American Flags in Lake Forest Subdivision, Sanford, FL

On Memorial Day, 2010, I drove past all 700+ homes in Lake Forest and found that only 65 (9%) were flying an American Flag. I was a Marine Lieutenant in combat in Viet Nam. Barbara and I had two children at the time. She and I share a deep love of our country. Barbara and I decided to do something about the lack of flags to honor those men and women who have served our country.

We live in an amazing country and we can never forget it for a second. Our Republic is just an idea. We shouldn't expect that our way of life will continue forever. We have to review our system and refresh our patriotism constantly because there are many who wish to have their government, or religion be the dominant one. Therefore, the simple act of flying flags on a few holidays becomes very important. The flag reminds us of who we are!

We applied to the Lake Forest HOA to allow us to install over 150 flags in the common areas (street medians) during Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, and Veterans Day. The Board of Directors unanimously approved our application. We have purchased 200 flags on 30" sticks. It cost us $230.00, and will take about three hours of our time during each holiday. They will go up on July 3, and be taken down July 5.

We will paint the bottom 2" of the sticks with blue paint. If anyone reading this sees a new Amerian flag with blue paint at their home, please return it to us.

A future Blog entry will let you know what happened.

Dick and Barbara Stier

Solar energy financing idea.

PG&E Corp. will partner with SunRun Inc. to create a new firm to finance the installation of solar energy sytems on approximately 3,500 houses in Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts and New Jersey. Customers must commit to using the system for twenty years at a higher rate ($.20 per KWH) . Of course, the homes will use less energy. The firm will perform all maintenance.

Is this a good deal? Time will tell. But it is obvious that there is progress with new innovations toward reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

Homebuilder advice: if you are considering solar panels on your roof for any reason, have a licensed roofer inspect the attachments to your roof before writing your last check. Every panel has four penetrations into the roof. You want to do your best to prevent leaks.

Dick Stier
Designer / Builder

Largest Custom Homebuilders List, Orlando Business Journal

The Orlando Business Journal determined that American Home Corp. was ranked #11 of the Custom Homebuilders in Central Florida, by dollar volume. Thank you to the customers that made this recognition possible. This was our first ranking on this list because we never applied before.

We a prior issue we were listed as on of the top Remodelers for 2009 by dollar volume.

If there was a ranking based on customer satisfaction, I'm quite sure we would be near the top. We aren't perfect, but we do strive for it.

Dick Stier
Designer / Builder

'Brutal Integrity' and 'Best' Management

With the current leaking oil disaster, and the Toyota disaster, we see the effects of weak managers, in my opinion.

Upper management must insist on the 'best' practices for the firm. Frequently that involves spending the long dollar today to protect our future. Upper management must remember that a quarter turn on the screw, equates to a full turn to the employee trying to keep their job. The most effective manager I ever met (Robert Strudler, Chairman, U. S. Home Corp) said that "management gets what management pays attention to." In other words, if you want higher profits by cutting costs, you will get it, but at what price? We can never sell our future for any price. What are the consequences?

Brutual integrity is required for us all. Every morning , we each must look in the mirror, and never give ourself an excuse. And, we must require honest answers from everyone.

Chinese Drywall update May 2010

First, American Home did not install any drywall manufactured in China. Thousands of homes do have it, and the lawsuits are flying. The first one to make it through the maze was a $2.6 million award by a Federal judge (U.S. District Court, Eldon E. Fallon) in April to seven Virginia homeowners. He ruled that alternative remedies have failed. The affected homes require the removal of all drywall, electrical wiring, HVAC equipment, appliances, carpeting, trim and flooring. His ruling is more stringent than the guidelines released by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission a few days earlier that did recommend removal of the problem materials.

Kudos to the Judge. Once a house has been 'infected', a quick fix cannot solve the problem.

For those new to the discussion, during the building boom, drywall produced in China was found to have a sulphur smell, which was attacking the metal components and the occupants. Some builders have begun replacing it on their own...Lennar Homes for one.