Assembling our Team

Our first task after arriving in Franklin, unpacking, getting settled and the trip to the hospital was to meet with the pros we selected so we could find land and build our home. You would think that the first priority would have been to buy land. Well, not us. We met with Deltec first, got the grand tour, were very impressed and put a deposit on our home. Positive thinking, right? We were completely confident that we would find land that was just perfect for us and we were right – but I’m jumping ahead.

(E) – This reminds me of when Jim purchased a Wet Bike years ago because he saw one in a James Bond movie and had no idea of how to ride one. And then, when he met me, we bought a boat but didn’t have a clue as to where we would store it. I guess this shows how trusting we are that things will work out.  

Going Round

If you haven’t looked at their web site yet you might not know that Deltec only creates the shell (outside walls and roof). It is up to the owner to provide the foundation and interior finishes (wall, flooring, electrical, plumbing, heating, etc.). Once Deltec creates your walls in the factory which includes siding, windows, floor and roof trusses they are delivered to the site and assembled in about a week. Cool, huh?

We met with the sales representative, Mark, first for our initial contact and tour of the facility.

(E) – He’s the one who convinced us to give them a deposit. And of course we did. Also reminds me of another funny story and how easily I can be sold on something. Jim took me to Circuit City and I sat down in front of a BIG SCREEN tv and watched T2 (this was about 15+ years ago while he shopped for a new VCR. We left with the TV and a new VCR. And more recently, we thought LA Fitness would be a great place to workout. After a rousing sales pitch from an overly enthusiastic x-drill instructor trainer, I signed up for 4 days a week of personal training. Not a good idea for a person who doesn’t like to sweat.

After, we met with our designated project coordinator, Bill, who will be walking us through the whole process, from start to finish. Since we want to incorporate lots of “green” technologies we then met their Green Team, Steve and Leigha. Everyone was wonderful. We felt like we were making new friends. We could sense their excitement about our project, especially the green team. And even though the model we selected was one of the smallest they offer they treated us as if we taking on one of the grand mansions.

(E) – just in case you missed the post with Deltec’s web page – here it is again: www.deltechomes.com

This is a scale model of a Deltec Home simular in size to what we intend to build. The cut-away roof gives you an idea of the construction. No, I didn't build this model, but I could have.

Sun Power

Before we left Florida I researched people who installed solar systems in Western North Carolina. Once again through the BBSH network we were given the name of a couple who are into solar design. As it turned out Steve (the contact through BBSH) works for a company in California called SunWize Technologies, Inc. www.sunwize.com  that manufactures solar equipment, he is a graduate of BBSH, and participated in a Hero’s Journey in West Virginia that I attended – but we never had the opportunity to meet each other. We connected by email and spoke over the phone. Steve suggested I call Sundance Power Systems www.sundancepower.com  located just outside of Asheville. So get this…Sundance did the solar system that runs the Deltec factory and also a project that I worked on at Duke University.

(E) - Coincidence? I think not! We even drove by SunWize recently on our way to a workshop in Big Sur, California. Part of the workshop focused on synchronicity – makes you want to go hmmmmmm!

This is Adam-very cool dude,even drives a Hybrid

We had an hour and a half meeting with Adam, our solar guru from Sundance, to discuss our solar options. We talked about solar hot water systems, radiant floor heat, photo-votalic (PV) systems, wind, mini hydro and back up systems. We also went over all the tax breaks and incentives.

(E) - We needed a solar recharge by the time we were done!

Now it’s off to find land so we have some place to put all this stuff.

                     "It's a good thing there's no zoning restrictions!"