I’ll huff and I’ll puff…

And now, for something completely different.

One of the boons about using shipping containers for housing is their strength and durability…

I’m just saying…

I can’t stop laughing at this…

Okay, the workers weren’t bionic or mutants from a Stan Lee “Superhero” epic. They really WERE trying to remove the doors.

But, it’s just funny…

Some things are so good that you have to look twice! :)

Recently, I told you about a team in Warsaw that is turning abandoned silos and shipping containers into an entertainment park.

I’ve gotten about a hundred mails from people asking me if I’m “pranking them”.

Nope. I was serious. MOKO Architects is really doing this and I personally think that it’s fantastic. It recovers and reuses localized materials and then turns them into a commerce zone that will enrich the community.

Here’s some more information, straight from the team at Moko Architects:

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Modernising the existing silos at the Żerański channel into a Diving and Indoor Skydiving Centre open all year round

The area for the investment is located ca. 12 km away from the centre of Warsaw. This is a part of a house factory in Żerań which operated in the past. Today, there are abandoned halls, warehouses and non-developed area. Main facilities include wholesale warehouses of construction materials and other products. The Żerański channel flows through the entire area, which creates a unique municipal landscape.

The collection of elements described above has a huge potential. The channel is a great water communication route between the City and the Zegrze Reservoir which provides the opportunity of doing water sports and staying active. The remains of the factories, warehouses and silos may be attractive for investors interested in their modernisation into lofts, offices, studios or erecting new buildings which will interline into the surrounding landscape.

Site plan

This area is also becoming a popular place for amateurs of extreme sports, artists or people who like exploring abandoned buildings.

Our design assumes development of a Diving and Indoor Skydiving Centre open all year round in the old silos where bulk cement used to be stored in the past. The existing facility is a perfect base for this investment and will be the only place in Poland where people wishing to learn the skills of diving will have the opportunity to safely train at the depth of 25m under control. The well located in one of the silos is connected to the “cave” of the other cylinder. This is an ideal place to train wreck diving. The diameter of the well is 7m.

Apart from the cave, the second silo will feature a technical area as well as an Indoor Skydiving Centre. This place will make dreams about flying come true. In the “tube” where air will flow at high speeds, you will be able to safely train skydiving.

The Diving and Indoor Skydiving Centre will feature additional functions for people who will only visit the centre for a few hours with their families as well as for organised groups coming for training sessions lasting a couple of days.

Exploded axonometric diagram – click for larger image

The ground floor will feature the entrance area with exhibition space, professional magazines reading area, external café open in the summer season as well as a workshop.

• Level 1 will house sports stores.
• Level 2 and 3 will feature offices and administration.
• Level 4 will feature a hostel for indoor skydivers.
• Level 5 will house training rooms and changing rooms for skydivers as well as the entrance to the area where the practical training of indoor skydiving is conducted.
• Level 6 will house a hostel for divers and tourists.
• Level 7 will feature training and presentation rooms for divers.
• On level 8 there will be changing rooms separate for women and men. The will also be a buffer zone for divers to directly access the place where they start diving. At the same level, the facility will also feature a warm-up room.
• In the retained control room area at level 9 a small bar with a view onto the city panorama is designed. There will be terraces on all levels where you can relax after training while watching the industrial scenery intertwined with the Żerański channel.

The modules forming the space for additional functions are applied onto the existing structure of the silo walls looking as if they were growing on them. They are made of light self-supporting steel structure located on both sides and connected by a staircase. They comprise system cubes operating on the basis of single containers which are relatively cheap to manufacture and easy to rearrange in case of the need of changing the functional arrangement of the entire project. Polycarbonate plates will be the covering material through which the structure will be visible.

Completion of this project will set a direction for the development of this district and may become an alternative cultural centre in this part of Warsaw.

Home Building is about TEAM Building

Okay, between traveling and “breaking” trucks (we just broke another one -  Oy)…

I’m up to my neck in alligators. So I’m going to reach into the mailbag and pull out another gem;

So… fasten your safety belts,  extinguish all smoking material and bring your seats to an upright position. We’re about to take off…

Dear Ronin;

Thank you for your books and your blogs! We’ve benefited so much from your insight.

We’re building our ISBU Home!

Okay, we’re beginning “building our ISBU Home” by looking for the team we need to make it possible. We have the lot. It’s PAID FOR!

