The weakness on these properties is that they lay within an army base during World War II, and the area may have been used for artillery practice and if so might have buried live artillery shells. We spoke with two builders. Jim Zeman, previously mentioned, has built a number of low unit cost dwellings in wood framing with steel roofs. These are a bit more expensive than wood framed houses, but appear to have a greater durability and lower maintainance. We also spoke with Chris Irion of Palm Harbor mobile homes.
Palm Harbor is the only manufacturer of mobile homes among that mile of retail sales outlets.
One of their two factories for singlewide homes produces a totally standardized line, while the other is set up to allow customized designs. Any of these housing options may be of interest to some households. We also met Shea of Zendik Farm. We were sorry to learn that they are feeling pushed by growing development of the Austin area, and are planning to move, possibly to Virginia. They are likely to move within the next six months, and thus to be gone before we begin construction.