Let’s Talk About “What IF?”

Today, I’m going to talk about “WHAT IF?”…

Originally, I wrote this for my other blog, but I’m going to run it here, too. I think it’s so important, that it needs to be “aired out.”

Now, I’m not all “ego-driven” (unless you ask my wife), and I don’t have any insight that comes “from above,” I’m just “standing by the shore, watching the storm come in.”

We get email.

Yeah, people actually take the time out from their busy schedules, to let us know that we’re:

(And I quote)

(a) crazier than a bag fulla cats (or even “Crazy Harry”),

(b) just miscreants stirring up trouble,

(c) “Closet Supremacists” looking to start a fight so we can watch the chaos, and…

(d) Republicans eager to throw stones at a President who inherited a mess, and made some changes…

Okay, here’s our reply:

(a) We like cats too much to shove them into bags. That’s just mean.

Do that around me, and I WILL punch you in the eye, or worse.

(b) We choose our fights very carefully and we avoid confrontation as much as possible. This precludes “causing any” whenever possible.

It’s important to LIVE without stress or drama.

(c) We don’t find ourselves aligned with the dogma’s of Aryans, or Extremists, or Fundamentalists (or even Baptists, for that matter). We’re just people with families who want to safely navigate any peril we’ll encounter, and get thru any storm that comes our way.

At some point, you need to look to your own house, before you look to everyone else’s.

(d) We don’t see ourselves as being “politically aligned” or even “politically correct” anymore. It’s far too late for that. Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, a Liberal or a “Tea Bagger”… the perilous times we now live in have twisted themselves into something that affects every single one of us adversely, at some level.

You don’t need a “Magic 8-Ball” to see your unemployed neighbors, or friends with homes in foreclosure.

Things aren’t getting better.

It’s time for US to look after ourselves, since the U.S. Government doesn’t seem to be doing much in the way of “positive action” to make things better.

That government, that Congress that was supposed to provide for our security is too busy negotiating “riders and attachments,” “give-aways and bribes,” to get landmark legislation passed that will surely bring all of us to our knees. When even the analysts unite to tell us that something is really, really bad… well, we’d better start listening.

The times, they are a’changin…

It’s time to see things as they are, and then return to “Ground Zero.”

The problem is having real security in the basic things that are true necessities — air, water, food, shelter, and clothing.

Air – Although it’s quality is declining in most of our metropolitan locales, it’s still free and plentiful.

The multinationals have not figured out a way to control it, and Congress hasn’t figured out a way to tax it… yet.

Water – Hello? There are places in America where you’ll get a ticket for watering your lawn, or even washing your car.

Potable water is becoming more and more of a problem in more and more places on earth, due to overpopulation, pollution, drought, and waste.

Shelter- Well, Renaissance Ronin and The Bubba Effect are both basically just “Family Survival blogs” that talks a lot about creating safe shelters.

In fact, that is “part and parcel” of what we are chartered to help solve here. Our roofs won’t fall in tomorrow if everything else comes to a screeching halt.

Building an affordable, sustainable home that works with you on a daily basis to insure your family’s security and well-being just makes sense, especially NOW.

Clothing – Have you been to Walmart or Target lately? In the US, very little clothing is being made here.

There’s a reason that there are huge mountains of empty shipping containers stacked up in every major shipping port and railyard in America.

Everything is imported from overseas!  There is probably very little local sustainability of clothing supply anywhere within our borders, except in isolated places where commerce is still based on “the local Mom and Pop store” that Walmart hasn’t managed to kill yet.

People will say: “But wait… we have stockpiles! This is America! We have huge excesses of clothing on hand for the short to medium term.”

Sure we do, but how are you going to actually GET them? Commerce will come to a screeching halt if there is anything that resembles a collapse. Trucks may dare venture out on open roads, but I’m betting they won’t. Why? Those trucks will become huge 18 wheeled targets…

I’m hearing that old “Country Western” song in the back of my head right about now (I forget who sang it… CW McCall, I think… wait, I’ll “Google” it):

Get a load of that old stereo! I remember having one just like it in our living room…

I’ve left the best for last…

Food – is the “Elephant in the Room” that nobody seems to want to talk about.

It’s a big, big issue. You don’t have to turn on Cable News to figure out that world stockpiles of food are at the lowest levels since records have ever been kept.

And “Worldwide distribution of food?” Forget about it.

THAT is utterly beyond anyone’s control. This beast is barely still chained in the yard, and it’s a largely unmanageable system that barely seems to function as it keeps “working” so far…

Look, we are totally at the mercy of the globalized markets for our food.

Check the vegetable aisles in your local stores. All the produce seems to be from Chile, or Peru, or Mexico. The system might seem robust now, as you pay several dollars for a pound of tomatoes, but the reality is that it’s a supply system that can be shut off in a heartbeat. THEN, what will you do?

