It’s not the “Container of Death!”

The Anatomy of a Container Home…

I was going to write a post today, describing more of MY house. But, I made the mistake of opening my GMail account, and I got barraged by emails from people trying to “help me see the error of my ways…”

It seems that if you’re not doing something the same way as everyone else, you’re an idiot. Now, I like to think of myself as a visionary and a genius, but every time I try to make sure people know it, my wife bursts out laughing and spoils the moment… I wish she’d just… oh, never mind…

Recently, my family (well, me, actually) has been telling you about the project that is nearest and dearest to our (well, my) black little heart.

My family needs a house. We need a shelter from the storm, just like Bob Dylan croaked about, eleventy-thousand times, in the sixties…

In fact, it’s in our (well, my) hearkening back to the 60’s that I got this brainstorm.

And no, it didn’t come from years of taking the brown acid! Hey, I wasn’t even out of puberty yet!

It came from thinking like a hippie. That’s right, a hippie. You see, hippies didn’t have anything tangible. They didn’t need anything tangible. They just needed a ride to the next Grateful Dead concert, some mud, and a tent or two. And, evidently, they didn’t even need much in the way of clothing, because every documentary I see on the “Woodstock era” shows people without clothes on. They must have hocked them for gas or maybe blankets, perhaps…

Now, if my mom was alive, she’d be slapping me on the back of the head right about now, for even saying the “H” word. You see, mom was a Marine. And, she delighted in showing people the error of their ways. And if you failed to see things like she did, well, let’s just say that she could hand you your own spleen, and then offer to cook it up for you, to have for supper…

But hippies saw things differently than most of the rest of America. It wasn’t just “free love.” It was “free anything.”

Because they hocked their clothes for blankets. Weren’t you paying attention?

The hippie era was filled with angst, admittedly, but it was also fueled by blue acid… um…er… ingenuity. If you didn’t have “it,” you either made it out of an old cardboard box and some baling wire, or you didn’t really need it. Of course, they always had “acid.” It was everywhere, if you believe my mother.

I can still remember her screaming at us:

“No you can’t use the drinking fountain. Somebody might have laced it with acid!”

People used their brains, and got what they needed, by using whatever they had. And it’s in that same spirit that this house was born.

Well, it’s either that, or I watched way too many MacGiver episodes. That guy could build a nuclear reactor out of a nickle and a piece of string…

People are amazed that I’d even think about using a shipping container to build a home. So, in a speech that has become really well-rehearsed, I just tick off all the obvious reasons for doing so;

(1) Heavy Gauge Steel. Lot’s of it is used in the construction of shipping containers. Steel ain’t afraid of a little weather!

(2) Integral frames that don’t rely on the “skin.” My “box” looks just like your “box…”

(3) Connectors that lock into place, securing each container to the other. Better than a Master Lock, it is!

(4) Inexpensive “space” solutions based on cost per square foot. My house costs $30-$40 a foot. You paid HOW MUCH?

(5) Versatility. You can build almost anything you want, if you have enough containers to stack up…

And I could go on, but that’s enough for now.

The obvious question is whether or not a steel box can be reworked to allow you to live in it, comfortably. After all, it’s a “steel box.”

We all know about the true nature of steel. It transfers heat, and it transfers cold. And those properties don’t make for very good building material.

“Woodstock needs to meet Mr. Science.”

Once you’ve found your containers, the first thing you can do is sandblast the paint off of them. You can trust me on this. These boxes will have more warpaint on them than Madonna. And, some of that paint may be toxic. After all, it’s put there to repel some pretty nasty stuff… And the paint on the containers can’t be much better!

And you wouldn’t wanna breathe that, would you? So, if you’re really industrious, you’re gonna spend a day or so, per container, getting all that paint off.

Even here, you can find a bargain. Set the sandblaster up so your neighbor kids can see it…

And then say in a loud clear voice; “No, you absolutely, positively, cannot use the sandblaster. It’s not gonna happen. This is too much fun!”

Hey, it worked for Tom Sawyer, didn’t it? Hmmm?

After that, you just shoot some rust-proof primer onto the containers. Primed metal is happy metal, I always say.

Or you could even “encapsulate” that paint, with a product like RustGrip, from SPI Coatings. That would work. And, it’s WAY easier than sand-blasting.

Okay, the “Corten shell” is ready for remodeling….

Now, what do you do?

You insulate the containers.

You can’t live without insulation. If you tried, it’d be like living in a refrigerator in winter, and an oven in the summer.

