The stucco and red cedar siding are going up at VISION House Los Angeles and it is, of course, changing the look of the exterior.

For months we've been looking at the Weatherization Systems from DuPont™ Tyvek®. And as those products begin to get covered up we'll start to see a different type of DuPont product appearing. This time INSIDE the House!

DuPont™ Zodiaq® quartz surfaces will be the featured countertops in VISION House Los Angeles.

Zodiaq is engineered with pure quartz crystals which means it's hard! Diamonds score a 10 on a hardness scale (highest) and Zodiaq rates right below it with a 7. It's resistant to heat and scratches, has a nonporous surface and doesn't require sealants or waxes.

All that's needed to clean it is a damp cloth or paper towel and, if necessary, a very small amount of non-bleach, nonabrasive cleaner.

It's also got a 10 year limited warranty. The colors that will be used in the House are Snow White, Crema Marfil and Coarse Pepper. We're excited to see how gorgeous these countertop look against the dark hardwood flooring from DuChateau and the Kitchen Craft Cabinetry.

Opening in early June...seems like a ways away but it will be here sooner than we know it!

 Stucco and siding going up!

 Zodiaq in Snow White color

 Zodiaq Coarse Pepper color sample

It's been another great couple of weeks at VISION House Los Angeles! Structure Home has provided some updated photos and as you can see it's becoming more and more obvious how gorgeous this House is going to look when it's completed.

We are excited to announce the final event that will be happening at the project prior to the Grand Opening in June.

On Monday, March 19th we will be opening up the House for building professionals and community members to take one final look at the construction phase. From 1pm to 3pm visitors will be able to take a self-guided tour and watch products from Schluter®-Systems being installed. The orange-colored product is not only eye-catching but you'll see how the tile installation at VISION House Los Angeles is being built to last a lifetime.

In addition to demonstrations by Schulter there will also be installations happening througout the two hour period showing the Uponor Radiant Floor Heating system and the Kitchen Craft® Cabinetry being put in.

While on the tour you may wonder what that purple stuff on the wall is. I know I did. The product is called "Gold Bond® BRAND XP® Gypsum Board with Sporgard™". It's a mouthful but it's interesting.

The panels are made of a fire-resistant gypsum core with a 100% recycled, mold-resistant PURPLE™ Paper on one side and gray paper on the other side with the same properties (except for the fire-resistance).

We hope you'll be able to make it on Monday. LifeSource Water will be out at the House serving up their delicous filtered water as well. We'd love your feedback so if you do attend the event send us your thoughts or comments on what you saw to heather@greenbuildermag.com.

National Gypsum's original PURPLE™ paper       Exterior progress

Well, it was a big week at VISION House Los Angeles last week as the drywall was completed. The House is looking more like a house each passing day thanks to our hard-working builders at Structure Home. 

You can view the new photos on our Facebook page or by using this link.

We also received confirmation today that the VISION House Los Angeles will be part of the DWELL on Design Home Tours on June 23. We'll post info on how to register for DWELL and the tours as soon as it is available!

We have had many inquiries regarding the certification and verification goals of the project and we're pleased to share that information with you. Below, please find some of the goals we plan on reaching with VISION House Los Angeles.

-LEED Certification

-California ENERGY STAR Certification

-California Home Energy Efficiency Rating System (CHEERS) Verification

-Water Sense Certified Products

-Title 24 (already surpassing requirements by more than 30%)

-Cal-Green (Tier 2)

We're hoping that many California-based builders find this project useful as they tackle the Cal-Green Code in all their building projects.

Prior to drywalling                       After drywalling