But we’re running into a wall, here. It’s hard for us to find an architect, designer or contractor who has actually built a Shipping Container Home where we live. We’ve talked to people in a 500 mile bubble with no success.

We’ve found a team that is willing to help us but they have ZERO background in ISBU construction. They told us that;

“A home is a home. They all go up the same. No worries.”

They have drawn several renders of our ideas and the renders look pretty good. If they can draw it, they can build it, right?

We haven’t paid them anything  yet. They’re eager to proceed and we have a development contract on our desk. Before we put up our hard earned cash, we wanted to ask your opinion.

Is it okay to invest in a “rookie” when building your home? We’re nervous.

Sincerely,

Lost in Space… Corten Space…

******************************************************

Dear Space Travelers,

Wow. Just “wow”.

“A home is a home. They all go up the same. No worries.”

Folks, if ANYONE every told me this (especially at a project development meeting), they’d be talking to my back as I picked up my folder and my laptop and left the room as quickly as possible.

That’s absolute nonsense. That’s like saying;

“I built a go-cart once, so I think I’ll build a Space Shuttle next.”

RUN. Seriously. RUN.

Building a home (especially an “alternative home” like one built from ISBUs) comes with “perils and new places”…

So, rather than dwell on the “ridiculous” (“A home is a home…” That’s rich!), let’s talk a bit about the team you guys need to assemble.

You need a good design and good planning.

Here at RR (and at CHC – our business site) we’ve gone on and on about that for years. A good design and good planning insure success. The people that help you draw your lines will define your future.

They’ll define it for you and they’ll define it for the contractors (and sub-contractors) that will actually BUILD your home (or key elements of it- if you’re investing sweat equity).

IF they have experience in the type of construction you’re going to be doing, you can be assured that they know the spaces you’ll be creating, the materials that you will be using and the pitfalls that will be encountered along the way.

They’ll know where the “danger areas” are and they’ll use their considerable experience to insure that you don’t fall into any traps. They’ll PROTECT your building budget like it was the “Holy Grail”.  The insights and expertise that they bring to your project will more than pay for their participation.

If they cannot guarantee you this, they’re the wrong guys. Instead of finding the “Holy Grail”, you’re gonna get a “Holy Fail” – as in;

“Holy Crap! Where did all of our building money GO?”

Homes based on designs and planning based on people that have (a) never done it before, or (b) aren’t interested in you for anything but profit and a “Portfolio Queen” are destined to fail. You’re probably going to get a “pig in a dress”, if you get anything at all.

Can you invest your trust in a “rookie” who has never actually built your  type of housing before?

In my experience, that answer has been “NO”.

In my “day to day” – I see TONS of plans and renders drawn by teams wanting to get into the ISBU building world.

Sure, they may post article after article on their blogs about why they do what they do, but it’s just “touchy feely nonsense” if they haven’t actually DONE it. Ironically, most of these guys have never touched a welder or even been inside an ISBU. From the looks of things lately, most of these guys aren’t even educated, licensed tradesmen… they’re “fly by night unlicensed designers” with no actual experience building anything remotely resembling what you’re dreaming of…

Folks, I can read and then write about brain surgery or rocket science, but that doesn’t make me a Neurologist or a Physicist…

There are serious differences between “theory” and “application”.

Now, I admit that some of the stuff we see from those “rookies” is pretty good, but after close examination and a few discussions with the originators of those concept projects, it’s just LINES ON PAPER.

“Building with boxes” is harder than it looks and it’s a process unfamiliar to most. If you don’t know what you’re doing – you’re swimming with sharks.

Beyond that;

You can’t afford a “novice”.

A “novice” isn’t going to save you money. Here’s why;

1. They’re going to make mistakes based on a lack of knowledge of the materials.
2. They’re going to cost you space because they won’t understand the spaces being built.
3. And, they’ll lack experience in actually dealing with those tasked with actually building your home using these “new” materials”.

THAT is a recipe for disaster.

I’ve read a lot of “pie in the sky” stuff posted by people breaking into ISBU design and construction. Most of it is nonsense. ISBU home building is a different process than the one most builders are used to. They’re gonna have to figure things out as they go. And Guess what? YOU are going to pay for both that “education” and the delays” that it causes.

I won’t even address the  costly mistakes they’re going to make along the way.

You’re only going to get “less home and more trouble”.

The ONLY way that I would use a “novice” or “virgin ISBU team” for my home build is IF I already had established a qualified “oversight consultant” to insure that we stayed on track and that quality and safety issues were met. And that consultant would be involved from day one.  And, he’d have final authority over whatever came out of the design shop.

