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The Deltec Story

How A Pioneering Green Builder Became The World Leader In Circular Homes As told by Joseph Schlenk, Deltec's Dream Home Expert

Deltec Homes is the leading worldwide builder of circular homes that are energy efficient, simple to construct and built to last. The company has earned its title as The Original Green Builder. Since 1968, it has been building unique, energy efficient, Earth-friendly homes durable enough to withstand the worst that Mother Nature can dish out.

Based in the Blue Ridge Mountains at Asheville, N.C., Deltec's roots in energy efficiency date back more than 60 years. Clyde Kinser, father of Deltec owner Robert Kinser, started a home insulation business in Asheville in the 1950s to help homeowners in the post-war building boom to save money on energy bills. Mr. Kinser's sons Robert and Wayne were both involved in that family business and as the company grew, their business ventures also grew.

Wayne Kinser founded PepperTree, a vacation resort rental company based in Asheville. The business grew rapidly on the need for resort homes that were durable, sturdy, safe and economical in coastal and mountain areas. The company started out building A-frame homes but quickly found them unsuitable for its applications. So Wayne Kinser collaborated with his engineering-minded brother Robert to develop a circular home, forebear of today's Deltec.

At that time in 1968, another Asheville company named Rondesics produced a round structure commonly known as the Rondette. Deltec bought Rondesics' design and made a vast array of structural improvements on that design. Wayne Kinser commissioned Robert Kinser to build these homes and Pepper Tree became Deltec Homes' first customer. The homes proved popular in the Western North Carolina mountains, a famed resort area. Before long they were in demand in other parts of the country as other resort companies sought out the circular homes for their durability, energy efficiency and panoramic views that showed off natural surroundings.

Through the 1970s and even into the early 1980s, Deltec Homes were generally built for commercial, resort applications. People visiting Deltec Homes at resorts became enamored of the unique feeling of spaciousness in these buildings and began requesting them. That created a demand that saw Deltec switch from building purely commercial to today's business in which more than 90 percent of its homes are for primary residences.

In recent years, as catastrophic hurricanes battered coastal areas of the U.S., Deltec houses gained a reputation for their extreme resistance to wind damage. The circular design that does not allow wind to build up on any one wall helped Deltec houses stand when others flew apart during major storms including Ivan, Charley, Ike, Gustav and Katrina. Although no home is completely hurricane-proof, Deltec's record speaks for itself. No Deltec house has ever been destroyed by a hurricane in the company's more than four decades of existence.

In 2008, Extreme Makeover Home Edition chose Deltec to build the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) platinum-certified home in Louisiana, a feat that was completed in five days. The company also built a church using its green wind and flood resistant technologies.

Today, Deltec houses are once again gaining fame for their green designs that can save as much as 50 percent of heating and cooling costs compared to traditional square homes of the same size. Deltec homes are shipped worldwide to the building site, where a locally chosen builder constructs the shell and does all the finishing. No special skills are required to build a Deltec. The company can provide onsite field consultants for a nominal fee.

Deltec is not only leading in the green homebuilding industry, it is doing so using 100 percent renewable energy at its Asheville plant. In 2007 the company installed the largest array of photovoltaic solar panels on the roof of its plant, where about 70 skilled workers create the components for Deltec homes.

Panelized versus modular construction

Deltec's panelized construction process allows the company to build wall, flooring and roofing sections in a controlled environment to rigid specifications, assuring the highest quality and energy efficiency. Panelized construction is not to be confused with modular, construction, however.

Unlike modular homes, which are built from multiple modules that can usually be assembled within a day, panelized structures require more assembly work on site. Panelized home packages typically consist of floor and roof trusses and exterior walls designed and built into "panels" for ease of transport and assembly. Building "kits" are transported to the jobsite where they are assembled in a few days. Panelized home packages generally include structural elements only and do not include interior finishes such as wiring, plumbing, sheetrock, flooring and appliances. Panelized construction is closer to stick built construction than other forms of prefabrication.

For more information on the unique advantages of Deltec Homes, visit us.