When we were stationed in America, I grew up in Southern California, in the middle of a huge farming district. We literally ran out our back door, and into neighboring fields, to pick enough produce for dinner, with the landlord’s blessings. (He was an “Ex-Marine” and a big fan of my father, who ran a local US Marine Air Station.) Alas, commerce and progress reared their ugly heads, and most of California’s produce production moved north, to places like the Sacramento valley, which represented a huge breadbasket.

Sacramento is famous for tomatoes, a huge trade crop, but even with that  seemingly unlimited availability of tomatoes and nothing else, you are certainly going to starve to death.

I mean, tomatoes are great, all mashed up into condiments, but you still need proteins. And sauce… we eat a LOT of pasta around here. But, many of the other vegetables grown there are similarly without vital components needed for survival.

Fortunately, there are also huge rice paddies and fruit and nut orchards within bicycling distance of the biggest towns in the region.

Now,  if you could harness all that… you’d be talking about real “Grass Roots” subsistence!

The problem there (beyond the fact that the State is in utter chaos and bankruptcy, as I type this) is that the million or more people have absolutely no clue how to provide for themselves on a basic level.

The few that do? Well, they won’t have a chance against the mobs.

Many of us grow gardens, and incorporate that produce into our families diets. However, unless that garden is pretty “intensive,” the vegetables that we grow in our backyards is not nearly enough to provide the calories we’ll need to live.

And we’ll burn calories bringing those crops in, unless we can talk the kids into doing it. Here’s how I’m gonna do it, when Joshua gets older:

And, there’s the grim reality that those very same gardens may actually pose a threat to us, as “those without seek out those with,” in mobs.  We grow gardens for the fresh food, the education, and the knowledge that we are creating a real “sustainable environment” in our own space, and we work hard at it.

There’s a lesson here:

Members of the LDS Church figured it out a long time ago. Now, as most of you already know, I’m a Jew, but I’m not afraid to “tip my yamulke” to those who have the foresight to create communities where security is provided by insuring the food supply.

They store, can, and dry. And then, they stockpile food as they pray, to the very same G-d I do, for guidance, and calm, and “divinely granted” insight…

Why don’t others do this??

Well, it’s because we’re not taught from the beginning, that times can get hard. If we’re out of something, we jump in our SUV  and race to Walmart or Winn-Dixie. We’ve outgrown conversations in the house about the “Great Depression,” or WWII Rationing.

What will you do, when Walmart or other grocery stores can’t be relied on to fill your shelves and pantries?

Hmmm?

I suggest that you have something important to think about. And, it’s a great topic for family discussion over the dinner table.

The real answer here, in my view, isn’t to buy guns, or bottled water, or MRE’s.

It’s to “gather the masses,” getting people together at the local level, to discuss and then understand the very real and imminent dangers that we face, as the American Economy falters. We need to go back to the times when communities actually had dedicated spaces, for purposes like Community Gardens.

We need to face the fact that “things are changing” and then work together as friends and neighbors to achieve local food security.

To people who find themselves living in places like Phoenix, AZ, where there is a large population, essentially no local food production, and no excess water or decent land to grow food with if they wanted to, I have some advice…

Consider your “needs,” and then consider your “haves.”

And then, act on it.  You may figure out that you “need” a moving van in your driveway…

Stay tuned…

And be nice to animals. The eye you save may be your own…

The BOB party gets BALLOONS!

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again;

KISS!

KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID!

I’ve been talking recently about OCTAGON BOB …

…which starts as a simple wooden octagonal room built on top of a wooden deck supported by hand-cast pilings…

Now add ONE 20′ High Cube ISBU to that OCTAGON, and you have a two “plus” room home, vacation home, or remote cabin.

Good ole’ BOB can grow from a very simple and cost effective structure into a large home for many people).  BOB just demonstrates how versatile ISBU’s (Intermodal Steel Building Units) can be, if you combine them in the “right recipe.”

The reason that I’m enamored with ISBU -  Shipping Containers is that they have the ability to be used in very simple structures that demonstrate themselves to be very cost effective and energy efficient.

Since I started talking about how OCTAGON BOB grew up…

(and then how his big brother OCTAGON ROBERT came to be), I’ve gotten a lot of interest from small to medium sized  families looking to become “rural” families.

These families aren’t concerned with “keeping up with the Joneses,” or appeasing nosy neighbors that are “protecting” their property values “like Scrooge clutched gold,” or even getting any “Atta boys” from the locals.

Even if you build your own Octagon Robert… DeNiro!…

They aren’t worried about building codes, because they’re probably building in a place where there aren’t any codes, or building inspectors…

Yes, Virginia… there really are a few places left where you can just build what you want.

(In fact, in my very next post, I’m going to tell you how to find them.)

Nor are there even “well-meaning” neighbors sticking in their two cents worth, while they drink all your frosty cold beverages up.

