Soon the sound of hammers and power tools will fall silent, giving way to the shuffle of curious visitors who will be touring the Wausau Area Builders Association Parade of Homes.
The annual showcase, which will be held June 5-10, is a Super Bowl of sorts for area homebuilders, as well as local manufacturers such as County Materials, who will be represented at 25 of this year’s 26 homes in the tour. County Materials, with locations in Wausau, Weston and Marathon, is a leading supplier of concrete masonry construction and landscaping products in the Midwest, and has been actively involved with the Wausau Parade of Homes for many years.
“It’s the smartest marketing thing we’ve done,” said Scott Ohrmundt of John Ohrmundt Construction in Wausau. “We sell five or six houses a year off the Parade.”
The Ohrmundts have two entries this year, both in Kronenwetter; a condominium (No. 13 on the tour) and a house on Seville Road (No. 12) that features County Stone® Old World Tumbled veneer in a decorative pattern on the garage gable, as well as framing around the garage door and living-room window. The light-colored concrete units provide the aesthetics of hand-cut stone at a lower cost, and complement the brick that comprises the façade.
The tour of each abode begins outside, so driveways such as the one on Green Vistas Drive (No. 16) will stand out. Vistas at Greenwood Hills, the builder, used tumbled Vintage Lexington Stone® pavers for the driveway. This flows into steps of Fairbrooke™ Paving Stones and walkways of Lexington. Both styles of concrete pavers are manufactured by County Materials and comprise a patio of more than 1,000 square feet in back. County Materials also supplied Cultured Stone® manufactured stone veneer for the piers and bumpouts across the front of the 5,000-square-foot home.
Cultured Stone brings a natural element to some of the homes, such as No. 20, on Miles Lane in Ringle. Joey Ninneman, of Joey D. Ninneman Construction Inc., covered the front of the 2,800-square-foot home in a darker blend of the stone’s color, which mixes well with the hue of the home’s wooden accents.
“We knew it would be sitting in the woods, so we wanted a rustic elegance,” Ninneman said. “The Cultured Stone matched the colors around the home.”
One of the most innovative uses of concrete on the tour won’t even be readily visible. Tim Koch, of Tim Koch Builders LLC in Weston, used 1,225 square feet of County Materials’ Hollowcore Roof & Floor Systems as a floor for a garage in his Parade Home on Evergreen Road. This provides additional, and affordable space beneath the garage, which measures 35 feet square, to be used as a workshop.
“It has hydroponic, in-floor heating, too,” said Koch, who also incorporated geothermal heating into the structure. “These days, people are really looking for alternative sources of heating and cooling.”
Prospective home owners will find classic style with budget-friendly appeal in Heritage Collection® Designer Concrete Brick, which adorns Reedy Builders’ entry – No. 14 – on Lexington Court in Wausau. The beautiful concrete brick from County Materials enhances the façade of the 2,500-square-foot home that includes Cultured Stone on the top half.
“We get 3,000 to 4,000 people coming through,” Chris Reedy said. “It means a lot for our exposure. This is my community; this is where I live, this is where I’m from.”
For more information on the Parade of Homes, visit www.wausauareabuilders.com.
County Materials operates 30 locations serving the Midwest. The family-owned, American manufacturing company is an industry leader and a diversified supplier of construction and landscaping products for residential, commercial, industrial and municipal project applications.
For more information, call us at 1-800-289-2569