Plumbing Pipes
Building Materials Lisa Powers Building Materials Lisa Powers

Plumbing Pipes

We are in the process of a home renovation project, which includes moving our kitchen and several lightly used bathrooms (powder roomand guest room/office bathroom). Our contractor was planning to use PEX piping for all incoming water.  I know there are concerns about leaching from PEX pipes.  Would you share that concern?

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Vinyl Plank Flooring
Building Materials Lisa Powers Building Materials Lisa Powers

Vinyl Plank Flooring

Thank you for all the fabulous info. We are looking to remodel our house and live in it 5-7 years before we build a house with a more non toxic budget. I am trying to find a good wood flooring that I won’t be worried about us living with but also something that we can afford for our remodel. Our contractor would like to use lifeproof vinyl plank, which claim to be phthalate & formaldehyde free. Any other cautions for this brand?

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Does Ecos Air Purifying Paint Make Toxic Chemicals Stick to Walls?
Building Materials Debra Lynn Dadd Building Materials Debra Lynn Dadd

Does Ecos Air Purifying Paint Make Toxic Chemicals Stick to Walls?

I have used many ECOS paint and varnish products, but I've never used their "air purifying" products, and I just had a thought about them. They have trade-secret "inert minerals" that "trap" various harmful toxins and "transform each wall in your home into a massive indoor air filter." This sounds good until you realize that this means THE HARMFUL TOXINS NEVER LEAVE.

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Time it Takes for Kitchen Cabinets to Offgas
Building Materials Debra Lynn Dadd Building Materials Debra Lynn Dadd

Time it Takes for Kitchen Cabinets to Offgas

We are having new kitchen cabinets built (using solid wood doors and Purebond plywood interiors). My builder is suggesting using waterborne products for finishing but I am nervous about the VOC's. He would be spraying them at his shop then bringing them to our house. I was searching for info. on the internet and came across this claim by a cabinet company. Is this true?

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Formaldehyde Free Plywood
Building Materials Debra Lynn Dadd Building Materials Debra Lynn Dadd

Formaldehyde Free Plywood

are you familiar with PureBond formaldehyde-free plywood? It is apparently available at Home Depot, and it is soy-based rather than using the urea formaldehyde. I typically avoid soy (have a bit of a food sensitivity to it and don’t think it’s great for us overall), but in this instance, we won’t be eating it, and it seems much better than typical plywood. But I’m wondering if you are familiar with it and recommend it, or if there are any other concerns I should be aware of with this product.

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Can These Fumes Harm My Child?
Building Materials Debra Lynn Dadd Building Materials Debra Lynn Dadd

Can These Fumes Harm My Child?

We had an oil based low voc polyurethane applied to our hardwood floors on the entire first floor of our house. Unfortunately I wasn't aware of the toxicity until after it was done and still smelled for weeks and I started researching.  We have a young child and was running air purifiers but after 6 weeks and a lot of research on that and the carpets we had installed in the other room at the same time we decided to remove all the hardwoods and put tile down. 

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Aromatic Cedar in a Closet
Building Materials Debra Lynn Dadd Building Materials Debra Lynn Dadd

Aromatic Cedar in a Closet

I am designing a closet for a client. She has a moth problem and I was going to back some of the walls with aromatic cedar. However, she was told that aromatic cedar is 'toxic'. I think the wood dust is toxic, when the material is sawed, When it is installed maybe someone could be allergic to it ?

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Sealant to Block Smell of Wood
Building Materials Debra Lynn Dadd Building Materials Debra Lynn Dadd

Sealant to Block Smell of Wood

I recently purchased a wool bed from Shepherd's Dream and am waiting for it's arrival. I have an ash platform bed from Bedworks of Maine. The slats are unfinished but I find the natural odor of wood bothersome. I have already put them in the sun and it helped some, but not enough. Can they be finished or sealed with the shellac you recommend or something else so I can't smell the wood or would this compromise the mattress?

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Nontoxic Drywall Mud
Building Materials Debra Lynn Dadd Building Materials Debra Lynn Dadd

Nontoxic Drywall Mud

I need a nontoxic drywall mud, quick! Someone had told me the Kerabond would be a good choice, but after mixing a little I realized that it's a sandy grout, ONLY for use with tiles. (By the way, it's totally safe for me! Now I want to do a tile project!) Anyway, some workmen used Murco here a few years ago, but I had a bad experience with that. Any suggestions? This time I'm doing the mudding myself (it's just covering a few seams.) 

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Nontoxic Wood Filler
Building Materials Debra Lynn Dadd Building Materials Debra Lynn Dadd

Nontoxic Wood Filler

I'm chemically sensitive and searching all over the web for a Safe (safer : ) wood putty for interior windowsills.. primarily where the old wood sill meets the relatively new metal storm windows...so I guess they are both outside (as far as moisture etc and inside as far as VOC and other irritant concerns..

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Hardwood Flooring Reeks
Building Materials Debra Lynn Dadd Building Materials Debra Lynn Dadd

Hardwood Flooring Reeks

have a question of my own this time. We recently bought a new home, tore out the carpet, and replaced it with engineered hardwoods (a week ago) that had to be glued down because part of our split-level is on a concrete slab. This company has installed hardwoods for us on three other occasions without issue. But this time, the floors smell AWFUL.

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