(If you plan it right.)

And since these families are also probably building these “unconventional homes ” out of their own pockets (because they can’t get a loan thru a conventional bank…) they need to find every penny they possibly can.

(This is so daunting that I’ve dedicated an entire chapter to it in my upcoming book: “Container Home Building.”)

These families want to pack their stuff into 20′ ISBU’s and then use those Corten Containers to move their stuff to the “new place.” That seems reasonable, since that’s exactly what 20′ ISBUs were designed to do, right?

But here’s the “evil” twist:

Muwahahahah!

After they get those “little” boxes to the site, they want to re-use them (after they are emptied), incorporating them into the design, as a part of the new house.

And that’s where the “ugly head of reality” looms large…

The art in any “affordable” building technique, is in maintaining a close grasp on “realism.”

We’re not building McMansions here, we’re building small, single family homes (generally under 1,000 square feet), that are targeted at helping us retain some manner of stability as money gets tighter and times get hard.

The best way to do that, is to keep them simple.

By striving for simplicity, a good design will actually save you from the two big sharks in the building sea… labor and materials. And, by reducing the effects that those two monsters (and all their attached remoras) have on your budget, you can end up with construction costs as low as $25 per square foot.

ISBUs are most commonly used as a PART of a small affordable building design. Although we talk about designs that use Shipping Containers “in the majority,” where actual structural material is used, I still think that one of the very best ways to use ISBUs is to use them is as “assemblies”… components contributing to a solidly designed home.

Think about ways to “maintain the flow of your affordability” when you’re building those “connecting tissues” that hold all that steel muscle together.

“OCTAGON BOB” has a wood and foam core. Although I used “homemade” SIP (Structural Insulated Panels) panels to construct them, we could have just as easily used traditional framing.

And, had I gone that route, you can bet that I would have used “BALLOON FRAMING.”

Balloon framing is a method from our distant past, a glorious past when materials were expensive and wood was long…

Wikipedia says that:

“Balloon framing is a method of wood construction used primarily in Scandinavia, Canada and the United States (up until the mid-1950s). It utilizes long continuous framing members (studs) that run from sill plate to eave line with intermediate floor structures nailed to them,  with the heights of window sills, headers and next floor height marked out on the studs with a story pole. Once popular when long lumber was plentiful, balloon framing has been largely replaced by platform framing.”

Balloon framing allowed “simple men to do simple tasks” without all of the dovetailing and mortises and tenons that were required when using more expensive “post and beam” construction techniques.

In “Wood” Balloon Framing, the building is framed with 2x6s spaced 24 inches on center. Trimmers and cripples are minimized by locating windows at the existing studs. The corners are framed in a way that allows access so you can stuff some insulation in.

Now, up in the Pacific Northwest, we called it  “advanced framing” (I admit it… we just did it to confuse all the construction workers that flocked in from those “other foreign places…” you know… “Yankees” and people from places like “California…” ).

If you look closely at the “Balloon Framing Detail” illustration,  you can see that Balloon Framing uses A SINGLE STUD to frame the entire two story wall.

And I ain’t talking about some burly construction lackey with a “beer belly” named “Dave” either…

One WOOD Stud…

(Not touching it. Insert your own joke.)

What?

One stud “running straight up to kiss God in the sky?” Why on earth would you do that?  Are ya nuts? Huh?

Well, back in those days, you could actually GET wood studs that long. Using a big, long stud allowed you to eliminate the rim joist. Instead, you just framed in your second floor by installing something called a “a let-in ledger,” which  supports the second floor joists.

I’ll show you one in a minute, so keep reading.

And don’t worry…there won’t be any “cold” spots.  foam insulation is easily used to “wrap” the ledger.

Now… about that WOOD…

Um… We’re talking “rural” here. How far away is the fire department?

In any wood home, fire is an issue. In a “balloon framed” wood home, fire is more of an issue, because it creates a path for fire to readily travel from Floor to floor.

Because of this, “balloon framing” is not allowed in most parts of the United States any longer.

Want to tick off your local Planning and Zoning Nazi? Tell him you’re going to “balloon frame” and then step back so you get a good view of the aneurysm.

Okay, if we build with wood material, how do we deal with that? I mean, you don’t mess around with fire, unless you’re on a camp-out, right?

We install blocking called a “firestop” at each floor level. Easy fix.

But wait, there’s more…

Now, take that one step further. Who say that we have to use wood at all? Why not use METAL studs in a balloon framing technique, to accomplish your mission?

More and more building construction is being done with metal studs. These “light framing” components are easily handled, easily worked, and “Tougher than a Tonka truck.”

Since steel is generally more fire-resistant than wood, and steel framing members can be made to arbitrary lengths, balloon framing is growing in popularity again in light gauge steel stud construction.

