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Round Design Appeals To Storm-Weary Owners
The Deltec house has a pitched roof to deflect wind around the house. Deltec says it has never lost a home to wind damage.
(Joe Fudge - Photo By Joe Fudge/newport News)
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They are also putting up an 800-square-foot detached garage in the same shape. Pieces for both structures, which come pre-cut and labeled, arrived at one time on tractor-trailers.
The home's cinderblock, crawl-style foundation was built on site, placing it on oversize concrete footers -- 24 inches wide, 12 deep -- so they can handle the weight of the exterior walls. In a circular house, there are no interior supporting walls -- only sheet-rocked walls to divide living spaces.
The floor system, which comes as part of the package, radiates from a steel center plate.
The self-supporting roof features pre-engineered trusses that butt and lock into a compression ring and tension collar. Two of these collars were needed for the DeGroft home because it's in a 100-mph-wind area. A crane helped support the roof while it was being assembled and lowered to match up with the walls and foundation.
"It's basically a big jigsaw puzzle," Collins said.
A Deltec home can be customized, ranging from 300 to 2,500 square feet for one-level units. Additional floor space is available by "stacking" levels under one roof or adding "wings" to the sides of main structures.
The standard house shell comes with wall panels, roof and floor systems, 1-foot-9-inch overhang, exterior trim, and the hardware to "dry in" the structure so the buyer can complete the interior. Options for siding include cedar, cypress or pine lap and vinyl; buyers can order a unit with windows already installed in the wall panels or pick and install their own. There are also many other options, such as a pressure-treated house or floor system, spiral stairs, decks and more.
The DeGrofts paid $60,000 for the house kit, including an extended overhang, pre-installed windows and stained wood siding, plus $15,000 for the garage. The finished house and garage, minus the land, is costing $276,000.
"It just made sense for us to build one," Mary said of the round design.
"There are no square spaces, but I don't have a problem with it being round. There are some funny-looking nooks, but I'm okay with that.
"We're downsizing, getting rid of stuff. We're glad to have everything on one floor."
For more information on round houses:
Deltec Homes, based in Asheville, N.C., with a nearby production facility. For literature and tour times, call 800-642-2508; Web site: http:/
Oregon Yurtworks of Eugene, Ore., makes modular round homes. For information, call 800-211-8470; Web site: http:/
Mandala Custom Homes, based in Canada, makes prefabricated round homes. For information, call 250-352-5582; Web site: http:/
Monolithic Dome Institute. See step-by-step illustrations of the construction process of these steel-reinforced concrete structures at http:/