When looking for architect/designers or contractor/builders, you want;

1. Years of experience,
2. Good communication skills (If you leave a meeting puzzled or confused, they haven’t done their jobs),
3. Noteworthy Homes in their portfolio and…
4. Success driven guys and gals with an eagerness to build something unusual and of quality.

If they can’t explain it to you, they can’t build it. And an architect or a designer who doesn’t understand your needs is just a CAD operator. If they can’t communicate with you clearly and concisely about your goals, how can they build your home?

You need experienced “first string” guys.

Are they going to COST more? Probably. But, if they really know their stuff, they will SAVE you the cost of their involvement, especially when compared to the “others”.

And as established Architectural Tradesmen or Builders, they have great banking contacts.

They work hard to keep that channel clear of obstacles. If YOU can’t finance your build, it doesn’t get built in the first place, right? If you don’t build, they don’t get paid.

Most ISBU builds to date have been “out of pocket” because the banks were afraid of them. However, as more and more homes get completed, the positive press and the availability of “comps” (comparable properties) makes this process easier in some locations.

A good bank can save you THOUSANDS of dollars. Let me repeat this;

As “Altie homes” get more popular, there are more “comps” to weigh them against.

In some locations, this makes all the difference in the world. A home that would never qualify before (because there were no similar homes to look at for “value”)… now looks interesting in these forward thinking locations and that makes them viable to the bank making the loan.

There ARE banks that will work with you, but you have to really go out and look for them. There WILL be a courting process, so do your homework and provide as much information (including renderings and detail drawings) as you possibly can.

Your loan is going to be reviewed by a “committee” and you WANT them to want to participate.

You don’t have to pay 20-25% down-payments, either. Some banks will work with you for less.

Here’s an example;

I’m told that in Texas, BBVA Compass–only requires a 10% down payment for construction (and you may find that your lot value covers this amount). A 10% down payment is a giant difference from the 20 to 25% other banking institutions require and this gives you some cushion in your budget.

BBVA Compass DOES ISBU Home loans. I know it’s true because I personally know of an ongoing ISBU project funded by… BBVA Compass in the Houston area.

BBVA also builds in a 10% contingency funding line (emergencies and overruns cash) into the construction budget. This means that if you have bad weather, a production overrun or an unexpected budget crunch, it won’t kill your build. Your project is still completely funded and protected. Better still, if you don’t use that extra (emergency) credit line, you just eliminate it. It’s just insurance to make sure that your building project succeeds. That’s totally  awesome!

In conclusion;

Home Building is about TEAM building.

You don’t want “benchwarmers” or “Armchair Quarterbacks”. You want serious players with serious skills. I’ve seen a lot of  “ISBU Cheerleaders” lately. They stand on the sidelines and make a lot of noise (and some of them even look “pretty”) but they are just a distraction to the real game being played on the field.

Unless you have that solid team, a team that knows the drills and can execute flawlessly behind you… you’re gonna lose the game.

I guarantee.

Till next time,

Related articles:

• ISBUs repel everything… including “Spring”! (renaissanceronin.wordpress.com)
• Make your neighbors GREEN… with envy. (renaissanceronin.wordpress.com)
• Accordians aren’t just for music any more! (thebubbaeffect.wordpress.com)
• ISBU Homebuilding Part (mumble, grumble, snort): Waste not, want not! (renaissanceronin.wordpress.com)

It’s a Day of Remembrance, Sport…

I look around at people excited to hunker down around the BBQ, participate in all the local shopping sales, and spend that extra day off doing as little as possible.

I find this ironic, when you think about WHAT Memorial Day means. Many of us take Memorial Day for granted. We forget about the sacrifices made by men and women in uniform since the very beginnings of our great nation.

Look, it doesn’t matter where you stood on the issues or whether you actually supported a war or not, those Brothers, Fathers, Sisters and Mothers that we remember on Memorial Day paid the ultimate price because they believed in what they were doing.

They believed that their actions helped keep America Free.

To those who have forgotten, Memorial Day is specifically celebrated to honor our dead, not the living, or those who survived to make it home. Those of us who survive remember those brothers and sisters who fell.

This Memorial Day weekend, millions of Americans will travel the highways, visiting family members and enjoying a 3 day weekend. Many of us will head to the lakes, mountains or malls and big box stores for the hyped sales of cheap goods that are more than likely made in China. As they drive past the cemeteries of forgotten soldiers who died on the other side of the world not so many years ago, they won’t give those men and women a second thought.