One of the nice things about “balloon framing” is that it provides a more direct load path down to the foundation. Do that with steel structural members, and you get a really strong house.

And, using those steel studs will save you labor! That metal balloon framing is a lot easier on all the trades guys you’re going to drag in…

You know, the electrician, the plumber, and the HVAC guys, for instance.

Why? Well, it’s a lot EASIER to pull ROMEX (wire) or PVC thru a metal stud. You don’t waste time boring holes or working around framing members..

Now that we know “WHAT to use,” let’s talk about HOW to employ this strategy;

The BEST designs are just “simple” rectangles, usually with some kind of extended porch structure attached.

But why are rectangles better?

Here’s why:

Heat loss is directly related to surface area.

Using ISBUs lends to achieving a building’s rectangular shape. And that rectangle is inherently energy efficient, because it encloses a large volume with a relatively small surface area. It’s not complicated, or labor intensive to build, so the simple design makes it easy for workers to do a good job insulating it.

Fewer odd sized wall cavities means less cutting and fitting rigid insulation, or making a huge mess with SPF (Spray-in Closed Cell Foam) insulation.

This is a lot easier on your construction crew, especially when they are relatives that you tricked into showing up, and not paid by the hour.

And if you don’t want to mess with SPF (um… well… I won’t be your “friend” any more )… you can even install (gasp!) 3/4″ foam (urethane) insulation sheets, to achieve insulation values of r24 in those walls…

If you do this right, and pay attention to detail, you’ll have a house that is “tighty-tighty,” and you’ll achieve air leakage rates so low that your neighbors down the road will envy you. Why? Well, because those rates will fall into the “advanced air sealing” area, a designation that builders and regulators put a ton of value in, when they are trying to get you to sign that construction contract.

Who cares, right?

You do. It means that your home will cost much less to heat and cool.

Using your head, and the paying attention to little details will add up to an affordable, sustainable home that’s very efficient to build and even more efficient to operate…

Stay tuned.

Did this post help you? We are still trying to determine the future of “Renaissance Ronin.”

If enough readers help to support it, and help it at least reach it’s operating  costs, we’ll continue writing it. We’re not trying to make a living off this blog. We’re not even trying to make a profit.  We’re just trying to “keep going.”

If you can help, please do. There’s a Paypal button up on the top of the page. Any help you can offer will assist us greatly.

Thanks, the “Tribe of Klein.”

BOB Grows UP.

A while back, I introduced you to “BOB.”

Now, I ain’t in the “DeNiro social circle,” and I’m not basking in the “Sundance glow” of Robert Redford…

So, I must be talking about “Octagon Bob.”

You see… “Octagon Bob,” isn’t really even a “BOB.”

It’s more like a “place out in the piney woods” built out of 20′ High Cube ISBUs. Built around a central octagonal platform, each side being just slightly over 8′ long, it’s a high-speed cabin build, that provides a lot of versatility, and a lot of possibilities. Inexpensive “home-owner cast” concrete pilings hold the whole thing up off the ground.

Recently, I was contacted by a family that wants to build one of their very own, deep in the Arizona Mountains. And, they have the ability to gain some incredible views, from a second floor. So…

They wanted to know if “BOB” could grow up, and become a “ROBERT.”

The idea is to add another ISBU container to the first floor, creating an “airlock” entryway, and then add a  second level of ISBU’s over the first level, creating 2 more bedrooms and a “Children’s Area,” plus a space for the Nanny (who just happens to be “Grandma”) to live.

Here’s the idea that we’re playing around with:

The circles with the “P” in them just illustrate where the pilings that hold up the first floor (and the second floor, obviously) are located.  As you can see, there are several of them (18 – in fact), and those piling end up costing about $150 – $200 each, for materials. The labor will be supplied by “unsuspecting visiting relatives.”

The OCTAGON in the center will end up being 2 stories tall, to catch as much south sun as possible.

The “Children’s Loft ” will overlook the central core, so the parents can scream up at the kids, without having to climb a ladder, or get out of their chairs, in front of the fireplace.

Could you ask for anything more?

Stay tuned, to watch this innovative and affordable ISBU home develop.

We are still trying to determine the future of “Renaissance Ronin.”

If enough readers will help to support it, and help it at least reach it’s operating  costs, we’ll continue. We’re not trying to make a living off this blog. We’re not even trying to make a profit.  We’re just trying to “keep going.”

If you can help, please do. There’s a Paypal button up on the top of the page. Any help you can offer will assist us.  Thanks,

The Tribe of Klein.

More fun with PVC!

Last time…

… we talked about something other than ISBUs or plasma cutters… we talked about using PVC to build a Greenhouse/Chicken Coop to get a jump on chores.

After all, the more chores we get out of the way, the more time we get playing with the plasma cutter!

And before you ask… Yeah… I’ve actually done this. In fact, it started a “range war” with my neighbors, who thought it “looked like a blight” and gave me all kinds of grief.

