The Nuts and Bolts of ISBU Buildings!

Introducing:

Okay, after the release of my book - “Introduction to Container Homes and buildings” I received a ton of great reviews;

• Steve Spence from Green-trust.org says; “Alex Klein has been converting steel shipping containers into homes and shelters for quite a while. He’s got a great ebook on how to build your own home for about $40 / sq. ft. Info on insulating, combining units, roofing, and finishing. It’s great stuff. We have read it it and recommend it. It’s a great deal…”

• Jeanne from Punta Gorda, FL says; “I love your book. I can’t wait to have the opportunity to build my own “escape”.”

• Aaron T. from Atlanta, GA says; “I’ve just ordered your book and was totally gripped from cover to cover! What a great intro to a topic I’ve been interested in for as long as I can remember. I managed to finish reading the entire thing in an afternoon.”

• JJ from Sacramento, CA says; “I would love to build one of these dwellings for myself and have been very intrigued with the container models over “bricks & sticks” types of tiny houses.  Am so glad you are doing this and hope to see these models catch on in the US.  The possibilities are endless!”

• John U. from Quaker Hill, CT says; “Thanks Al. It’s a good read. It gives me hope.”

• Ryan R. from Milwaukee, WI says; “First, got your book….LOVE IT! Worth every penny and more…hoping it will be the ground work for what will one day be my modest dream of making and living in my own house.  Looking forward to the full blown version…”

• Vic C from Woodlands TX says;    “One very helpful source has been a fellow by the name of Alex Klein, the author of the blog “The Life and Times of a “Renaissance Ronin “.  Alex has literally written the book on container construction;
  

Introduction to Container Homes and Buildings…

Vic goes on to say; “… this e-book is a no-brainer purchase for anyone even remotely interested in building with Corten Steel boxes.”

Vic is the owner of Epic Software Group – and the driving force behind the design and construction of Epic Software’s  Creative Co-op Studios built using ISBUs!

• Craig M. from Florence, Ontario says; “Alex’s book “Introduction to Container Homes & Buildings” gave me the motivation to design something that I could do myself right now.  I really like how the book illustrates how putting hard work into planning can save the perspective home owner a sizable whack of cash on what we will end up spending on a dwelling. Quite an impressive book.”

• Robert C from Hemet, CA says; “Ronin, after seeing all the “almost impossible to afford or build” ISBU projects on some Architectural Sites, I’d almost given up! Your great book reaffirmed for me that I can build an ISBU  home out of Corten Steel for my family that will rival anything in my neighborhood and I can get rid of my banker and his outrageous mortgage at the same time. Bless You! You Sir… have a new disciple! Hoo Yah!”

• Doris L from Reno NV says; “Alex, Thank you for your great book! I’m not a builder, or even a technical person, I’m just a single mom. My dad bought your book for me. And your book taught me more about ISBUs in one evening (pouring through your terrific book from start to finish), than I’d learned going from “ISBU expert site to expert site” on the Internet in months. And you did it in plain English! I want an ISBU Home and I want you to help me build it! (I grew up on Dad’s farm, I can even weld!) And, now my dad wants an ISBU Home too! Thank You!”

And I have over a hundred more just like these in my “atta-boy” folder…

Thanks for the praise and you’re all welcome! I am so pleased that I was able to  share the “Steel Insanity” with you!

The cool thing about writing this book is that I know it is going to plant seeds that are going to change lives of families GLOBALLY.

Many of you know that we’re working on “The ISBU Bible“…

It’s a book that will follow several different kinds of structural builds, using ISBUs, sometimes combined with other types of alternative materials.

Can you say “Earthbags and Strawbales?”

Can you say “CEBs” (Compressed Earth Bricks)?

I knew you could.

The ISBU Bible  will follow each build from “Pre-design” all the way through to completion, in a step by step – “Here’s what we did”.

It’s a work in progress and frankly I think it’s going to help standardize and educate the ISBU Building environment. And more importantly, it’s going to make it much easier for you to build your own ISBU Home.

Like most instructional books of this nature, “The ISBU Bible” is going to be more expensive. There are already literally hundreds of hours invested in this book as we get it ready for distribution. We anticipate that it’s going to be in the $85 to $100 dollar range, by the time we get it completed.

In the meantime – we’re all watching the horrors of the housing crisis, the hardships of the economy and the rampant unemployment that is taking its toll on our families.

Worst of all – We’re watching as the “Middle Class” slowly disappears.

