NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Mary and Herb DeGroft tired of watching hurricanes Isabel and Floyd topple trees behind their two-story house near Smithfield.
"It was very scary watching Isabel blow through," Mary DeGroft said.
They knew they didn't want to go through that awful experience again, so they started talking about different living arrangements.
About that time, they also read a newspaper article about a Florida home that served as a haven for 12 adults and seven children after a nearby shelter lost its roof during Hurricane Charley. Hurricane Jeanne also hit the same house. The only damage to the structure, a round house made by Deltec Homes Inc., was a few missing roof tiles.
The DeGrofts liked what they read and talked to the owners of other Deltec homes.
The couple, both in their early sixties, also knew they wanted an energy-efficient house that had all its living space on one floor, something that would be easy to use as they get older. They began to formulate plans to put a Deltec house on treeless land they owned adjacent to their twice-damaged home.
Their quest took them to the Deltec site in Asheville, N.C., where they toured the model home and visited the nearby production facility.
"These homes are supposed to be very good in high winds," Mary said. "You fix it the way you want; Deltec looks at it for strength and sends the plans."
Deltec homes aren't really round, but a series of eight to 20 flat panels joined at angles. The roof is pitched for wind deflection, helping it blow around the structure, says Joseph Schlenk, director of sales and marketing.
The company, which does not market the structures as hurricane-proof houses, says it has never lost a home to high winds during its 37-year history.
"Many call in after seeing our houses still standing in areas that were devastated by high winds," Schlenk said.
The DeGrofts hired Rod Collins of Collins Building Co. in Smithfield to assemble their 2,000-square-foot design with four bedrooms, two baths, living room, kitchen and dining area; Collins's father built their current home in 1981.