I’m not saying that you must spend your Memorial Day weekend at Arlington National Cemetery, but I will ask that you take a moment to remember why this holiday was created in the first place.

Memorial Day wasn’t designed by marketers to rebuild the economy by fattening the wallets of retailers. It wasn’t devised to enrich the bank accounts of gas station owners who raised their prices before we hit the roads on Thursday. It wasn’t thought up by some suit in Washington trying to rebuild the economy single-handedly.

Memorial day is a day dedicated to the remembrance of those who fought and paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we wouldn’t have to.

I’m spending the day with my hands in the ground. It’s the same place that all those heroes are buried. I’m hoping that maybe, just maybe, I’ll get some of their courage by osmosis…

G_d bless them, every one.

NOW I’ve seen everything… :)

It’s Spring, as many of us haven’t seen home in a while.  With ISBU housing and Commercial buildings going up all over America, we’re pretty darned busy. It’s a long grind and frankly, we’re starting to miss winter…

Actually, it’s part of our “American Financial Recovery” operation, as we attempt to repair the economies of several cities, counties and states, seemingly single-handed. I tell you, my plastic is starting to melt!

But, enough of that. Let’s get to the meat of this post!

Okay, as I drive around America’s Heartland, I see scores of silos standing like soldiers pointed toward the line…

As I drive through America’s coastal regions, I mountains of Shipping Containers piled up in seaports, reaching up high enough to blot out the sun…

Here at RR (and at our “sister blog” CHC) we teach repurposing and recycling. It’s part of the dogma that we preach to disciples..

I’ve often looked at those massive concrete silos and wondered what you could do with them.

Well, wonder no more;

Warsaw based studio “Moko Architects” has announced their plans to build an entertainment zone, in the form of a diving and indoor skydiving center just outside Warsaw. Okay, no big deal, right? They build Six Flags and Disney Theme parks seemingly everywhere.  However, THOSE Corporate cats, do it by surrounding a pair of abandoned cement silos with a tower of shipping containers.

Moko Architects has designed a ten story structure  that will allow indoor sky-diving and diving to take place inside those cavernous silos… The facility is proposed for the industrial district of Żerań, where a series of channels transport water between the city and Zegrze Reservoir, and a number of abandoned factories, warehouses and silos stand empty.

And that water is important because Moko is going to fill one of those silos with water, so that divers  can frolic in four season access.

That water filled silo will allow divers to plunge to depths of 25 meters, while the second will contain an underwater “cave” at its base and a skydiving tunnel at its top.

But, what about the ISBUs? Are they going simply build blocks of support buildings around the base of the silos to support the operations? Nope.  Shipping containers will be stacked up around the outside of the silos to provide offices and training facilities, as well as providing additional spaces for things like youth hostel accommodation, an exhibition area, a reading room, sports shops and a summer cafe.

Balcony terraces will also be created on each floor by the irregular arrangement of the containers.

Building starts in 2015. I’m not kidding. This isn’t a concept or a stack of pretty renders. It’s a well thought out and very adventuresome project aimed at revitalizing a part of Warsaw that has seen better times.

If you think about it, it’s a pretty good  idea! WE have silos all over the place. WE have containers stacked to the heavens. This has “ISBU Mad Max Armageddon Adventure Center” stamped all over it.  Don’t like sky-diving? Okay, how abouts we turn that cavern into a big “ZOMBIE Hunter’s Paintball Training Center”? What about a massive indoor “Wall Climbing” school or training center? This could work,  folks.

I mean, Moko did a lot of research and really thought it through;

Just think of the possibilities!

Stay tuned!

And please remember the families in Moore Oklahoma in your thoughts and prayers. After the devastating tornado on the 19th (May) , they’re having some really bad days.

ISBU Homebuilding – an Armageddon Artform for the Locally Insane?

I get a lot of mail from people who wonder if it’s really possible to live in a steel box.

The concerns range from “life in a flimsy refrigerator shell” to “exposure to the elements in a recycled beer can”.

After doing this for years (I’m talking like… three decades plus), I have to laugh about the fact that there are still people on the planet who think that ISBU construction is still some kind of “Armageddon Artform for the Locally Insane”.