And, we’re all seeing inflation slowly creep into the picture, to muddy the waters even further.

As a result of these factors, some of our “highlighted” builds are slowing, as we try to assist everyone that we can and so that families can try to catch their breath.

Things are getting bumpy out there!

We’re watching tornadoes and rivers slowly tear the South apart.

Due to the earthquakes in New Zealand, the Tsunami and Earthquake in Japan, the tornadoes in Alabama and Mississippi, the flooding of the Mississippi River, and now the tornadoes that tore Joplin, Missouri and the Oklahoma City, OK area apart) we’re spending much of our time trying to bring aid and comfort to families in need.

Many of those families have lost everything, including hope.

We seek to restore that hope.

We are literally buried under the landslide of requests asking, pleading… for aid.

We are now working to help hundreds of families that need assistance.

And that means that we need to raise funds to help them.

I’ve decided to release a new book that will talk about HOW you actually connect ISBUs together into that Corten Castle that you crave!

1. We’ll talk about tool, materials and common sense applications.
2. We’ll talk about how to save time and money.
3. We’ll talk about “PRODUCTIVITY!”

“The Nuts and Bolts of ISBU Buildings“

…will cover the fabrication of an ISBU. It will illustrate HOW you actually transform an ISBU (a shipping container) into a Corten Steel clad home.

“The Nuts and Bolts of ISBU Buildings” WILL be released as an E-Book, in the same distribution manner as “Introduction to Container Homes and Buildings” is currently available.

That means that after the release date – you will have the book literally minutes after you make your purchase.

Books like this are time intensive, because they require the generation of CAD drawings and first rate photography.

So, this instructional manual on ISBU Building is going to be a little more expensive than “Introduction to Container Homes and Buildings“. However, we’re going to keep it affordable – aimed directly at the families that need it!

I assure you that it will be worth it!

But wait, there’s MORE:

As an added bonus – you’ll also be able to obtain all the detail drawings as CAD files and “sizable” detail illustrations – to import into your own plans, using most popular CAD software and word processing applications.

Keeping with our goal of keeping these instructional books affordable, we’re going to allow readers to reserve copies in advance at a sizable discount.

We’re going to start shipping in 60 days.

If you reserve your copy NOW, it’s only going to cost you $18.95.

AND it will include a 20% discount on the CAD drawings themselves, should you decide to purchase them.

You really want to think about this.

A lot of time and effort goes into producing these details. You don’t want to have to draw out each one yourself, or worse, pay someone else to do it. That cost would easily exceed the price of the book AND the CAD Disk.

Remember, these detail drawings will clearly spell out exactly HOW you will connect and fabricate your ISBUs as you create your Corten Castle.

And, they’re going to be the details that Planning and Zoning  officials (and any builders or contractors) want to see to prove that you KNOW how to build your ISBU home.

When we RELEASE “The Nuts and Bolts of ISBU Buildings” to the general public -  it’s going to be priced at $24.95, with the CAD Drawings Package becoming available for $49.95.

They’ll pay “full boat” with no donation credit.

You WILL be able to order the book and CAD files separately.

The SPECIAL RESERVE  prices are:

$18.95  – You’ll get “The Nuts and Bolts of ISBU Buildings” or…

$39.95  – for the CAD/Illustration and Drawings alone.

That’s a savings of $6.00 / $10.00  over the release price.

You can also RESERVE a COMBINED PACKAGE NOW.

$49.95 – The entire package – “The Nuts and Bolts of ISBU Buildings” AND the CAD DRAWINGS Package!

Note that you’ll save even more by ordering both of these together.

That’s a savings of almost $25.00 over the release price!

This IS a limited time offer. Seriously. It’s limited. L-I-M-I-T-E-D.

You’re helping families that desperately need it, and in return we’re helping you!

Seriously, in the same spirit as “Introduction to Container Homes and Buildings” – ALL the proceeds of “The Nuts and Bolts of ISBUs” will go to helping families both build and rebuild their homes.

Get the information that you need NOW and help us help families in need at the same time!!

Reserve your copy of: “The Nuts and Bolts of ISBU Buildings” now!

The button is on the top right side of the page. You can’t miss it!

As we help you, we help others. Thank you for helping THEM.

Surrounding ISBUs with DIRT! Yes… I said that out loud.

I was recently reminded that anything that you do “outside the norm” is considered “disruptive”.

A pal of mine, Owen Geiger, is THE Earthbag Guru… at least in my book.

