Thom Labrie had an idea that he needed money to make work.

The oil crisis of 1973 was fresh in everyone’s mind and Labrie wanted to build a home that was environmentally responsible and used very little energy. 

Labrie had considered dozens of home concepts, but only one idea stuck.

“I was sold the minute I saw the underground concept,” said Labrie, a longtime local businessman and inventor. “It was a no-brainer.”

Labrie approached his bank and gave his spiel.

Labrie’s “conservative” banker friend told him that had anyone else asked for money to build an unconventional home in the side of a hill, “this conversation would have ended a while ago.” 

But, Labrie had done business with the bank as the owner of Auburn Machinery.

Today, Labrie’s home is payed for and he has not had to put so much as a new roof on it, despite the home being more than 30 years old. 

“We have been here 30 years and we have needed to do nothing,” said Labrie.

The roof is grass and the walls are concrete. Daylight enters the house through three skylights and a wall of glass that faces southeast over Gulf Island Pond on the Androscoggin River. 

Brick “heat sinks” soak up sunlight throughout the winter days to help keep the home at 65 degrees. 

“We burn two to three cords of wood each winter,” said Labrie. “We have not bought oil in years.” 

Being underground eliminates the need for air conditioning, said Labrie. 

“It’s a very comfortable house.” 

Labrie’s 2,000-square-foot home sits on 24 acres in Greene. He bought the wooded land along the river when he was 21-years-old. “Everybody back then looked at living on the river as a  liability, not an asset,” said Labrie.

Labrie worked on the land for years before building in 1979. He and his wife, Jane, raised one daughter, one foster son and provided a couch for many teenagers who needed a temporary place to live. “We always had kids shuffling through,” said Labrie. “Some stayed for the weekend, others for a few days and some lived here for months.”

Labrie grew French hybrid wine grapes on the property before deciding that a vineyard required too much work. 

One lone vine now provides shade over his patio. “One vine is easier to take care of than 400,” said Labrie. 

Labrie’s home is situated high on a hill. Islands in Gulf Island Pond dot the view facing west.

“We will never see another house,” said Labrie as he looks over islands and protected state park land across the river in Turner. 

“There is a difference between a house and a home. This is a home,” said Labrie.