I’m thinking about the devastation of the recent tornadoes in the American Midwest.  In fact, as the Corten Cavalry scrambles to provide aid to those who need it, I can’t STOP thinking about it.  I’ve lived through earthquakes and hurricanes in ISBU homes, personally. While I’ve never experienced a tornado while sitting in an ISBU, I have to think that my odds would be much better than those families who literally watched their homes burst into shrapnel as the winds tore them apart. Weld a solid steel box to a foundation set firmly into the ground and you have far less “shrapnel” to lose. Your home might get bent or even buckle, but it’s NOT going to “blow apart” nearly as easily as the stick houses (or even brick/stone homes) that will surround you.  That means you have a better chance at survival in those situations where you literally have no warming before something terrible happens.

To make this premise work, to argue that steel boxes are better… first you have to look at what you’re starting with. If you’re building with ISBUs, I’m talking about that big metal box in your yard.

I’ve personally been to the plants in China that build these boxes. It’s really something to behold. You’d be amazed at just how fast these big containers pop out the other end of their facility. It literally takes less than a day to build a box in some of the factories that produce them.

Usually, it’s quite difficult to get permission to film video inside a  Chinese shipping container production plant.

I was sent this video link by a member of the Canadian Gov’t, as we began discussions about building them ISBU  facilities on the Canadian side of the Bakken…

It’s very interesting.

Rather than just describe HOW a shipping container is constructed, I thought that I’d show you;

Okay, first, these are “commissioned” boxes. They’re being built for a client for a specific purpose. There are some subtle differences between these and “regular” containers.  However, the process is very similar to the one that spawns the sea-going brothers and sisters of these boxes we see stacked up in shipping ports across America and beyond.

Look at the assembly line process they employ.

Pay close attention to how the flooring goes in. Watch as they use those guns to screw the floors down. It’s THAT gun that has become the bitter enemy of ISBU folks everywhere. Installing the flooring with that tool strips out the head of the screws a large majority of the time! Grrrrrr!

Note that you have to remove that flooring the same way it went in, after you drill out all those damaged screws.

Remember that standard ISBU flooring is laden with really nasty chemicals. In order to live in that box, you have to replace that floor. You can’t cover it up with carpet, tile or linoleum, or encapsulate it with some “miracle sealer”.

Folks, I’ve been doing this for over thirty years. There are no short-cuts. Do the work, or die in the box. Your choice.

Resist the urge to re-use that flooring material, no matter how good it looks. The only way that I would ever consider reusing it… would be to create another “quarantine storage zone” for some type of long term NON-CONSUMABLE storage. You know, stuff like machined parts or tools. And I’d still hesitate to do it. You’d have to guarantee me that it would be a “low traffic zone” and that you’d restrict kids, pets and pregnant women from entering that area.

And if I found out that you lied to me? Well, I’d probably kick your butt. Seriously. This flooring is nothing to fool with.

Moving on;

Watch as they install the roof panels. See how they bow and flex when they pick those big sheet assemblies up to place them on the top of that “box in progress”? That’s what that roof section will do if you get on top of that box and stand on it. It’s NOT structural unless you reinforce it.

Here at RR (and our business op CHC) we actually cut the removed flooring into strips as it comes right out of the container, feed it to a “water sprayed chipper” (to prevent dust and contaminants from getting into the air) and then we conveyor-feed it to a small blast furnace equipped with an air  scrubber, to make steam that produces CLEAN heat and power. The resulting ASH is pulled off into 55 gallon steel barrels to be sealed and then disposed of properly, by guys in suits and respirators. We don’t fool around.

My thanks to the “BigSteelBox” folks for taking the time (and walking through the minefields) to produce this video. It really demonstrates not only their devotion to their work with ISBUs… but just how tough and rugged these boxes are.

Stay tuned.

And please… IF you are able, please reach out to those families in Moore Oklahoma who are suffering the terrible aftermaths of the tornado on May 19th. As these families begin burying their dead, healing their injured  and rebuilding their lives, they’re going to need help. PLEASE… if you can… do something. If all of us do “just a little” it will add up to a LOT.

Thanks,

Alex Klein

Moore, OK – Update

As many of you know;

An F5 tornado tore through Moore, Oklahoma today leaving death and devastation in its path.

Many people were injured and from what we know so far, at least 51 are confirmed killed, including MANY elementary school aged  children. The first responders are desperately digging through the rubble trying to find survivors as well as those who have unfortunately perished.

The Corten Cavalry is already enroute with emergency supplies, ISBU based canteens and ISBU bath/shower/laundry facilities.