He recently said on his blog, located here;

From Wiki: “A disruptive technology or disruptive innovation is an innovation that disrupts an existing market. The term is used in business and technology literature to describe innovations that improve a product or service in ways that the market does not expect, typically by lowering price or designing for a different set of consumers.”

He’s related that his manner of building homes out of earth (and CEBs – compressed earth bricks as well) goes back almost “before recorded time”. As such, you could consider those architectural practices “disruptive technologies”.

Like Earthbags, ISBU building can be held in the same regard, in my book. (Man, I sure have a lot of “books” lately!)

And very soon, I’ll have Owen’s NEW Book, about building Earthbag walls! Watch for it!

Both architectural practices offer cost effective housing solutions that run against the grain, in the mainstream building world.

And like earthbags, you’re not going to run off to consult a banker or mortgage lender for the cash to build your new abode.

While we’re building superior housing with our own too hands, it appears that there is a huge gap between what really works and what can be embraced by bankers and their boards of directors.

I agreed with Owen that this shortsightedness by “those housing experts” severely limits the number of builds globally.

In fact, I believe that this shortsightedness actually endangers families globally.

Owen submits that Personal Computers, Desktop Publishing, the Internet, Mobile Phones were all once considered “distrutive technologies” as well.

Imagine what will happen when we actually build hybrid homes, using both ISBUs and Earthbags, dancing harmoniously together to cradle families securely and safely, against seemingly all odds and perils… including near-sighted bankers and their ilk.

Enter:

“CORGANIXS”

(Yep, copyrighted and trademarked. Don’t even try it… )

The RONIN Guild has formed a new “arm” that will use ISBU “Cores” with Earthbag “Wings” attached, to form high-speed, sustainable, cost effective and energy efficient housing for families GLOBALLY.

And families will be able to build these homes by themselves, from paycheck to paycheck, without a big mortgage balanced precariously over their heads, after they move in.

In a recent post, I told you that I was going to start sharing some really innovative new ideas in ISBU building with you.

As I begin to share these gems to you… keep the term “disruptive technologies” in mind, as you review them…

Stay tuned.

Image Credit: Dr. Owen Geiger – Geiger Research Institute of Sustainable Building

Book ‘em, Dano!

Greetings, Campers!

We’re gonna play;

“Do You Remember?”

A while back, I told you about a company in Alabama that is turning shipping containers into prison cells.

Jingle Bells – Jingle Bells, I’m lockin up yer butt…

They look like this, if you’re um… housed there:

Well, Madrigorne, (one of my favorite long-time lurkers of this blog who lives up north in the tundra) recently reminded me that the “Corten Containment Camps” are spreading, globally.

We’ve focused on what’s happening in New Zealand a lot lately, after the terrible earthquake that devastated Christchurch.

ISBUs ARE being used to rebuild some homes that were lost.

ISBUs are also being used in New Zealand to house inmates incarcerated in New Zealand Prisons.

As a result, neighbors to the NorthWest (Australia) have been watching closely and have adopted a similar program.

From the AAP (May 19, 2011):

Shipping container prison cell trial for SA

From correspondents in Auckland
From: AAP
May 19, 2011 2:01PM

A QUIRKY scheme to lock prisoners in recycled shipping containers has been so successful in New Zealand that it’s set to be rolled out across several jails.

The new-look accommodation, to be trialled in South Australia, has “outperformed expectations” across the Tasman where it has been in use for a year.

Since the 60-bed block opened at Rimutaku Prison near Wellington there have been no incidents involving alcohol, drugs, mobile phones or weapons, and no violence against staff.

The block, entirely constructed from converted containers, has been touted as the cheapest and fastest way to build extra prison capacity as prisoner numbers reach all-time highs.

The South Australian Government announced earlier this month it would trial use of a six-unit block to see how effective it is.

If the New Zealand trial is anything to go by it could soon be in wide use in Australia.

New Zealand’s corrections minister, Judith Collins, told parliament yesterday there had been significantly fewer incidents in the container unit when compared with other blocks.

Maintenance costs were 34 per cent lower than expected and vandalism was extremely low, she said.

A study is now underway to see which prisons will use them.

Shipping containers are already used as modular accommodation and storage systems for the defence and emergency services, while a 120-room Travelodge in Uxbridge, England, is constructed entirely of prefabricated shipping containers.

Okay, first; Uxbridge ISN’T built out of Shipping Containers. They are custom built modules that resemble shipping containers. They are NOT the same animal at all.

