Kurt Dinnes, not your usual contractor

Legal Law

Kurt Dinnes is not just another builder, he creates places you are proud to call home. The last house he built was a high-tech showhouse in Oklahoma City. It sold for just under $ 500,000 with all proceeds going to charity.

Kurt is one of the managing partners of Sun Contracting, a construction company that started in the early 1990s. Kurt is also the president of Taco Mayo, which is a chain of contemporary Tex-Mex restaurants spread throughout the South Central region of the United States. USA He and Randy Earhart, the other managing partner, started Sun Construction to meet the needs of their burgeoning restaurant business. With more than 88 restaurants spread across the south central US Since 1978, internal construction and remodeling of many of them became a necessity. They found that they could manage construction more economically and efficiently if they acted as general contractors. With a successful business model in place, other people soon requested his services.

A member of the Oklahoma City Home Builders Association, Kurt takes his contribution to the community very seriously. Part of the Taco Mayo mission statement reflects this: “Recognizing that success is not easy, especially for people in less fortunate circumstances, we take our responsibilities to the communities that have been so good to us very seriously.” . Sun Contracting was honored to participate in the SW HomeBuilders Association Showcase Home charity program. They donated all of their fees in addition to helping solicit vendors to donate high-tech furniture, supplies, and appliances for the Showcase Home.

The 2007 Showcase house set a fundraising record. More than 70 vendors, manufacturers, artisans and artisans donated or made deep discounts on materials that went into the three-bedroom home and an outdoor living room. “Normally, it would take at least a year to build this type of house, rather than a little over four months,” Dinnes said. “The subcontractors went way beyond the call of duty,” he said. All this in order to meet the Showcase of Homes deadline. The 3,500-square-foot home includes a 700-square-foot game theater room. “This is the room of the bedrooms,” Dinnes said. The house also has many smaller items that make a house a home, including a pot-filling faucet next to the stove and six shower heads in the main shower. Dinnes said that “the most sophisticated buyer will ask about updated bathroom options, but they also like to educate other buyers on their shower selections. I love building people’s dream homes,” he said.

Proceeds from the home after the sale went to the charity The Southwest Homes. This charity donates money to the local schools, YMCA and houses for disabled children that they support. The Showcase Home was featured in Central OK Homes magazine and attracted more than 2,500 visitors. People from the area came not only to see the house, but also to see the latest technology in the home construction industry. The Showcase Home featured chiseled stone, rough cedar beams, patterned hardwood floors, high-tech appliances, low VOC lighting, whole-home surround sound, a built-in theater system, and an outdoor living room with fireplace. Steve Spitz of “Better Living with Steve Spitz,” a West Coast design show, helped with the home’s color choices and interior design.

Kurt is a type of people. It’s obvious when you meet him. He’s outgoing and friendly, and on the first introduction, he makes you feel like you’ve known him since elementary school. He loves working with his clients, helping them solve their marketing and financing problems in the restaurant business, as well as with home building solutions. His typical day consists of meeting with clients, employees and members of his Taco Mayo team, listening to problems and finding solutions.

The toughest challenges you encounter in the recruiting business are managing expectations with subcontractors. Kurt has high standards. Like a superhero, he likes to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. When it comes to deadlines and quality products, sometimes subcontractors don’t see things the same way. However, instead of seeing the glass as half full, Kurt always manages to see the glass overflowing.

Kurt’s Four Favorite Tools

1. DeWalt Cordless Impact Drill

2. Paslode Cartridge Nailer

3. Makita 7-1 / 2 “miter saw

4. DeWalt laser leveler

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