PLEASE remember the families of Moore, OK in your prayers and do what you can to assist if you are able. There are many, many long days and nights ahead of us and the grief to those families effected will be lifelong.

Stay tuned…

 

Build a Solid Steel Cabin on Steroids that you can HAUL to your site!

There are “boxes” and then… there are “BOXES”.

We’ve all seen the “soft-sided” pop out boxes that are getting plastered everywhere from “Fresno to Facebook”. It’s a large RV “towable” that folds out to form a big “hardened tent”.

Here at RR (and over at CHC – our business site) We’ve done similar things with 20′ ISBUs for guys who wanted to drop boxes on the beach or in the mountains for three-season holiday tours. They were  never meant to be used in difficult (hard winter) environments.

But what do you do when you need a “FOUR Season” solution?

Canvas or plastic just doesn’t cut it.

IN the ISBU realm, there are boxes called “Rapid Deployment” modules. These are used to create habitable areas that can be transported by truck and then dropped and popped… open.

Some of these boxes actually SLIDE open, allowing more space to be created in a fashion similar to those RVs we see passing us on the highway, hellbent for the nearest Good Sam’s Campground.

Using this “expansion method”, you could turn a 20′ High Cube single width box into a 24′x20′x8’6″ cabin shelter.

The Military uses similar boxes to build structures. There are a lot of reasons WHY they do it;

It’s an easily transported structure.

It’s light enough to be maneuvered into position using farm equipment.

It’s not “rocket science”. You can actually use simple diagrams to show how it all unfolds. This is particularly useful when you’re dealing with “natives” who don’t speak your language.

It sets up in MOMENTS. You deliver it to your site, drop it onto some kind of foundation (be it blocks, pilings, or a slab) and then you level it out and pop it open. About a half hour later (if you’ve NEVER done it before)… You’re ready to start moving furniture and people into that new “Corten Clad” space.

In “our” world, many families and groups want units that they can truck to site, set up and inhabit in a matter of hours. When they leave, they want to be able to secure those units from “Mother Nature or miscreant”. In most cases, these boxes are intended to be transported up into the mountains or someplace “rural” where they’ll stand against whatever comes.

And, they want to be able to “MOVE them to another location” if need be or danger arises”.

In most applications, these boxes are meant for arid or tropical deployment.

You can see by the video that the fold-out walls are quite “thin”. Even if you insulated them with SPF, you’d  only get an R-value of about R15 (not inclusive of any openings you cut in the walls, which would further reduce “R-values”).

We can do better. And, we can do it without having to somehow find these “Rapid Deployment” boxes sitting on Craigslist. Folks, that’s not going to happen.

We need something with a little bit more performance. We need to be able to deploy boxes that can travel from “Atlanta to Antarctica” without encroachment.

Okay, we’re not really going to build boxes (or box systems) that will stand up to “Antarctic” weather, but we’ll easily meet and exceed the requirements for structures dropped into places like Northern Montana or “upper Canada”.

Here at RR/CHC, we’re working on a new “addition” to some of our boxes. We’re building a “side frame” that welds onto each long side, that incorporates the bi-folds required to duplicate this in “harsh weather”.

We even incorporate the twistlocks to tie this system together.

An integral winch system will allow you to move the top and bottom segments out safely, with the push of a button. Think “truck winch and a PV charged deep cycle truck battery.”

In our view, the system has to be deployable by anyone in your party capable of  being tasked with this responsibility. I’m talking a pair of men, women or teenaged children.

Because all of your “mech and tech” (bath/galley/etc) are already installed in the interior of the existing (uncompromised) ISBU -shipping container, all you’ll do is drop the sides and then move the stacked furniture out into the created open areas to set up house! Heck, it’s easier than making a “Butterbar” look like an imbecile!

You can see how simple this is.

The trick is keeping the boxes narrow enough to allow them to be trailered to your Cabin or BOL (Bug Out Location) site behind a truck. There IS a way to do that. No, we’re not going to describe it. We have to keep some of this to ourselves… LOL!

Add a PV array to the roof for power and a reinforced area built into that roof for water bladders for domestic hot water (gravity assisted, no less) and you’re off-grid in style.

Add a pop-up to the top of the original High Cube ISBU and you have a “Penthouse” sleeping area above the din of the road…

Drop this unit onto a heavy chassis equipped with twistlocks (like maybe a modified Unimog chassis), add some leveler legs with ground plates to it  and you have the ultimate BOV.