Now, it appears that the Australians think this whole “Corten Prison idea” is barbaric.

Corrections Minister Tom Koutsantonis is catching a lot of flack over this idea.

Tom counters that 12m containers are “future of Australia’s prisons” and he pointed out that the Government would save up to $430,000 per cell by using the refitted containers.

“I think civil libertarians will be up in arms over the fact that we are using shipping containers,” Tom said. “I understand this is controversial, I understand this is different but I think we have got to make sure that we can house our prisoners safely, securely and cheaply.”

I smell “Mad Max” Container prejudice! Somebody call the ACLU!

Many claim that it’s inhumane to house convicts in containers. After all, they are, in his own words; “spartan, but of course humane”.

“If it is good enough for miners earning over $200,000 (annually), it is damn well good enough for prisoners,” he said.

I might also point out that those same basic configurations are being used to house our own SOLDIERS globally. THEY don’t find them “inhumane”. I’ve even been housed in them myself. They sure beat the crap out of “field conditions”… let me tell you!

In Australia, however, the civil libertarians are up in arms. They think the containers are “a short-term solution that needed more thought.”

“I would have thought the future of prisons involves the rehabilitation of prisoners,” he said. “There needs to be a focus on rehabilitation and reasonable conditions, not just cheap housing but effective housing.”

Um… can you really point me at a prison system where “rehabilitation” isn’t anything more than just a six syllable word?

These detention dorms ARE efficient, cost effective alternatives to the usual high dollar prison cell blocks. Properly designed (and easily designed too!), they can actually be fabricated by inmates in workshops located at the prisons.

This accomplishes several things;

• The inmates contribute to the elevation of their own housing conditions.
• They learn valuable job skills,
• They save the country money in the prison operation budget, and
• They use a resource already available and sitting dormant.

Prisoners from Cadell, in the Riverland, will be the first to be locked inside the new cells during a trial which is expected to begin next week.

If successful, the containers will be used to house prisoners across the entire prison network.

And if the Australians find them too unconventional?

We can buy them on the cheap and use them to house our unruly kids… right in our own backyards!

“Do the dishes or it’s off to the  C.C.V. (Corten Containment Vessel) for you, ya brat!”

Why do you do THAT?

Lately, we’re getting hammered by aid agencies as the Mississippi swallows up the heartland and tornadoes ravage what’s seemingly left.

Now all we need is a hard shake on the Coast… and we’ll have a hat trick.

Man, there is so much hardship out there…

As a result, I’ve getting my brain picked pretty hard and some of those corporate guys are trying to “understand me.” They don’t understand why anyone would devote the better part of their lives to something that doesn’t fill a pot full of gold.

“Alex, you seem like a really sharp guy. You could have made a LOT of money…” I was told…

People are asking me over and over again why I design and then build “alternative homes” for families and not “for profit”…

They just don’t “get” it.

I’m reminded of a letter I wrote to a dear friend (that I never even met – try to figure that one out…) after the passing of her husband.

Dear Karen,

(If I may be so bold…)

You don’t know me, but I’d like to share a story with you.

Malcolm Wells changed my life. I’m sure that it wasn’t his intention, and I’m sure that he probably didn’t even realize that he was doing it, but it’s true.

Many years ago, when I was just starting out on my “adventure into Architecture,” as a student at UCLA, I got to speak with Mac for about 5 minutes. I spoke about the difficulties encountered by people drawn to the earth, when architects seemingly drew monuments that sat on top of it.

I explained to him that I’d already lived in many countries, most of them in the third world, and we spoke briefly of the true nature of man, the one who lived with the earth, and not in spite of it…

Within moments of speaking to Mac, I knew I was “different…”

Fast forward…

I graduated with honors from UCLA and  went directly to work for a very prestigious Los Angeles Architectural firm, run by a “talentless tyrant.”

At the conclusion of a seminar on “Landmark Buildings and the Environment”  I remember that I compared those “monuments” to the “Red Corvette in the driveway of the middle-aged man…” I told my Architect boss (the aforementioned egomaniac with a drafting pencil) that I didn’t want to be “Stern,” I wanted to emulate “Wells.”

He thought I was insane.

He told me to “Shut up, and go get his dry cleaning.” I told him he needed to pick himself up off the floor – after I’d knocked him down. 

It was “the last straw” and I’d had all the “Steel and Glass Monuments to Ego and Stupidity” that I could stomach.

I left that building a “free man.”