In reality, I think that several “soccer moms” just got on their hubbies to do likewise, and those guys didn’t like the idea too much.

But, no one ever said anything to me “directly” as I was always out in the driveway working on a Harley, and I usually had some “tat covered – big burly biker type” handing me tools. I think the neighbors thought that if they confronted us, we’d thrash them.

And… we would have.

Ronin’s PVC Fence Garden:

Take 4″ pipe and using a circle saw mounted in your drill, cut 2 1/2″ holes in it,  spaced evenly along the lengths of your pipe.

If you want to be really “high-tech,” paint your pipe (on the outside… nobody’s gonna see the inside) black first. That way it’ll soak up the sun. Heated soil produces better plants… unless you’re doing this in the Sahara Desert…

And don’t be an idiot! Line up all the holes first! The last thing you want is holes running “willy-nilly” all over the place. Neatness counts,  huh?  I bore holes about every foot or so, on center. But depending on what you’re planting, you can go closer. Don’t go any closer than 6″ though.  The holes will be too close together for good root production to take place inside the pipe.

These holes are where you’re gonna stick your plants, so do yourself a favor and hit them with a little sandpaper first, or you’ll scratch yourself to pieces.  I know that you’ll probably survive a scratch or two, but heaven forbid your kid gets a gash on his knuckles while helping you plant the crops. Your wife will look at you like you’re Charley Manson!

“Hey! YOU were supposed to be watching him, you idiot!”

Now, you can just run these pipes down the outside of your fence posts, but I double them up. I mean, I’m already there, and I do love using power tools, so what the heck, eh?

Plus, you get a REALLY sturdy fence that way.

If you’re going to run 2 sections per “row” – alternate your hole locations, so that everybody gets enough room to grow without crowding.

You can wrap fabric over the ends of the pipe, to allow for drainage.

Now, just sink some 4×4 fence posts in the ground, and then run a piece of your garden pipe between them, both sides, front and back. I secure them to the posts using hurricane straps and drywall screws. It’s easy.

Starting high enough off the ground to insure that your dogs don’t pee in them, just run them up a few feet apart, until you get to shoulder height. Anything higher than that is hard to plant, tend, and harvest.

A drip irrigation system snaking up and down,  back and forth… keeps everything green and maintenance free!

Note that the ends are depressed, so that they angle down slightly, to help with drainage. Just put a little pressure on them with the hurricane straps to get them angled down the way you want them.

I put a big container plant at each end, to catch the “extra” water drainage. Don’t want to be accused of wasting water!

When you’re thru, you have a sturdy fence, fresh food, and dense, lush, glorious… privacy.

That’s a “three-fer!”

These photos are of Peter Duke’s fence garden, in Orlando, FL. I’d have used my own photos, but a hurricane ate them. After I get a new fence built, I’ll add my photos to the mix.

Have fun!

I write this blog, because like many other families in America and beyond right now…  my family’s SURVIVAL is at stake. This blog is the one thing that we can do to help others.

I’m asking you to get involved.  We’re drowning here. IF you can, consider “throwing us a bone”, huh?

If I’ve helped you, informed you, educated you, or just entertained you with the hundreds of informative posts we’ve  written… please consider donating a few bucks to the blog, to help MY family survive and rebuild OUR own home.

Every dollar counts, and  every single penny gets very carefully spent.

There’s a Paypal button located right up there at the top of the page. It’s easy, it’s SAFE, and it’s SECURE.  And we’ll appreciate it more than you can possibly know.

Finally… A Container “Purist.”

Recently, I’ve been toiling with trying to find a way to figure out how to actually “make a living” teaching people to build their own homes, using ISBUs.

This has been brought on by the fact that taking care of my wife (who has Stage 3 Cervical Cancer)  and caring for a 2 year old little terrorist doesn’t give me much time to go out and make a living.

I’m their primary care-giver. He’s teething. She’s crying. He’s crying. Sometimes, I’m near crying myself… It’s exhausting, I assure you.

To say that our life is hard doesn’t begin to cut it. It’s a struggle just to keep the lights turned on. But, we get up each day, determined to make a difference, and bring everything we can, to everything we do. That includes helping a lot of other families build homes, homes that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford.

It’s just about the only way that we can help people right now.

Does this blog help you?

Are you learning enough from it to give thought to building an ISBU or “alternative home” of your own?

Does it inspire you to wonder IF you can actually build it yourself, and then take the next step?

If so, I urge you to  make a difference, and even help yourself in the process.

Can you help? YES.

Please, consider helping us with the expenses to run this blog. It’s expensive, it’s time consuming, and it’s the only way we have to help other families, in similar shoes.

Every family should have a home. YOURS, and MINE… TOO.

