"What in the world?" you might ask. This strange octopus-looking thing is called a PEX manifold. In a rough sense, a PEX manifold is to the water supply system what a circuit breaker panel is to the electrical system in a house. Back in the 80s, we used PVC (a hard plastic pipe) for the plumbing in my parents, but since that time, the construction industry has learned that PVC becomes brittle and springs leaks over time. PEX tubing has replaced the use of PVC for water supply (PVC is still used for sewer pipes) and is making inroads into the use of copper. Copper has become so expensive and is stolen so often, I decided to go with PEX. Plus, I think the manifold is cool. The manifold allows you to turn off (or on) the water to any sink, tub, toilet, etc., in your house individually. In addition, the PEX tubing is color coded: red lines supply hot water and blue lines supply cold water.
The fact that thieves don't steal PEX tubing is nothing to turn your nose up at either...my plumber told me that one customer had his copper pipe stolen out of the house, and the plumber had to re-install all of the plumbing, then it was stolen again and had to re-re-installed! So they (or their insurance) paid for the copper plumbing three times.
Below you can see what PEX tubing looks like on the end that connects to the sink (actually, a double sink in this case). Notice that copper ends are used. After the drywall is put up, valves will be attached to the copper ends so that you can turn off the water under the sink. This means that you can turn each supply line off at the manifold or at the sink, which allows you to isolate leaks or problems if they occur.
