One of the main goals of this project was to use locally available materials (local meaning easily sourced from the lumberyard vs. harvested on site) and to keep the construction details builder-friendly. This initial goal was further enhanced by the need to meet a very specific and tight budget. The building shell - framing, insulation - was 100% standard construction. Air sealing was mostly standard with the majority of it coming from zip sheathing and zip tape, and the additional cost coming from the extra caulking we installed at critical joints. The exterior siding costs were kept in check by using #2 eastern white pine (sourced from NH) as the main siding. It was refinished off site and installed as an open rain screen. Both material choice and installation technique led to a very cost effective siding installation. The use of sustainable materials we never a major priority with this project. We did avoid grossly unsustainable products like cellular PVC. The "sustainable" angle we did focus on was in making this construction details we used a affordable and repeatable as possible with the long term goal of inspiring more people to build homes to this higher standard.