A will to build

From: Orlando Sentinel - Orlando,FL,USA - Jun 13, 2004

Dennis Buck, who is deaf and uses a wheelchair, likes a challenge -- this time he's acting as his own home contractor.

By Carrie Alexander
Sentinel Staff Writer

June 13, 2004

GROVELAND -- Amid the rolling hills of Lake County, in a horse community parceled into five-acre home sites, Dennis Buck faces a new challenge: He will serve as general contractor for his own home.

Such a task is not easy for the average consumer, but Buck faces more obstacles than most. The 43-year-old Oviedo resident is a paraplegic who is congenitally deaf.

"I don't think it will be any [more] difficult," Buck says. "My disabilities never stop me."

From computer programmer to pilot to author, Buck has a long list of achievements. Now, as a contractor, he will build a 3,701-square-foot Mediterranean-style home that includes a spacious office where he can work from home. Buck plans to add a swimming pool with a wheelchair ramp and a workshop/barn where he can repair cars and keep horses.

This property will give him the space to pursue the activities he enjoyed before he was injured 23 years ago.

Buck was attending Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., in 1981 when a motorcycle accident left him in a wheelchair. Buck, who loved working outdoors on his family's farm and playing football in school, was devastated.

Buck returned home to the 69-acre farm in Springfield, Ohio, but he refused to become dependent on his parents. One day while his parents were at work, Buck hoisted himself onto a tractor, fastened a metal bar to the clutch and began to mow.

His father was upset when he came home, Buck recalls. What his father saw as a potentially hazardous situation, however, Buck considered an achievement. From then on, he focused on what he could do, not on what he couldn't. In the mid-1990s, Buck settled in the Orlando area and in 1999 received his master's degree in computer engineering at the University of Central Florida. He went to work as a Web developer for AT&T, where he remains today. Buck also teaches sign language at UCF and Valencia Community College.

Last year, Buck bought his home site at the Ranch Club in Groveland, a gated community off U.S. Highway 27, and began to research the possibility of building a home without a contractor. His search led him to the Clermont office of UBuildIt, a residential construction consulting company that helps do-it-yourselfers through a home-building or renovation project.

Buck is following a detailed construction manual provided by the company that spells out what needs to be done and when. A consultant, Sam Baglier, is guiding Buck step by step through his project.

Buck will be responsible for managing the construction and handling the plumbers, electricians and other tradesmen.

"I am not a builder expert, so I need an expert to come to the site to make sure all is correct and [we] follow the code," says Buck, who, in addition to his master's, earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from Gallaudet in 1986.

"I [will be] the general builder who hires [sub]contractors to do slab pouring, framing, plumbing, etc. It sounds ... fun to me."

Buck decided to act as his own contractor because it could save him money while allowing him to control the process. Taking control

Control is important, Buck says, because he needs his house to be wheelchair-accessible. He says he decided to build a home because it is difficult to find suitable housing in Central Florida for someone who is physically disabled. Typical doorways, for example, are not wide enough to accommodate his wheelchair, and few homes have wheelchair ramps or rooms spacious enough to maneuver comfortably.

Buck is no stranger to the problems that can be encountered in home construction. Seven years ago, he worked with a general contractor to build his current home in Oviedo, but it was a frustrating experience. He says the builder did not always follow his directions.

This time around, Buck is working closely with Winter Springs residential designer Jeff Gilger to address necessary modifications as he drafts the house plans.

"You have to have a lot of patience in communicating," Gilger says. "Dennis was more than patient. But soon we got going on a rhythm."

Buck realizes that hearing people don't always understand him when he speaks. So he will communicate with subcontractors and suppliers through various means, just as he has with Gilger. He is a proficient lip-reader, and he sometimes uses an interpreter at meetings. He frequently uses e-mail. To communicate by phone, Buck will speak via sign language on a Web cam while an interpreter translates to the caller. At the work site, he'll write on a board using a marker.

It may be a "small struggle" to educate subcontractors on how the hearing and deaf can communicate, Buck says, but "once they become accustomed to this, then it will be fine."

Communication is especially important because it's up to Buck, as project manager, to see to it that subcontractors perform the work correctly.

He'll do fine, Gilger says.

"Dennis is more independent than most people," he says. "He's self-sufficient. He doesn't like people to treat him differently. He can handle most anything himself."

The collaboration has been an enjoyable and educational experience, Gilger says.

"He's got a great personality," says Gilger. "He's funny. He lightens up the situation."

Baglier says working with Buck has been a "unique experience.''

"Dennis has less fear or worry about doing this project than most people do,'' Baglier says.

Not surprising, considering Buck's adventurous spirit. Following his graduation from Gallaudet, Buck obtained his pilot's license. He used hand controls to operate the aircraft.

He also drove around the country for several years upon learning that he could supplement income from conventional jobs -- and even make a good living -- peddling sign-language cards. He peddled in airports, shopping malls and other public places and ultimately wrote a book about his experiences.

Deaf Peddler: Confessions of an Inside Man was published in 2000 by Gallaudet University Press.

Mobility is key

Another important element for Buck in the design of his house is mobility.

The four-bedroom home is planned as one story; it will be built with wider doorways; and it will have no carpeting and no thresholds. Flooring will consist of seamless tile in the wet areas and wood in other areas. Thermostats, which may be placed lower than normal, will be set using a remote control.

The security, phone and fire-alarm systems will feature flashing lights rather than sound.

The home, which will have three baths, features a master bath with a large bathtub in the center of the room surrounded by a 12-inch ledge that will make it easier for Buck to get in and out. Instead of a separate shower, one wall will have multiple showerheads flanked by seats. The floor on that side of the room will slope to a drain.

Normally, kitchen countertops would be lowered for accessibility, but the decision was made to install countertops that are the standard height to help the house maintain its resale value. Buck will use a motorized wheelchair that can lift and lower him as needed. For easier access, upper cabinets will not have doors.

Buck says he looks forward to learning new skills during the construction of his home. If possible, Buck says, he will perform some of the labor on his home such as painting and cleanup.

The house plans will be submitted to the homeowners association at the Ranch Club for approval as soon as they are finalized. Construction is expected to take four to six months.

When complete, the home is expected to cost between $300,000 and $325,000. The home site was an additional $134,900.

Building a home without a general contractor is an achievement for any inexperienced homeowner, but to Buck it has special meaning.

"I said to myself, maybe God has a reason for me to be a wheelchair user," Buck writes in an e-mail. He wants to "set an example to show people that disability does not stop me. I am very capable of [doing] anything."

Carrie Alexander can be reached at calexander@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5499.

© 2004 Orlando Sentinel Communications