It was a turning point for me. And I owe it to Mac Wells. If not for him, I’d probably have been “just another underpaid architectural slave in a cubicle” living under the thumb of a tyrant forever.

I suspect that Mac would have been disappointed in me for losing my temper, but I hope that he would have been proud of me, for the life I led, afterward.

You see…

Three weeks later, I was unemployed and standing in a rain forest in Northern California, cutting Shipping Containers apart with a grinder and a skill saw, to build an “alternative home” completely off the grid. “Net Zero” WAY before the term was ever coined.

And I’ve been “free” ever since. After too many Shipping Container and even (gasp!) Hybrid Homes for deserving families to count… I’m still reading Mac’s work, and getting lost in his drawings…

I never formed that big corporation (and I never even found a partner I didn’t want to kill at the end of the day)…

We just helped families that needed houses… build them.

We were content to be… “just guys.”

It wasn’t the money. It was the safety that we created for those kids.

And we’re still doing it today.

Mac Wells taught me that. It was all about “the future” by making changes to the “present.”

Some of his work has found it’s way into the projects we breathed life into and in several cases, his name is actually inscribed in some remote section of concrete, as tribute…  just to show that in some small way, he’d been there with us, even if just in spirit.

30 some-odd years later, I’m writing a blog that has become a cornerstone of the “alternative home” world, where Malcolm’s gentle spirit still speaks volumes… and drives most of my pencil strokes.

I’d have given anything to have gotten a note or a letter, or even a scrawled little drawing from him. I’d have hung it on the wall over my workstation, to draw inspiration from. I even wrote to him once, a long time ago, but he was simply too busy to answer me.

That’s the nature of dedicated men, and he was the best of them…

Please excuse my rambling here. The knowledge of his passing brought me to tears. I hardly knew him, yet he seemed so very much a part of me.

Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you, in this time…

We will miss him, profoundly.

Sincerely,

Alex Klein

**
I consider Karen a dear friend because she stood by a man that I idolize as his eyes grew dim and his body slowly failed, because she believed in him…and what he stood for.

Malcolm Wells taught me that NOW is the time for change. But first, you have to recognize that change affects EVERYTHING.

And then, you have to figure out how to make that positive change attainable to anyone that needs it.

I wish he was here now. I know that he’d have a pot full of pearls to inspire us with.

As Louisiana slowly floods… as more and more town and cities disappear under the Mississippi River’s cresting… we need that inspiration more than ever.

Over the next few days, I’m going to run some projects that inspire me.

You’re going to be amazed at the direction some people are taking, when using these wonderful metal boxes.

We have a LOT of work to do. I just hope that we are all up to the tasks set before us.

Metal Monsters in the Mountains!

Hi Campers!

Here’s the deal:

I’m buried in work right now.

Between normal caseloads and the usual gyrations, I’m now helping Aid Agencies try to come to the rescue of families that are caught between tornadoes and floods… literally.

WE have “family and friends”, here – where the levee just broke:

A few “Corten Compatriots” (including a rascal named Jeremiah Russell) and I are actually designing a 20′ High Cube ISBU that will turn itself into a 400 plus square foot steel clad home for four to five people.

And, we have a SIP manufacturing company that is lending a huge hand, by helping us with prototypes!

(You’ll find out more about this soon! This is going to be SOOO COOL!)

So, fear not! If your house is shaking like Dorothy’s OZ-fest… or filling with water… we’re on the way!

The next few days are going to be long ones.

You know that that means… Mailbag time!

Here we go;

Dear Ronin,

A while back, we started talking to an architect about building an ISBU house. We own several acres of hillside that gently slopes down to the prettiest meadow that you’ve ever seen!

We saw your post on your other blog about the little Corten house you’re building in the Sierras.  In fact, we followed up and actually spoke to the new owners.

(You’re right, the Gunny has a potty mouth. And he’s mad at you, by the way… for suggesting to his wife that they build three “square foot garden modules”. He hates “dirt”.) 

They couldn’t be happier, especially with the idea that the house is virtually clad in concrete and steel, all the way up to and including the roof.

Fires scare us. We’ve lost two homes on this site to wildfires.

So, we want to raise the house up off the ground using stemwalls, allowing great views, good cross-ventilation, and some respite from fires.

We also want the home to “look like containers”. We love that “funky chic” look!

Here’s a couple of images of what he’s proposing. They’re rough, as he just “pounded them out.”

