---- Anthony Egeln <regnsuzanne@YAHOO.COM> wrote: 
> Lessons on copper:
> Every house on my street has been re-piped because of slab leaks.  Here in northeast Florida homes are built on a concrete slab, >not a masonry foundation.  And much of the plumbing, specifically copper piping, was imbedded in the slab.  Over time, because of >the very hard water here, the copper pipes sprang pin-hole leaks, causing water to leak through the slab into the home.  

Same thing in far S. Texas's Rio Grande Valley, where I used to live.  Except there, the piping is in the attic, under a thin layer of insulation for most tract homes.  A plumber told me that the copper piping used by El Valle builders is "thin walled copper", and suggested that I use "thick walled copper" for replacement.  I did, after checking and sourcing it myself (why am I cynical enough to think I might pay a plumber for better quality stuff than I get?).  Newer homes have pvc.  Jury still out on that regarding toxicity, but then most copper is made up with lead solder.  That's no problem here, with our hard water, but in soft water (low pH usually) water, lead leaching is a problem and is a major source of lead in people.

Here most houses older than about 15 years are on concrete footings with pier and beam foundations.  If your house is on a hillside, it is almost as good as having a basement under, in terms of space down there.

But so far as the radiators are concerned, I do use distilled water.  Why use mineralized water when distilled is so cheap?

David McNeely