Yankee Ingenuity: A New England Home Uses Innovative, Eco-Friendly Technology

(Page 4 of 4)

September/October 2008
By Laurel Kallenbach 
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Secrets of (almost) PVC-free building

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Sally and Tony Grassi wanted to keep PVC (polyvinyl chloride), a plastic with a notoriously toxic lifecycle, out of their home. Manufacturing PVC requires hazardous chemicals, including chlorine gas and lead, and creates dioxin, which contaminates air and water and endangers factory workers. PVC produces deadly smoke when it burns.

The only place where PVC exists in their home is in the electrical wiring. Here’s what they learned while building:

Wiring. “You can’t get wire for residential use that’s not PVC-clad—but we really tried,” Tony says. Research uncovered another startling fact: Most PVC-covered wire contains lead to make it supple. The couple opted for lead-free wiring so the installers wouldn’t be exposed while handling it.

Waste pipes. Request old-fashioned, nontoxic cast-iron plumbing.

Electrical boxes. Metal boxes are readily available and cost the same as PVC. The underground electrical conduit is fiberglass rather than PVC.

Piping. PEX (crossed polyethylene) is used in water supply lines and radiant-floor tubes. The Grassis avoided copper tubing because arsenic can leach from copper mines.

Curtain drains (French drains). Instead of using PVC to manage drainage around the home’s foundation, opt for high-density polyethylene (HDPE).

Geothermal well lining. Most geothermal wells are designed with PVC pipe as liners. Because they drink from the well, the Grassis used environmentally preferable polypropylene, which is considerably more expensive than PVC. However, its insulative properties help make the geothermal system more efficient, mitigating some of the cost.


Architect: Elliott Elliott Norelius Architecture, (207) 374-2566
Builder: Cold Mountain Builders, (207) 338-4552
Landscaping: Mohr and Seredin Landscape Architects, (207) 871-0003

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