Here’s our questions;

How much of this work can we really do ourselves? It seems very challenging, from removing the floors to actually framing all the interior. Is this kind of thing really DIY-able?

Second – He’s talking about having containers specially constructed in China. He says it’s easier and more cost effective. We can use wider containers and buy fewer of them.

Part of this reason includes that we can order them without the wood flooring that you hate so much. We’d like to use concrete floors, anyway.

Third – Can we really use so much glass in the view walls and still support the roof? I mean, you’re kinda militant about supporting the upper steel frame that connects the ends together.

Fourth – Any suggestions?

Please, be kind… we’re noobs to all this Shipping Container stuff…

Waiting eagerly for your advise,

Karen and Carl

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

Dear K&C,

Thanks for contacting me with this.

First, the images that are being provided by your architect are NOT his original work.

If he’s claiming that they are, you need to stop now and find a new architect or designer.

They actually came from a site called “Treehugger”.  (They’re also show on several other sites as well – in fact, they’re pretty old news.) It’s a site that tends to show the more fashionable faces of architectural structures, in what I often refer to as “artsy/fartsy” kind of way.

I call it “Architecture meets Fashion and Glamour!”

I don’t harbor them any ill will at all, it’s just that a lot of what you see there is either unbuildable or unaffordable for most families.

Treehugger is a GREAT place to learn “the ART of  what CAN be done”.

Some of their stuff is just visionary! I urge everyone to visit there. Then… take what you see there and figure out how to reverse engineer it into your own builds – affordably.

Let’s address “safety” first;

One of the most IMPORTANT things to keep in mind when building (especially when building “out there in nature) is to maintain a clear area between you and any threat.  This means that you establish your actual build site by clearing out any trees and debris that might endanger you later.

Fire “jumps”…

Right onto your roof and decks. So, build your home out of fire-resistant materials.

If you’re going for the “Corten Look” your “weak links” will be the glazing, the underbelly of your beast and the roof.

These can be easily and effectively managed.

Consider using the corrugated steel you remove from your interiors to form covered decks. If you make these panels “moveable” -  they can be lowered to cover your windows in case of fire or extreme weather. Think “shutters”.

Plus, when you’re away, your home is secured by the steel coverings. It’s hard to kick thru steel.

One of the reasons that I like SSMR (Standing Seam Metal Roofing) is that it’s cost-effective, easily applied, low maintenance, and resists FIRE.

Under your boxes… that concrete floor I advocate is a good deterrent against fire, too. (There are other ways.)

No matter what you do, ALL homes will still become “combustible” if it gets hot enough. So, plan accordingly.

I’ve seen the interiors of solid concrete homes burned out due to wildfires. Nothing is impervious to that much heat.

Can We Fix it? Yes we can!

(Hoo boy, with a three year old terrorist in the house, I hear Bob the Builder in my sleep…)

There is a LOT that home-building families can do to help keep their build budgets manageable. Beyond GOOD SOLID DESIGN and CAREFUL PLANNING… Sweat Equity tops that list.

Anyone can pour concrete with a little bit of guidance.

Staining the concrete and finishing it take some homework, but it’s still do-able.

You will need “carpentry skills.”

You will need painting skills.

Most of the work will be fairly straightforward except for spraying the entire box surfaces with something like “Rustgrip” first to encapsulate the anti-fouling paint that will come on your boxes.

If you rent a sprayer you can still handle this task.

Plasma Cutters and Welding?

You can take a class at your local community college to learn what you need to know, in most places.

Actual fabrication of the containers themselves can be farmed out, you know.

Let a qualified welder and a glazing crew cut, weld and install your windows… and then do as much as you can, from partition wall framing to installing cabinets and appliances… yourself.

Consider USING a professional roofing crew to do your roofing.

They’re better at it, they work much faster and the costs are comparable (if you shop carefully).  The last thing you want is to fall off the roof of a house perched up in the air. OUCH!

Consider leaving plumbing and electrical to people with licenses.

Seriously. Most “rookie” DIY families end up actually spending more money on these items, trying to do it themselves and then going back in to fix all the “boo-boos.”

Custom Containers;

Buying specially constructed containers in China is NOT “cost-effective.” Not even slightly.

First, what’s he’s probably thinking is that he can order wider containers to gain you more space with fewer boxes. A good example of this is the Travelodge hotels in England that used special “containers” to build hotels. This comes at a price well beyond the added costs of having special “containers” built.