And that provides even more problems.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. It’s a trade off at some point, you have to insulate the box, so “the box” gets smaller, right? I mean, the insulation has to go somewhere!

Well, there’s a lot of thought on this subject;

I personally opt for SPF –  ‘spray on – closed cell’ foam. It goes on easy, it provides high r-values and it provides a lot of other benefits as well. I’ve written several blog posts dedicated to the topic. You can find them in the archives.

There are other options; Rigid Insulation (PolyIso is the best in my opinion) Blown-In Cellulose, and even (gasp!) fiberglass batts. Coming in LAST is the one that there seems to be a ton of controversy circling around, like buzzards –

Ceramic Insulation Coatings.

There are guys out there that insist that Ceramic Insulative Coatings are the way to go. We’ve all seen them on Television. We’ve seen them in magazines and we see them on the Internet.

But, do these “miracle coatings” really work?

NO.

I”m not going to drag it all out here again. Look at the top of the page,and click the page called “Ceramic Insulation”. It will tell you everything you need to know about Ceramic Coatings.

The deal here is that I want you to know the “deal.” Period. You weigh the evidence, and then you make up your own mind.

What’s next?

What’s that? Speak up, I can’t hear you…

Okay, let’s talk about actual fabrication. No, not the “creative writing” kind… The “get the plasma cutter, Martha, we’s gonna do some whittling” kind…

All you really need to turn a container into a house, is a plasma cutter and a welder. A good plasma cutter will cut through container panels like butter. Now, a torch will do exactly the same thing, it’ll just take a little bit longer.

I bet you’re thinking these tools are going to be massive and unwieldy, huh? After all, you’re trying to “frankenstein” heavy gauge steel…

Well, you’re wrong. They’re so small, you can carry them around the shop, all by your “onesies.” Now, I wouldn’t make a habit of it, but… here’s what they look like:

And since my personal exposure to injury is directly related to my durational exposure to power tools, less is more… Trust me on this. If you don’t believe me, ask my wife… LOL!

Watch your fingers!

Doors and windows are easy to create, and the framing is done just like on a traditional house. You just simply cut away the steel skin you don’t need, to get your openings. Depending on the size of your openings, you may add a structural support or two, but all in all, it’s not really difficult to get the “room of your dreams.” You’re welding steel to steel, so you don’t even need a special welder. A small Lincoln welder will do just about everything you need to do.

Looks like THIS!

(I love name dropping, don’t you? After all, merchandizing is the name of the game!) LOL!

In fact, if you really look at it, you’re not doing anything out of the ordinary. You’ll use the same kind of stuff as the house next door, on your “Steel-built” house. In our house, for example, we’re using the same stuff you see at Home Depot or Lowes (how’s that for a blatant plug?), just  regular doors, windows, sliding glass and French doors.

The containers you use have locks called “twistlocks” attached to them at the corners, allowing them to be locked together, for all those sea-going trips to wherever they go. Those locks are stronger than anything you can imagine. They have to be, because these containers get loaded up to the brim with everything you can think of. A failure at sea would be a disaster. So, the guys and gals who build these boxes make them “Craftman tough…” And we use those same connectors to allow these boxes to become houses. We even use these same connectors to attach the boxes to the foundation of the house. Talk about tough! Once you lock these puppies in place, they ain’t moving for anything.

Containers are built to have forklifts race around inside them. The plywood flooring is massive. So, you’d think that you could  just put “flooring” over it. Tile, carpet, you name it…

NOPE.

In our case, we’re gonna remove the plywood (you can never tell how much formaldehyde  and toxins were used in the creation of that plywood) and shoot a floor out of lightweight concrete. That way, we can install a radiant floor system, to heat and cool the house.

That plywood gets recycled, too.

Right into a dumpster headed for a safe hazardous landfill. In most cases, shipping containers are floored with teak. Although that’s a very valuable commodity, it’s one to be discarded.

It can’t be re-used. It’s TOXIC.

So, you have a customized steel shell, locked together like a two pit bulls fighting over a t-bone steak, ready for whatever weather comes toward it.

And, because you got the shell for a song (they average about $1200 bucks for a used 40′ container), the cost per square foot is way below the normal construction price of a new house. Even with the labor, the primer, the insulation, and the configuration, you’re still under $15 a foot. Way under…

Once you get to this stage, all you need is some creativity, and about four or five friends who can use hand tools. You’d be amazed how fast you can wire and plumb a container, before the sheet rock goes on and the paint starts to dry.

At least, that’s the story I’m telling my wife…