Please help us do that. If  I can’t figure out a way for this blog to at least carry itself, it’s going to die. There’s enough impending death in our lives, without adding this to the list. PLEASE help, if you can.

There’s a Paypal button up there on the right side of your screen. Please, help us continue.We cannot do this on our own, any longer.

Now… here’s another glimpse of WHY you should support this blog:

I’m one of the few people in the country that actually KNOWS how to build ISBU homes. Ask around… ask guys like Dave Cross at SG Blocks how many homes I’ve built or how long I’ve been doing it. There’s a reason guys like Peter DeMaria are fans of mine. (First, it’s mutual. These guys are “Corten Gawds”…) And second… The “Big Kahuna’s of Corten Madness” KNOW me.

Lot’s of people TALK about building ISBU homes, but few people actually have. YOUR project will probably be their first one. And that means that you’ll be paying for their education, out of your own pocket. That’s idiotic, unless you have money to burn.

Want an example? I recently talked to a guy who was told by several contractors that that he “couldn’t live in a Shipping Container.”

“His circumstances wouldn’t allow it…”

Then he found a guy who offered to build his Shipping Container Home for him… for $175 a square foot.

Needless to say, “L” said no.

So he started asking around, and then he actually went looking… for ME.

I’m calling this project; “L’s Bells…”

Many of you know (from reading my blogs and other writings), that I’m an “Insulate on the outside” kind of guy, when it comes to ISBUs.

What do you do when you get approached by a guy who actually WANTS people to know that he used ISBUs?

First, you shake his hand.

And then, you shake him by the shoulders… until you come to the grim realization that he really HAS thought this thru, and he’s ready for the fight that is surely to come.

And THEN… You (gasp!) insulate those ISBUs on the inside!

Now (we’ll call him “L”) decided several things before he even thought about talking to me.

• He wanted his house up on pilings, at least 10 feet in the air.
• He wanted to not only leave the Corten corrugation visible, he wanted to “enhance the patina” using a process (of mine he saw on one of my projects) that speeds up the oxidation. Starting with BROWN containers, he wanted them to turn “muddy brown” ASAP.
• He wanted to use blown in cellulose insulation – packed pretty tight, to prevent it from settling and creating cold spots. And…
• He wanted a clerestory roof, with a sleeping loft.

He has part-time custody of his son, so he needed a cool place for him to sleep, thus the requirement for the sleeping loft.

Oh yeah, he also wanted to use some old insulated truck doors he found, as part of his “design” scheme.

They were similar to ones I’d used to create a “disappearing wall” in a bedroom, so that the room could be opened to the outdoors with the flick of a switch. In THAT project, I set up the Master bedroom so that you could literally open the wall, and roll the bed out onto the roof.

“L” didn’t actually want to move the bed, he just wanted to open the room up to all the fresh air he could get.

Oh yeah, did I tell you… “L” is a paraplegic? So, that 10′ climb to the front door is going to be via a ramp system.

Just under 900 square feet of living space, plus a sleeping loft.

Knowing that you can’t get a conventional construction loan to build an “alternative home,” he borrowed from relatives,  missed meals, and scrimped and saved… until he had about $58 a square foot to build with.

That puts the budget at about $54,000 and change – “decorator ready.”

There won’t be a  “formal” garage,  he’ll just park his van underneath it.

If you want to commit to a similar project, or even bring me in to “help you” build one yourself;

You can contact me on my consulting site, located here:

CONTAINER HOME CONSULTANTS, INC.

Because folks, unless Renaissance Ronin starts paying it’s own way, it’s going to get closed down…

We LOVE this blog, and we want to continue it, but the time has come to either make it work, or let it die. I can’t work this hard “for free” any longer. The “Sharing” has to go both ways.

Stay tuned.

Fun With PVC!

Hi there!

Here at “Renaissance Ronin” we’re looking for excuses to do “manly” things, since our wives made us stay up all night making “seed tapes” for another project of ours:

The “2010 – The Bubba Effect “I’m NOT A VICTIM” Survival Garden.”

That’s because… lately, somebody who shall remain nameless…  talked me into making “seed tape,”and like an idiot, I mentioned it to my wife.  So now, (robbed of “the seeds are too small for me to see” excuse) I’m tasked with starting all the seeds.

I’ll get you for that, Alina. I swear I will…

Oops. I wasn’t gonna “name names”… Oh well!

(Man… my “I’ll get you” list is getting longer, lately… Hmmm…)

You see, when we’re not dreaming and scheming all things ISBU, we’re thinking about what, or sometimes even WHO we’ll eat next. Because the only thing worse than a “houseless Daddy Ronin,” is one with his stomach grumbling.

Well, starting seed in March requires a little ingenuity, since the weather is sneaky here, and it can turn on you in a second. Here in coastal Mississippi, the weather is just downright demented. Last night it dipped down into the frosty part of the thermometer to the point where your breath almost clouded. Then, this AM it rained, then it got bitterly cold, and now… it’s 64 degrees and it’s headed back down into the thirties tonight.