Think “M-934ish 5 Ton Expando Vans”…

OR… drop one of these incredible units on TOP of another 20′ High Cube and you have a “High Ground Home” with a place to park your BOV underneath!

(Yes, it’s do-able. You can stack a pair of 20′ High Cube boxes with a pair of bucket tractors. It’s tricky, but we do it all the time.)

We’ve got some really cool things in store. Watch and learn, Pilgrims.

Stay tuned.

This is such a great idea that we’ve already paid patent atty’s and copyright guys to protect it. So, no funny business, folks!

Help! I think I’m RIGID!

We’re out trying to beat ourselves to death (with all the travel, incredibly long hours and almost endless long lists of things that MUST be accomplished as “Spring” roars to life) , so I’m going to take a moment or two over the next few posts to answer question from readers;

One of our readers asks;

Hey Ronin,

I’m building a small cabin on Sonotube pilings out of a pair of 20′ High Cube ISBUs. This is seriously right out of your playbook. We got the idea after reading your book. After consulting with you on the phone, our road to “Corten Cabin-life” was paved!

(Editor’s note; He’s talking about “Introduction to Container Homes and Buildings” and you can find about it in the right-hand sidebar of your screen.)

We’re doing this in the mountains of Wyoming, not terribly far from where you hail from. Would that we could afford to live in the Bitterroots! It’s so beautiful there! We’re envious!

We need to insulate in a big way. Lots of snow and cold in the winters, which seems to drag on into early summer. I know you can understand this, as you’re  getting “frozen” similarly. We want to insulate on the >OUTSIDE< just like you teach, and we’ll cover it with a siding product that looks amazingly like a log home after it’s applied.

Like you suggested, we’re using SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels) to construct our Gable Roof.

Boy, were the SIPs expensive! I know that the lack of support trusses and the ease of installation will help pay them down, but I had to sleep on the couch for a week after that argument with the Mrs…

In the rest of the cabin, we want to use SPF (Spray Foam Insulation), we really do, but it’s just not in our budget. They want over a $1 a square foot, in 1 inch thicknesses. We figure that we need at least 3″ of closed cell foam in the walls and over double that in the floor.

The insulation contractor told us that he’d “give us a deal” and then he quoted us $4,300.00 if we paid him in cash. I nearly fell down.  My wife uttered a curse word and left the room.

(Fir the record – that SPF quote included 3″ in the walls and 8″ in the floor.)

I’m glad that we’d already purchased the containers and the SIPs, or we wouldn’t be building this cabin now. My wife is pretty hacked off.

(Boy, were the SIPs expensive! I know that the lack of trusses and the ease of installation will help pay them down, but I had to sleep on the couch for a week after that argument with the Mrs…)

We want to heat the cabin with a small woodstove very efficiently.  So, insulation and glazing are really important.

Help us, oh “Sage of Steel”! We need help, before winter reappears!

Signed,

Frozen in Frostbite Falls, Wyoming

****

Dear “Frostbitten”,

First, love the Rocky and Bullwinkle reference! I thought of Boris and Natasha immediately.

(When reading this out loud at home, my 5 year old son yelled out “Better Frostbit than SNAKE bit!” as he raced giggling out of my room…)

Second, in a cold climate, a high performance building is REALLY important, especially when you’re dependent on cordwood for heating.

SIPs really are the best way to go, in my opinion, when building a roof. When SIPs are topped with Standing Seam Metal Roofing (SSMR) it’s a combination that is really hard to beat. And, once installed, you won’t touch that roof again for decades!

Now, about your insulation dilemma;

Usually, around here when you hear about “spray foam”, people are talking about this;

Wildfires in these parts make people REALLY nervous. If you follow the blog,  you know that we actually abandoned a house last year as the wildfires in the canyons closed in on us.

But we’re talking about Closed Cell-  Spray Foam insulation. It’s one of our favorite things around here. It’s an insulation that is really high performance and it fills in all the nooks and crannies where moisture and air can leak in and out of your home. It also grants you a vapor barrier a AND a moisture barrier, all at the same time.  It’s just goodness, I tell you what.

But, all that goodness doesn’t come without a price.

It’s true that  SPF is pricey. It can be had for less than you were quoted if you shop hard, but in some locales, there just isn’t any room for bargaining. The insulation guy is probably one of a small handful in your region and he knows that he’s got you over a barrel.

