Where I live, and in most of the countries where I work, PVC pipe is bright blue. All of the coldwater grades (3 where I live) are blue. Its so often blue that "PVC blue" is a real color name. Hot water pipes are orange. I was surprised to read that PVC in the USA is usually white and that different grades of cold water pipe are different colors. Odd, but not particularly important.

The pipe projects in this book are ok, but let's face it, PVC is kinda funky and certainly will not fit in well with a formal décor. But for kids' rooms and other informal uses it's fun. Mr. Peterson gives careful instructions on how to choose and prepare pipe, how to cut and finish.

Most of the projects seem useful but I have reservations about a few of them. The chicken feeder, for example. It's important for chickens to have fresh food all the time. With this feeder, the hens can't peck to the bottom of the pipe. The new feed should not be dumped on top of the old feed because the old feed will spoil. Good chicken management requires that the old feed at the bottom of the tube be dumped out every few days, wasting time and feed.

There are only a few of these projects that I might enjoy looking at, but your taste is different from mine. Take a look inside and see what you think.

I received a review copy of "The PVC Pipe Book: Projects for the Home, Garden, and Homestead" by Chris Peterson (Quarto – Voyageur) through NetGalley.com. ( )