Talk about a roller-coaster. Mother Nature must have missed her meds… again.

So, I started thinking about building a small greenhouse, but because I’m frugal as “all get out”…

(And people frequently tell me to do just that… “AL! GET OUT!“)

(And no… about the “frugal” thing… it’s not a “JEWISH” thing… It’s a “POOR” thing, so just stop it.)

I have a bunch of left over PVC Connectors. And, I have a bunch of leftover PVC plastic pipe.

And… what could possibly be more “manly” than plumbing?

So I thought to myself;

“Self… I ain’t up to “bare-fisted shark wrestling” this week, so…  what kind of mischief can I get into before the fumes from the PVC glue overtake me?”

And, Voila! Then it came to me like a blow to the head with a cast-iron skillet…

Here’s what I’m going to do:

Instant greenhouse, that “Transformers” into a chicken coop, later this year!

C’mon, you guys know how I am about “recycling and repurposing” stuff. I mean, really…

I’ll put chicken wire over it now, from top to bottom. And then, I’ll cover the chicken wire with clear plastic sheeting material, that you can buy in big rolls.

WHY? Because I just happen to have some of that “plastic on a roll.” It’s see thru, and a little bit thicker than the stuff they wrap your new VCR or DVD Player in, from the factory.

Then, I’ll build some benches to plant in (using recycled wood, of course), and run a waterline up inside one of the “legs” of the PVC structure, so I can water the plants now, and then water the chickens later. I’ll just build it so the whole thing runs off a garden hose attached to the greenhouse/coop, wherever it gets dragged to in the yard.

I’ll run an extention cord up “the other side,” so I can install (2) overhead CFLs’s, to allow work after dusk…

I might even put “garden cart” wheels on it, to allow it to be drug all over the place without it rubbing on the frame when it gets moved.

Easy, easy, and it shouldn’t take more than a weekend. He said.

To firmly anchor it to the ground, I’ll just use u-shaped coat-hanger wire, pushed down over the frame at the bottom, into the ground. I may even add a few tent pegs to it, just for insurance.

After the seeds get off to a good start, I’ll take the plastic off the sides, and then throw some chickens in there for Joshua to torment. I’ll just throw some dark plastic over part of it, to give them some shade…

And since we’re talking about PVC and gardening…

This guy used 2 & 1/2″ pipe for the outer structure, and 3 & 1/2″ pipe for the top and two vertical supports.  It’s easy to harvest with this walk-thru trellis.

Now them’s some “Manly” Cucumbers! I’m gonna have to send a big “Thank You” to Dave Camp, who built this PVC Beauty!

Don’t blame me.. or even Alina… blame this lady:
CHICKEN TRACTOR

Or blame these guys:
CHICKEN COOP – GREENHOUSE

You can find other cool stuff to make out of PVC here:
COOL PVC TROUBLE TO GET INTO!

Yeah, I could have done it out of an ISBU.  But have you ever tried to drag an ISBU across the yard? Huh? Well?

I didn’t think so. Hmmmmphf!

Good luck.

I write this blog, because like many other families in America and beyond right now…  my family’s SURVIVAL is at stake. This blog is the one thing that we can do to help others.

I’m asking you to get involved.  We’re drowning here. IF you can, consider “throwing us a bone”, huh?

If I’ve helped you, informed you, educated you, or just entertained you with the hundreds of informative posts we’ve  written… please consider donating a few bucks to the blog, to help MY family survive and rebuild OUR own home.

Every dollar counts, and  every single penny gets very carefully spent.

There’s a Paypal button located right up there at the top of the page. It’s easy, it’s SAFE, and it’s SECURE.  And we’ll appreciate it more than you can possibly know.

It’s Happening All Over!

Greetings, Campers…

As we work on the Haiti boxes (mostly assembling “flat-packed” cabinets, and fabricating the stainless steel countertops and stuff like that – for the time being)…

I thought I’d take a moment to show you HOW ISBU’s are being used, “outside” America’s borders.

I still get email from people who “don’t get it.” It still cracks me up to get email for people who talk about the “NEW” ISBU building techniques.

Container Homes aren’t NEW.

Container Homes have been around as long as there have been shipping containers. DECADES! They simply weren’t “mainstream” in America, because we had our focus set “somewhere else.” Only because of this new GREEN Movement, are they considered “NEW”, and that’s simply because now they’ve become fashionable enough to put on TV for a good rating.

There are thousands of these homes/cabins/shelters in existence outside the borders of the United States.

It’s just that here in the US, we’re kinda spoiled. We get to build whatever we want, and we don’t have to worry about costs, or labor, or um…wait… maybe we should have been taking notes…

So, I’m going to just show you how some OTHER (S-M-A-R-T) people have used ISBU’s to solve housing problems.