First, they’re harder to ship. Second, they’re harder to transport. You can’t just drop them on a flatbed and haul them to your site, you have to use special trailers, special permits and a LOT of extra logistics. All that costs “special money”…

If it was ME, I would NOT do this. You can accomplish the same thing using “stockpiled” local ISBUs and save a ton of time, money and hassles.

Buy three 40′ ISBUs. HIGH CUBE. No way will they cost you as much as the boxes your architect is specifying.

Even with the additional labor involved, you’ll still be ahead.

And you’re going to get a stronger structure. You’re going to get MORE STEEL, especially in the end frames.

Glass Houses;

Yes, you CAN use a lot of glass in the sides of the container to bring that gorgeous view into your home. All you need to do is to frame accordingly, and place supports between the bottom and top rails to keep everything where it belongs. We do it all the time.

2″ Box Steel Tubing. You can work miracles with it!

You simply have the luxury of using more glazing than most of us can. WE have neighbors who probably don’t wanna see us running around in our boxer shorts.

As for suggestions?

Get a solid survey and soil tests.

Include perc tests. Do this FIRST. KNOWING what you’re building on is as important as what you’re actually building.

Buy (3) 40′ High Cubes.

Buy them as local as possible to lower the shipping and delivery costs.  This will give you your 24′ x 40′  (approx) footprint.

Use Standing Seam Metal Roofing (SSMR) over Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) for your roof.

Use Lightweight concrete for your floors.

NO CERAMIC INSULATION SNAKE-OIL!

Use SPF (Spray-on) or Rigid Insulation (closed cell!), or even blown in cellulose. NO Fiberglass batts!

Find a good LOCAL structural engineer.

You’ll require their assistance to “stamp off” your project,  to help you with the math, to insure that your stem walls and footings will work, and for aid in navigating thru the local Planning and Zoning gyrations.

(The walls are pretty easy and in my opinion, should be run at intervals of 10′ on center from end to end.)

Consider water harvesting and a panel farm on that big roof!

Photovoltaics and Solar Hot water are a great addition to a build like this.

Keep reading the blog and asking questions!

And, if you need help with pre-design or the actual design work, you know where we are!

Hope this helps!

Okay. Done.

Now, the rest of you… get back to work!

Image Credits:

The Flooding of Lake Providence – William Wise/Heather Levin

Architecture – TREEHUGGER

In a world turned upside down…

Many of you know that I recently started an “offshoot blog”, called “Radical Architecture“.

The “theme”, you ask?

(You did ask. I have the emails to prove it!)

Take “unconventional materials” and then do “unconventional things” with them.

However, this really isn’t what I had in mind:

From the “Sometimes You’ve Just Gotta Ask Yourself WHY?” files;

The most radical intervention into architecture ever? A guy named Richard Wilson did this in the middle of the Liverpool city center. Most amazing art installation ever, huh? Okay, maybe not, but…

“Turning the Place Over” consists of an 8 meter diameter ovoid cut from the facade of a building in Liverpool city centre.

Okay. No big deal. We COULD do that…

But… He then made it oscillate in three dimensions.

He took a gigantic “rotator” used in the shipping industries (I’m told they use them at nuclear facilities too) and incorporated it into a huge opening and closing ‘window’, offering recurrent glimpses of the interior during its constant cycle during daylight hours.

Now, if I could just figure out how to get an ISBU into that equation, it’s make the perfect “Mother-In_Law” apartment…

Tornado Relief Project!

Attention: To all residents of Harrison or Jackson Counties, Gulfport, Biloxi, Ocean Springs and outlying residents.

There is a Tornado Relief Aid truck stationed in the Winn-Dixie parking lot on Pass Rd, directly across from the across from the Wal-mart.

2384 Pass Road, Biloxi, MS.

The hope is to fill it up with food, water, clothing, furniture, tools, blankets and bedding, camping equipment (tents, sleeping bags, stoves, etc…) you name it… to take to the Tornado Victims in Smithville, MS.

Smithville was just hit by an EF-5 Tornado. You can clearly see from aerial photos the damage done by these horrific winds. This is the first EF-5 Tornado to hit Mississippi since 1966. I hope it’s the last!

Don’t forget things like childrens clothing, diapers, formula and toys! Children are the hardest hit by disaster.

If you have anything you would like to donate,  it will be manned by volunteers from 4-7 every evening this week.

You can see by the carnage that they literally need EVERYTHING!

I’ll add that cash donations are also needed, to assist in ways that can’t reach out of the back of the truck!

