It's been a few weeks since our last progress update, and there's been a lot of activity on the Sunset Green Home site.

Here's what Sunset Green Home looked like toward the end of August...

And what it looks like now...

Over the past few weeks, the team from Fay Framing has been framing the house, installing ZIP System™ sheathing, and beginning to build the home's decks and porches. This week, the framers started to seal the ZIP System sheathing with ZIP System™ Tape to create a water tight and airtight shell.

Progress continued inside the house as well, where the framers have been putting the finishing touches on the interior walls and ceilings, and have begun to cut out the window openings. The job site is always left clean at the end of a work day.

While the team from Fay Framing was working on the house, the Sunset Green Home project team was busy learning about energy efficient and environmentally friendly technologies and products that might make sense to incorporate into the project. We met with Chris Kroeter, LEED Green Associate and regional product representative for ATAS International, Inc. Chris advised us about ATAS' energy efficient aluminum roofing and metal wall products (some of which will be incorporated into Sunset Green Home...look for our upcoming sponsorship announcement).

BillHeine, Architect, and Tom Downing, partner at Coastal Management reviewing ATAS International's product offerings with Chris Kroeter, LEED Green Associate and ATAS product representative

Our team also met with Chris Reardon, Strategic Account Manager at CertainTeed to hear about the company's innovative gypsum products, which include AirRenew, a VOC scavenging gypsum board that permanently removes VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds, such as formaldehyde) circulating within a home while also resisting moisture and mold conditions. We think the product is a great fit, given Sunset Green Home's tight building envelope and desire for enhanced indoor air quality.

Kathryn Cannon, LEED AP Homes (left), Bill Heine, Architect (second from left) and Chris Mensch, partner at Coastal Management (right) learn about CertainTeed's VOC scavenging gypsum and other innovative gypsum products from Chris Reardon, Strategic… — Kathryn Cannon, LEED AP Homes (left), Bill Heine, Architect (second from left) and Chris Mensch, partner at Coastal Management (right) learn about CertainTeed's VOC scavenging gypsum and other innovative gypsum products from Chris Reardon, Strategic Account Manager at CertainTeed

Our team visited an installation of Easy Roof, an innovative solar panel racking system that allows the panels to be attached directly to the roof sheathing, without a finished roof underneath.

Now that the framing is nearly complete, it's time to start on the exterior trim. Speonk Lumber delivered Sunset Green Home's first order of Boral TruExterior® trim, a durable and dimensionally stable exterior trim product that contains fly ash, a by-product of coal combustion, and includes over 70% recycled content. Sunset Green Home will earn credit toward our LEED certification in the Materials & Resources category by incorporating Boral TruExterior trim in the project.