You’ve all seen this high-density housing project. I’ve talked about it almost endlessly;

But, not everybody wants 1,000 screaming college kids in their backyard, right?

What if you used ISBUs to build a small complex, or even a small community?

The Military does it. They do TOO! See?

Okay… too “industrial…” Let’s take another look, shall we?

What about something like this?

Okay, still too many people in your yard…

What if you just used a few ISBUs to build a home or two? You know, one that would blend in with the neighbors, without screaming “Mad Max Industrial Armageddon?”

These boxes are just that: BOXES.

Use them creatively and you can house a 100 people, a small community, a few friends and neighbors, and even (gasp) your Mother-In-Law…

(Notice how the doors and windows face AWAY from your house?)

These Corten Cubes are just components. Building materials. Sure… they pose a challenge or two, but think of the things you can accomplish, if you just use your gray matter for something besides fertilizing your hair!

Stay tuned!

Ronin

Please know that this site requires a great deal of time, money, & effort to develop & maintain. If it’s been useful to you at all, and you can afford to…  HELP my family and support this site by making a small contribution by hitting that PAYPAL button up there on the right. Paypal is the BEST “secure” way to contribute to any cause…  This will help keep us alive while we “Captain the Ship”  that will remedy our own situation and empower us to continue writing, maintaining, and providing… the countless hours of hard work that this blog demands, in order to help YOU remedy YOUR situations…

The last six  photos are credited to:  ei Sedan

But the Inspectors HATE me…

Greeting, Campers…

Lately, as we’ve worked and toiled, getting jigs and templates built for the Haiti ISBU Medical Containers that we’re fabricating, I’m getting hammered with email from people trying to navigate the foul waters that are:

“Planning and Zoning”

Muwahahah!

Look, I’ve been warning you about the P&Z Nazi’s for years…

Were you not paying attention? Hello?

It must be that time of year. I mean, you’ve been trapped inside with the kids all winter, your wife is just itching to get out into the malls, and your welding rod holding hand is starting to atrophy due to lack of work… Oy.

So, once again, I have to save your sorry butts, and get your project back on the right track.

Ironic, isn’t it, that I have to save you, while Mississippi tries to sink ME? Hmmm…

G-d sure has a sense of humor.

Now… your first clue should have been that squadron of “Flying Monkeys” in the City trucks out there in the parking lot…

… but nooooo… you had to push thru those big double doors, and then peer inside.

And you thought that your “Ruby Slippers” would save your heinie…

Nice look… DAVE. They bring out the blue… in your Dickies…

HA!

There are several steps to a successful building project. Beyond drawing the lines, and “doing the design dance”…

The first one is getting approval to build it, in the first place.

I break this down into several small steps, so  that you can make progress without feeling like “Atlas trying to hold up the whole world” all by your onesies:

Here’s how I do it:

Little STEPS build strong houses:

1. Start as soon as you can – home building under the best of circumstances is a long process.

2. Start with the right information about where you live, how they run your jurisdiction and how tough the local applicable codes are.

3. Once you’ve had your seizure… Go out and get information about specific alternatives.

4. If you’re still having a seizure at this point,  go find and enlist the help of allies and alternate sources of expertise. (Not your “know-it-all” brother-in-law. That NEVER works out…)

5. Take your meds, and maintain a positive attitude. Be nice, even if it hurts!

6. Go “meet  and greet’ your local inspectors.  Share any information you have with the building officials.

7. Brace yourself, they’re probably gonna have questions. So… after you get their initial feedback, be careful. Listen carefully, (record the conversations if you can) and get everything that you possibly can, in writing.

8. Like any other relationship, the building process binds a lot of people together. Respect the relationships and try to maintain the trust levels.

9. Be Diligent. Address all the concerns and the objections as reasonably, factually, and directly as you can.

10. Take your meds, again… Demonstrate the “Two P’s:” “Patience and Persistence.”

11. Think out of the box! Consider ALL your options – and explore the avenues leading to appeals, special agreements, and even (gasp!) political and media pressure.

12. When you’re done, and all your stuff is moved in… THEN… (and ONLY then) acknowledge and thank those who helped and shared in “your lessons learned.”  That case of beer (or box of donuts) will go a long way toward helping the next family build THEIR ISBU Castle…

Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll break those all down, and get you rolling. ‘Kay?

Stay tuned.

Please know that this site has required a great deal of money, time and effort to develop & maintain. If it’s been useful to you at all, and you can afford to…  HELP my family and support this site by making a small donation by hitting that PAYPAL button up there on the right. Paypal is the BEST “secure” way to donate to any cause…  This will help keep us alive while we try to actually “Captain the Ship”  that will remedy our own situation, and empower us to continue writing, maintaining, and providing the countless hours of hard work that this blog demands, in order to help YOU remedy YOUR situations..