Copper lines usually go bad from acidic water which lets the copper develop pinholes; occasionally you'll have solder joint failure.

If the copper makes you feel better then use it, plumbers in my area pipe their own houses in pex and only care for copper because they make more on material upcharge and labor to install.As a side note- acidic water breaks down copper, which ingesting can cause health issues, and can cause pinholes in copper piping.

Keep 2 plungers in the house, along with Liquid Fire or other acid drain opener.

The drano essensially is like an acid that can eat through the hair but with too much it may damage piping.

Steven Maduro, you can get rid of roaches permanently with "Roach Prufe", which is boric acid.

One other item to (politely) hit your neighbor over the head with is the fact that a tree's roots will continue to grow for months AFTER it is cut down.Suggest to your neighbor to have a sewer service use a cutter blade and clear out his line, and then use an acid wash on a regular basis to keep the roots from overgrowing his sewer.  

Plumbing is a great example - as an ex-plumber I'd take PEX over galvanized any day, and even over copper (at least the newer stuff) especially if you live where the water is somewhat acidic.

I think James is off the acid now. 

You must be ready to increase you gas pipe by one size,,,if your running 3/4" black pipe get ready to increase to 1".You must run a dedicated 120 volt circuit to the unit.You must ready ready for maintenance ie flushing out the unit with a mild acid solution every 4 to 6 months,,,,If you can handle that,,,,,,the good news is ,,you now have a water heater that will last and last a long time without replacement ,,,,,if youll do the maintenance,,,,no more leaky tanks,,,,,,if your unit fails its usaully an inexpensive electronic component problem ,,easy to change out ,,,,OK gang ,,Im off my soapbox,,,,Best of luck in 2014Dave DoyleLos Angeles

If the fires took place more than a week ago and they were not taken care of properly, you can expect a large bill.Basically, the soot from smoke is acidic and will permanently discolor walls, carpet, ceilings, appliances, etc..