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Midwest Living's Idea Home Extras Welcome to Midwest Living’s “Idea Home Extras,” presented by James Hardie! Midwest Living proudly continues its rich 20-year history of building successful Idea Homes – inspiring showcases for the latest in design and home building technology – across the Midwest, in locations such as Egg Harbor, Wisconsin, Indianapolis, Indiana, Minnetonka, Minnesota, and our most recent home in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago, Illinois. VISIT:
 “Idea Home Extras” will introduce you to some of the builders and projects from the past twenty years and give you insight into the breadth and beauty of James Hardie building products and how they made our Idea Homes shine. |
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with Mark Gradison, president
of Gradison Building Corp
Mark Gradison is the president of Gradison Building Corp., a progressive family-owned and operated builder located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Mark founded Gradison Building Corp. with his brother more than 23 years ago, and has brought innovative design, craftsmanship, and ingenuity to Indianapolis-area homes ever since. As Project Manager for the ?Stonelake Farm? 2007 Midwest Living Idea Home, Mark was directly involved in all stages of the project. In this Q&A, learn more about his insights into home siding and James Hardie product lines!
What did you consider to be the biggest challenge with this build?
Time frame was a huge factor with this house. We constructed it in less than 9 months, and it was a strong effort by our vendors and trade partners to get completed on time. Having James Hardie’s ColorPlus product to use outside certainly saves us time and delivers a very strong exterior product.
What did you consider to be the most exciting aspect of this project?
Working in collaboration with Meredith was great. To be recognized by Midwest Living as one of the best builders in Indianapolis was fantastic. I think we were able to deliver a great home for their 20th Anniversary Idea Home.
How long have you been using James Hardie products?
We have used James Hardie products for 15 years, and have seen the technology evolve greatly in that time. We were one of the first in central Indiana to use HardiePlank, because we were looking for alternatives to cedar and paper-faced OSB sidings.
What elements did you choose to complete the look of the home?
Gradison Building Corp. and Midwest Living chose a variety of James Hardie products to complete the exterior look of the home. We used a HardiePanel product for the “Board & Batten look” on a portion of the home and we used the HardieShake product on the front elevation and the smooth HardiePlank on the sides and rear of the home. All of these products were Color Plus, giving us a great looking finished product once the install was complete—helping us get the home finished a little faster than normal.
Would you recommend James Hardie to other clients and why?
We have been recommending James Hardie products for 9+ years now. We started a Siding Division called Indy Siding and Exteriors who has been installing James Hardie products for customers in remodels and new homes. On the remodel side, we have specialized on re-siding homes with failing siding on them. James Hardie products go up easily and give the house a fresh look upon completing the installation. Also, the support team at James Hardie is fantastic. Whether it is technical support, sales support or overall marketing, the folks have been a pleasure to work with everyday. The amount of product available and the research they do appears to be more than any of their competitors. And the warranty is far and away the best that I know of in the industry.
[ Read another Q&A with Project Builder Jose Durate of Blackwood Group LLC ]
