Kurt Dinnes, not your ordinary contractor
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 Showcase Home 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 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 US. 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, in-house construction and remodeling of many of them became a necessity. They found that they could manage construction more cheaply and efficiently by acting as general contractors. With a successful business model in place, other people soon requested their services.
Kurt, a member of the Oklahoma City Home Builders Association, takes his contribution to the community very seriously. Part of Taco Mayo’s mission statement reflects this: “Recognizing that success doesn’t come easy, especially for people in less fortunate circumstances, we take very seriously our responsibilities to the communities that have been so kind to us.” Sun Contracting was honored to participate in the SW HomeBuilders Association’s Showcase Home charity program. They donated all of their fees as well as helping to solicit vendors to donate furniture, materials, and high-tech appliances for Showcase Home.
The 2007 Showcase home set has a fundraising record. More than 70 vendors, fabricators, artisans and craftspeople donated or heavily discounted their materials that went into the three-bedroom home with 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 deadline for the Housing Sample. The 3,500-square-foot home includes a 700-square-foot game room. “This is the room of rooms,” said Dinnes. The house also has many smaller elements that make a house a home, including a pot-filling faucet by the stove and six shower heads in the master shower. Dinnes said, “The more sophisticated shopper 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 house after the sale went to The Southwest Homes charity. This charity donates money to the local schools, YMCAs and homes for disabled children they support. The Showcase Home was featured in Central OK Homes magazine and attracted over 2,500 visitors. People from the area came not only to see the house, but also to see the latest technology in the home building industry. The Showcase Home featured chiseled stone, raw cedar beams, carved hardwood floors, state-of-the-art appliances, low VOC lighting, surround sound throughout the home, a built-in theater system, and an outdoor living room with a fireplace. . Steve Spitz of “Better living with Steve Spitz,” a West Coast design show, helped with color choices and interior design for the house.
Kurt is a kind of people. It’s obvious when you meet him. He is outgoing and friendly and, on 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 home building solutions. His typical day consists of meeting with customers, employees and his Taco Mayo team members, listening to problems and looking for solutions.
The most difficult challenges you encounter in the contracting business are managing expectations with subcontractors. Kurt has high standards. As a superhero, he likes to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. When it comes to deadlines and product quality, sometimes subcontractors don’t see things the same way. However, instead of seeing the glass half full, Kurt always manages to see the glass overflowing.
Kurt’s four favorite tools
1. DeWalt Cordless Impact Driver
2. Paslode Cartridge Nailer
3. Makita 7-1/2″ Miter Saw
4. DeWalt laser level
