Q: Our new house is framed, and we just noticed that our builder is using plastic instead of copper piping for the plumbing throughout our new house. This surprised me - I hadn't seen this before. What do the pros think of plastic plumbing pipes? Is it as good or better than copper?

A: It is the piping of the future. Whether or not plastic is better than copper depends upon whom you ask. If you ask me, I'll say plastic. I'll tell you why. When piping water started out several thousand years ago the materials available were basically clay and/or lead. Hence the name of the person who installs pipe: a plumber, which comes from the...