and they still require the individual angle stops at the fixture. IMHO i would not have a fixture that does not have angle stops. Consider this, you have a minor drip from the lavatory faucet. If you have an angle stop you can easily reach under the sink and turn the water off, make the repair, then easily turn the water on again. On the other hand, if you have a manifold and no angle stop you must go to the manifold to turn the water off, and with my luck, your in an upstairs bath and the manifold is in the basement, no doubt at the opposite end of the house, so you go down two flights of stairs across the house and probably have to move bicycles, lawnmowers and who knows what to get to the manifold, then up two flights of stairs to make a simple repair, followed by another trip down the stairs to turn the water on, back up to check your work and pick up your tools. Personally I am getting too old to be running up and down the stairs all day, oh, but it does have its compensation because I am billing additional labor time for all those stairs..LOL. It is also argued that PEX will tolerate freezing and thawing without bursting a pipe, which is truc, but on the other hand what they don't tell you is that rodents of all varieties, mice, rats, rabbits, and opossums seem to have a sweet tooth for PEX. In fact, in the last five year we have made more service calls to repair rodent damage to PEX than to repair frozen copper lines.

The structural engineer said they fixed all the issues so I closed on the house on Feb 1st. Structurally I have confidence in the home as it was looked over by a very meticulous city inspector as well as a structural engineer who did end up finding some things on top of what the city inspector found. The finishing work on the inside was done very poorly however. I blue taped the hell out of the house during the walk through. There were paint runs on the trim pieces and stair railing. There are some arched and crooked ceilings where they should be flat. My hardwood floor creaks because it is not flat in some areas. There's a blue halo on the ceiling where it meets the walls, might be from the painters tape. I had a toilet that felt too close to the side wall and there was plenty of room to move it over a few inches. There's too many cosmetic issues to list but I blue taped them all. They fixed few of the cosmetic issues but removed all the blue taped. They said I had to close because they had the certificate of occupancy. They said any remaining issues would be taken care of under the home warranty. Many of the cosmetic issues I can learn to fix myself and I know I'd do a much better job than what they would do. Some other issues however I'm trying to get fixed through them. Like the toilet being too close to the wall, I came to find out there's a code requirement for how close it can be to a finished wall and mine was closer than code. The builder tried to tell me the distance was measured from the studs and not the finished wall but I had already looked into this heavily and knew it was from the finished wall. He agreed to move it 1.5 inches which brings it within code. I'm not sure what to do about my hardwood not being flat. The house is level from one end to the other but within that there are high and low points. The variance is between 1/4 inch to 1/3 inch in a 2-3 foot space and is noticeable without a leveler. The builder says this is "industry standard" and normal. I might be able to get it fixed if I prove it's not, but not sure how to go about that. Are there inspectors I can hire? Would I go with this builder and do it all over again? Definitely not. And they probably wouldn't want another home buyer like me I'd imagine.

opaone- Not sure where you live, but those economics don't apply in most of the areas I'm familiar with. One of my daughters has seen the market value of her 1930's home increase by about $500K in the last 5 years. Another daughter just bought a 75 year old house -- that has not been remodeled --- for more than ten times it's original cost...and it was a bargain. My first house was a 1950's suburban rambler that I bought for $45K in 1974, did some remodeling to, and sold for over $700K 15 years ago; the buyer started an update, but decided to sell 5 years after that for $1.3 million, even though parts of the remodel were only half done. My neighbor across the fence paid about $400K for a 1960's split level 8 years ago. He has done nothing to it other than paint the exterior, and expects to be able to sell it soon for at least twice what he paid. Some people do want new houses, but many people prefer the charm and building material quality of older homes. As long as they have been maintained, older home values keep increasing over the long term. I have been through more than one market cycle where my home lost value on paper, but it's always more than recovered. In fact, I've always lived in the suburbs and have done much better with buying and selling homes than any other thing I've invested money in. I'm sure some suburbs decline, but, in areas with decent economies, suburban homes still increase in price as young people are priced out of the urban market. They seek out these homes as their longer commutes make them less expensive than a similar house close in. The lower suburban price doesn't mean the houses are falling apart. I agree with you on the trend for people to want things close by and not have to drive as much, but those types of communities and infrastructure are starting to be built where I live by savvy developers who have figured out where our aging demographics are taking us. And these types of projects, while they may not have all the amenities of living right downtown, do offer an alternative to the grittier aspects of big city urban life. In fact, we have good friends who just sold their beautiful downtown condo with spectacular views to get away from noise and panhandling, and move to a home in a nearby suburb where many things are no longer within waking distance, but the living environment is more pleasant.