When searching for a new home most desire, first and foremost, functionality, beauty, comfort and value. Though often not considered, a circular home possesses all of these traits and more. Deltec is confident that their unique home designs will offer excellent alternatives to "box" style structures.
Deltec Circular Homes are as unique as their clients. Every Deltec home is custom designed to meet the lifestyle needs of the owner. Deltec's unique home design allows for a great deal of imaginative and architectural flexibility. High ceilings, vast expanses of glass, unique configurations and flexible floor plans are all easily accomplished. So let your imagination be your guide. Almost anything is possible with your new Deltec Home!
The Deltec Circular Home package is a pre-cut, panelized building system. "Panelized construction" involves the prefabrication of a structure in identifiable "panels" that can be easily transported directly to the job site and quickly assembled on the foundation. A "building system" is a method of constructing residential or commercial structures in a factory setting and then transporting the structures to the building site for placement on a permanent foundation, where they will perform and function with very predictable results. When building a unique home like a Deltec, a building system can ensure a much smoother overall project. A building system gives you or your builder a huge advantage over trying to stick-frame a complex or unusual design. Deltec has been doing the same thing day in and day out for almost 40 years: Building beautiful round homes. Almost half of the new homes built in the USA are panelized or systems-built. The advantages of Deltec’s panelized building system are numerous: Since all structural components are pre-cut or already fabricated, a highly engineered structure like a Deltec home can be easily assembled by builders that have had no previous experience with our design. Building materials are stored indoors, away from the debilitating effects of weather. As a result there’s no damage to the lumber from the sun, moisture or mold. This ensures that you will receive the highest quality product possible. Because all cutting and framing occurs indoors in a climate-controlled environment, you are assured of a high-quality product built to much closer tolerances than site-built. Factory-produced components are precisely constructed using a combination of state-of-the-art equipment and tools, as well as old-fashioned craftsmanship. The resulting structures are plumb, easy to assemble and able to meet or exceed local wind and seismic loads. Because factories offer craftsmen steady employment and benefits, the resulting longtime labor force adds to the quality of construction.
High Wind and Seismic Resistance
First and foremost, a Caribbean homeowners biggest concern is, without doubt, bar none, Hurricanes! Deltec’s record against damage from high wind speaks for itself. Recently we have seen a dramatic increase of hurricane activity in the Gulf and Atlantic. In 2005, many of Deltec's homes were put to the ultimate test when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. None of the homes in her path suffered any structural damage from high winds. A few homes were hit by 20-30 foot tidal surges and winds over 145 mph and still incurred no structural damage. In addition, four major hurricanes - Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne - devastated Florida and other Southern states in August and September of 2004 destroying 25,000 homes and causing more than $22 billion in insured losses. But to Deltec homeowners, these storms represent maybe a few lost shingles and a few dollars of damage. DELTEC HAS BEEN BUILDING HURRICANE-RESISTANT HOMES FOR ALMOST 40 YEARS, FACED ALMOST EVERY MAJOR HURRICANE WITHIN THAT TIME SPAN, AND HAS NEVER LOST A SINGLE HOME TO HIGH WINDS OF ANY KIND! This track record lets Deltec say: "Build a Deltec, or build again".
Deltec homes are not hurricane-proof homes; No home really is. However, Deltec knows that in these challenging conditions their hurricane-resistant home design will perform far better than conventional construction and better than other circular structures.
Aside from the circular shape of Deltec homes, their unique engineering and high-quality construction contribute greatly to making their design so hurricane resistant.
Deltec's roof and floor trusses radiate back to the center of the home, much like spokes on a wheel. This “radial engineering”, unique to Deltec homes, disperses any energy and wind pressure exerted on the outside walls and roof of the home throughout the entire structure, greatly reducing any potential damage caused by high wind pressure. In addition, Deltec's eight-foot wide wall panels do not have enough surface area to allow wind to build up any significant pressure. Deltec's roof is also at the optimum angle for wind deflection.
Other factors, such as the quality of the wood, the types of truss plates, truss hangers, hurricane strapping, tie downs and nailing patterns, all play a key role in making a Deltec home one of the safest homes available in coastal settings.
Deltec has focused mainly on wind resistance here but know that many of the same qualities that make a Deltec home so resistant to wind also contribute greatly to making it a seismic-resistant home.
Read and hear what Deltec homeowners’ hurricane survival stories in their Video Gallery and Customer Comments sections.
Design Flexibility
The design possibilities of your Deltec home are virtually endless. Just about anything you can imagine can be accomplished with the Deltec Building System. Their unique home design and building system will allow you to build your dream home without compromising quality, versatility and functionality.
The heart of the Deltec circular home is their self-supporting roof system. Because there are no load-bearing walls on the inside of a Deltec home, you can design your custom floor plan with little to no limitations.
Deltec's wall system is also very unique. Every eight-foot wide wall panel has a double 2 x 10 header spanning the top. This allows you as much as a seven-foot wide opening for windows and doors. Their continuous header also makes future expansion or renovations much easier since the header is already there. Doors and windows can very easily be added to where solid walls once existed.
In addition to Deltec's unique roof and wall systems, there is the Deltec radial floor system. Even their largest model, the Vista (with 2500 square feet per level), requires only one six-foot pole in the center to support the entire floor system. Compare that to conventional construction where a box-style home of the same size might require five or more supports for the floor system. Imagine designing your dream home without the hindrance of load-bearing walls and numerous floor supports that complicate your design. Imagine working with virtually unobstructed space!
Other features of Deltec's unique home design allow you to connect multiple round structures in an almost endless variety of configurations. Rectangular and crescent wings can also be easily added to your Deltec circular home.
Read what Deltec homeowners have to say about Deltec’s unique home design.
Energy Efficiency
If you are concerned about energy efficiency, you will be pleased to learn that a Deltec home is an extremely energy-efficient home. Let’s explore some of the reasons why.
-Circular structures in general are inherently more energy efficient than square- or rectangular-shaped homes. That is because, compared to a square, there is about 15% less outside wall area needed with a circle to enclose the same amount of space. This means 15% less area to gain or lose cooling.
-Deltec’s unique trussed roof design also allows for continual roof venting throughout the year. This quality helps keep the attic area of your Deltec home cooler in the summer.
-Other circular homes on the market that don’t use a truss system for their roofing typically will experience increased heat gain in the summer.
-The shape of a Deltec home also plays a key role in improved energy efficiency. The same qualities that make our design almost hurricane-proof also contribute to making it extremely energy efficient. Simply put, the shape is more aerodynamic than a conventional home. Air and wind can’t build up enough significant pressure on any side to cause drafting. Drafting is one of the chief robbers of energy efficiency in conventional structures. The problem was so prevalent in traditional construction that the “house wrap” industry was created to help correct that problem.
-Last, but not least, the overall quality of our unique home design contributes greatly to making a Deltec home a very energy efficient home. Our precise production techniques ensure that your home’s walls, floors and roof components will fit together precisely in the field. Our components are built to a much higher tolerance than industry standards. This high-quality construction helps reduce the drafting effect so common in conventional construction.
Read what Deltec homeowners have to say about their energy-efficient Deltec homes.