Please. They were there for us after Hurricane Katrina. Let’s be there for them, now.

Image Credits: WKGR, AP – via Google.

Tornadoes – PREPARE for the Winds of Death!

Whoo boy.

You all probably know that we just got hammered by Tornadoes.

Mississippi and Alabama are a mess.

And sadly, there were hundreds of  deaths and several hundred injuries. And we’re not thru counting, I’m sad to report.

I spend a lot of time talking to you about the “up-side” of our ISBU Steel Houses.

But many of you aren’t there yet.

This is just the beginning of Tornado Season, so as a reminder…

Here’s a few “Tornado Tips”:

Call your insurance agent and insure that you’re covered for tornado damage. DO THIS TODAY!

I’ve been to several tornado sites in the last few days and I can tell you firsthand that the damage is devastating. You cannot possibly imagine what a tornado can do, until one visits you. It’s like running a bulldozer across your entire county…

Sometimes it even cleans up after itself!

The secret to survival is acting early and correctly.

Where I live, there are still lots of Mobile Homes.

Listen carefully:

If your area is under a “tornado watch” or “hurricane warning”, and you live in a mobile home… for heaven’s sake…

Don’t be stupid. Get OUT! Gather up your family and go somewhere safe and secure. Do it BEFORE it becomes too late. You cannot outrun a tornado or hurricane with a car. I don’t care what you’ve seen on TV, in reality, it just doesn’t work.

Prepare for the event in ADVANCE.

Put together a “Go Bag.”

Get a knapsack and stuff it full of all the important things; medicines, food, extra clothing, important documents, water, you name it. Do this for EACH member of your family. You can FIND “Go Bag Content Lists” all over the place. Just GOOGLE it.

One of those bags should contain an emergency radio.

You’ve seen them before. The best ones use a crank to charge a battery so they always work.

When preparing for ANY kind of crisis, be it a hurricane, a tornado, an earthquake or a big fire…

Practice your “Disaster/Evacuation plan!”

Know what you’re supposed to do, know where you’re supposed to go… and then JUST DO IT!

And, do it often enough so that you know what to do without thinking about it. Remember – “Perfect Practice Makes Perfect!”

(“Sloppy practice” just creates bad habits and peril.)

Turn off the gas!

When your home gets ripped up by a tornado or hurricane, your gas lines get torn out too.

Somewhere along that damage strewn path, there’s gonna be gas leaking. You’ll need an adjustable wrench to accomplish this. Get to your main as early as you possibly can and turn the gas off.

Turn your water off!

For the same reasons, when a tornado heads your way, it’s a good idea to turn off your home’s water main.

It’s hard enough to survive a hit without being soaking wet. Trust me on this one.

If you’re hearing Sirens, you’re too late.

Act as swiftly as you can, as early as you can. That way, you’ll be safe and calm(er) when the tornado or hurricane arrives.

When tornadoes loom, go low.

Find the lowest section of your house and go there. Here in Coastal Mississippi, we don’t have basements. If you’re fortunate enough to have one, go there.

If not…find the lowest part of your house and then hunker down in a doorway or hallway. Getting into a bathtub is a good idea, unless it’s on an exterior wall.

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve seen bathtubs sucked out of houses. If you’re in it, you’re going for a ride.

Once you’ve hunkered down, stay put, stay down and cover your heads.

In fact, find a thick blanket or even a mattress and throw that over you, too. Make sure that your head is covered! You can live with a broken arm. Living with a broken head is another matter entirely.

Avoid windows and glass doors.

Taping them with a big “X” made out of duct tape isn’t going to help.

In fact, it’s just going to make larger pieces of jagged glass flying around like a buzzsaw.

I saw a tree that had glass embedded into it, all connected by duct tape. It was like a “flying sawblade of death”. Save the duct tape for NASCAR, huh?

In a hurricane or a tornado, glass is the first thing to go. In fact, everything glass in your house should be secured, if you have time. (This includes stuff like big flower vases and even fish tanks if you can safely move them.) Otherwise, all that glass is going to become jagged shrapnel flying through your home trying to kill you.

If you’re in your car, pull over and get out.

CAR + TORNADO = RIDE. Capish?

Find a culvert or low-lying area and go there. Flooring it and trying to get away isn’t going to work.

There. That should get you started.

Stay safe.

This informative post has been brought to you by the letter “T”, and the color Gray.

(Because we lived long enough to turn gray! You should be so lucky!)

Image Credits: AP