by Tracy Kemp
Driving past a long-vacant building in Zionsville, John Babcock of Diamond Kote Building Products noticed something. The building he’d passed numerous times going to and from the office, looked like it had new occupants.
After investigating the situation, Babcock learned a pet rescue group was moving in.
From his 37 years as a contractor before joining Diamond Kote over two years ago, Babcock says he’s always looking for new projects. And as one of Diamond Kote’s installation specialists, a renovation to the exterior of The LOVE Pet Project building on a well-traveled street in bustling Zionsville seemed perfect.
“After discussing this opportunity with Territory Manager Chris Tidmore, we decided this new facility was in a great location where we could present Diamond Kote to those who drive past and help a nonprofit,” Babcock explained.
And “present Diamond Kote” they did.
Organizing an install demonstration, Tidmore, Babcock and their team spent nearly four days installing about 2,200 square feet of shake siding, lap siding, and vertical siding.
“It was like a home show,” Babcock said. Invited were builders, contractors, and others who watched as Diamond Kote experts installed the complete Diamond Kote System. Starting with their 5D non compressible drain wrap to address possible air and moisture issues, one piece nail fin corners and trim, RigidStack lap siding, RigidMount utility blocks, topped off with soffit and fascia completes the system.
“The project presented some interesting challenges due to the existing vertical log structure,” Babcock explained. Tidmore and Babcock knew there would be some challenges, but the Diamond Kote System and components are designed to address the quirks presented by many renovation projects.
In the end, they were successful in cladding the main veterinary building and the main adoption building. They also created a new front entry deck for LOVE Pet using their Envision Composite Decking materials.
“We are so happy with the product and how our building turned out,” said Dr. Denise Katz, LOVE Pet’s founder, president, and staff veterinarian. “We definitely did not have it in our budget to upgrade the outside of our building. But with their generosity we were able to get the face lift our building needed!”
An all employee-owned company, Diamond Kote is a manufactured brand of its parent company, Wausau Supply Company out of Wisconsin celebrating their 75th anniversary in 2022. Wausua Supply distributes Diamond Kote across 35 states and with Chris Tidmore’s arrival on the Indy building scene about five years ago, Wausau/ Diamond Kote has been hitting the ground hard with its pre-finished siding system ever since.
Kind of like a matchmaker, Babcock and Tidmore work with homeowners, remodelers, and builders to connect them with various dealers and each other. Ultimately, the goal is to transform a home’s exterior using the homeowner’s vision and Diamond Kote’s expertise and quality materials to turn that vision into a reality.
The end result is an exterior that is low maintenance, beautiful, and durable.
Notable is Diamond Kote’s light weight, sixteen foot long treated engineered wood siding and trim that can withstand extreme temperatures, high humidity, freeze, thaws, and everything in between. Their SmartGuard process enhances the siding’s ability to resist moisture, termites and fungal decay. And who wants those things?
The Diamond Kote Prefinished Siding System features a 30 year NO FADE finish warranty and resists peel, fade, chalk and deterioration.
The pallet of color choices is one a painter would envy. From deep Midnight and Onyx colors to a soft Sand, Diamond Kote offers the complete NO FADE system in 21 solid colors, six DuoBlends and custom color is available as well. Solids include colors like Mountain Lake, Olive, Pelican, Coffee, Clay, and more. Duoblend’s, think natural stained look, come in shades of Elkhorn, Mahogany, Canyon, Grizzly, and more.
Diamond Kote is also excited to announce five new colors: Cascade, Emerald, Glacier Fog, Umber, and Bordeaux.
Doesn’t bordeaux invoke a sense of warm and inviting sophistication?
While Tidmore and Babcock and Diamond Kote don’t have any other nonprofit recladding projects planned for the near future, they still have plenty going on.
“We have builders and projects all around central Indiana,” Babcock says, adding that they’ll be at the next Indianapolis Home Show as well.
