Black & Decker The Complete Guide to Plumbing: Modern Materials and Current Codes, All New Guide to Working With Gas Pipe (Black & Decker Complete Guide) Paperback – July 1, 2008

This book is great - it offers color photos with detailed instructions. I used this book to remodel my entire kitchen - some plumbing work was involved - and everything I needed was in here. It even has a good section about PEX water system - new and advanced system. It has DVD, but of course no time to view DVD while your kitchen is apart. Highly recomend!

This is an excellent book for the homeowner wanting to delve into plumbing repairs and upgrades. I'd give it 4.5 stars (if I could) because it does that very well. Saying that, it won't teach everything there is to know about plumbing- but it does not claim to do this. It has an incredible amount of very clear color photos and covers most topics that a homeowner will want to know about. It includes a free DVD which is brief but covers some basics. Reviews here faulted it for not covering PEX, but the 4th edition does, and for not saying you shouldn't use metal clamps on copper tubing, but it does mention that- although it is burried.Why not 5 stars? There is a lot of info here but the layout is backwards IMO: the "basics", like how to sweat copper tubing (the book calls it pipe) is at the end of the book when this info should be at the beginning. I think they should've started with the basics and could have done a better job organizing them so the reader wouldn't miss something. There is probably not enough info here for the reader to design and layout an entire DWV system that would meet code for a new house, that's beyond the scope of the book, so if that's your goal you'll probably need an additional source(s).

This is an EXCELLENT book, ought to be on the shelf of every home - next to the Black & Decker "Complete Guide to Home Wiring" - unless you're a complete klutz...Very good plumbing project planning (say that 3 times fast) guidance, all the repair and install basics. Deals with all common fixtures (faucet, sink, toilet, hot water heater, etc) and piping materials (plastic, copper, cast iron, black iron, reinforced hose, PEX). Even covers gas pipe basics. Comes with a nice DVD showing videos titled: Skills and Materials; Installations; Faucet Repair; Toilet Repair; and Emergencies.

Because of the great reviews I decided to purchase this book and was very glad I did. This book gave me the confidence to tackle projects that I normally would have paid someone to do.I was always very nervous about sweating copper pipe together, but I followed the excellent step by step instructions and was amazed at how easy it was. The included DVD is also excellent as well showing very informative video of various projects.I highly recommend this book for the beginner on up.

A lot of good photos and good information. There is no such thing as a "perfect" book so there are things that could have been included, but it would have to be a 2 thousand page book to include everything. It does the job of giving clear information of a wide range of things. For the price you can't ask for more. I would recomment to seasoned plumbers as well as the weekend warrior.

Very well written

Excellent book for do-it-yourself remodelers. Plenty of clear drawings and photos that are very helpful. Also, numerous tips that help you save time and money.

Excellent book. It is quite updated, and very helpful specially with the use of the PEX tubing and tools. I would highly recommend this book. I just finished installing a whole house filter and a remodeling a bathroom, and I used the existing copper pipes and the new PEX tubing. No problem so far.