Let’s go back to “the Playbook” (Intro to Container Homes and Buildings).

I PREACH the dogma of recycling, repurposing and reusing. I do it all the time. You know it and I know it, so I won’t preach that sermon again here, except to say this;

I know where you are located and actually, I have not only a plan, but a source for you.

“Run… Do not WALK… to Repurposed Materials in Denver, CO.”

10220 Brighton Rd Unit #7 Henderson, CO 80640

(Technically, it’s just NE Denver. Same same…)

Here’s their telephone number so you can call for directions. 303-321-1471

I DO like these guys (with this caveat); “These guys don’t always have the greatest stuff, or even the best prices, but this time… they have you covered… literally.”

They are within easy striking distance of your cabin. They currently have “bunks” (in 12 sheet quantities equaling 384 square feet of coverage) of reclaimed 3.5″ and 4″ Polyiso (ISO) foam sheeting for sale. My understanding is that the rigid insulation is coming out of a Casino Remodel in Las Vegas.”

You want the ISO boards. PolyIso is the best Rigid Insulation you can buy, as far as performance goes. You’re  going to see r-values of r6 to r6.8 per inch, easy. You need “high performance”. So, it’s ISO that you need. And you need several inches of it on your walls and double that in the floor.

A lot of this rigid insulation will have a foil side, to allow the creation of a radiant barrier.

We find a lot of this material on Craigslist and Freecycle, but in this case, it’s a “one stop shopping trip” for your guys.

(Seriously, we find recyclable rigid all the time, for almost nothing in comparison with either buying it new or shooting SPF on your walls.)

The last time I checked, the RM guys in CO had bunks of rigid insulation for sale for under $260 – $300 per bunk. In the 3.5″ thickness ($21.66 per 4×8 sheet), that works out to about $.70 per square foot for an r-value of R21+  and just a bit more for the 4″ sheets. Those 4″ sheets (at $25 a sheet) will get you pretty close to r26 for far less ($.80 per square foot) than you were quoted for SPF from that contractor! And remember that it’s in the FULL thicknesses required.

Once you get it home;

You’re going to apply it using construction adhesive, between furring strips that you apply to the outside of the container. You’ll fill the seams using SPF tubes out of a spray can  type applicator to keep it all tight. You can easily do this yourself  and the sheets are light enough that just about anyone can handle them with ease. That means your “idiot brother in law” (Stop it! We ALL have an “idiot bro in law” or a reasonable facsimile thereof)  can help without complaining that the work is JUST TOO HARD for him…

You can DO this… for about $1200 worth of recycled ISO insulation, a “travel day” and some sweat equity.  You’re going to have some extra sheets, because RM doesn’t sell PolyISO by the sheet. You DO have to purchase the entire bunk.

BUT, you can use that extra insulation somewhere else in your home. I’d use it in partition walls like in the bathroom area, to not only help control heat, but for it’s acoustic properties.

“$1200.00. Done. Finito. Pass me a beer.”

Hmmm… your quotes for  “Contractor Applied – SPF” were  almost 4 times that amount! And you’re being “green” by recycling insulation! Good for YOU!

That’s EVEN better for your wallet!

NOW you can afford high-performance windows!

(I’ll see if I can find you a good source nearby. Stay tuned for that.)

So go on! Git! That “ISO board bunkage” ain’t gonna be there long!

Happy hunting!

And we just saved you over $3000 on insulation. Go take your wife out to a nice dinner in Denver.

Are you still here? GO. NOW.

Stay tuned,

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Apocalypse Duplexes, Inc.

I recently received an email from a guy who buys up old industrial and warehouse districts, in Australia.

He sent me an email and a “sample” photo of a single (standalone) house he saw and he wondered if we could take ISBUs and then turn them into rows of low income duplexes, to blend into an “Urban Industrial Chic” neighborhood in a similar fashion.  He actually wants to build ISBU housing on top of existing parking decks. The only real restriction is that we can’t go higher than two boxes high.

And, I have to say… the budget is pretty tight. Remember, he’s not looking to build luxury units, he’s aiming for the low-income market. So, we’re going to keep it really simple.

We’ve done “Artist” and “Vendor” units before that had a retail or gallery area on the first floor, with a staircase up to an apartment or residence.This is just another spin on that idea.

This is one version of what we think he might be looking for.

Would you live in this?

You know… the more I look at this…  “bronzed glass” might look really cool. I might have to respin this… LOL!