Shipping Container Homes {part 2}

Shipping container homes and Earthship biotectures are at the top of my I’m-going-to-build-a-home-with-that list as I calmly expressed HERE not so long ago.  While dipping the curious stick a little further down the rabbit hole, I found information that made me flip like Dominic Dawes did in the 1992 Olympics.

     

WHO? WHAT?

Credited as the father of containerization, Malcom McLean, owner of the first trucking company to be listed on the NYSE,  had no idea that his solution to a shipping problem would turn into solutions for alternative housing.

Sometimes called ISO containers, Cargo containers, or Conex boxes, shipping containers are built to be 20ft, 40ft, 45ft, 48ft, or 53ft long. When converted to be used in construction of a home, they are called ISBU’s (Intermodal Steel Building Unit). All shipping containers are made of Corten steel, a “weathering” steel, which means that due to their chemical compositions, these steels exhibit increased resistance to atmospheric corrosion compared to other steels. This is because the steel forms a protective layer on its surface under the influence of the weather. (copied directly from  Wikipedia)

A 53 -foot long craft room is just what the doctored ordered.

     

WHY WOULD ANYBODY WANT TO LIVE IN A SHIPPING CONTAINER HOME??

PROS (+)

 + Strength, +Durability, +Built to resist harsh environments, +Can transport easily because they conform to standard shipping sizes, +Building time is a lot shorter than building a traditional home due to the standard modular measurements.

CONS (-):

*Neighbors may think your home is ugly. (really?), *Because welding and cutting steel is a specialized job, you’ll have to hire a professional. *This fairly “new” method usually comes with a side of “I don’t get it” decision-makers so the permit process may take a little longer. *Insulating big metal boxes won’t be cheap. Jeff Hammond (Kat5 Homes) and Alex Klein (Renaissance Ronin) heavily favor the Closed Cell Spray Foam for insulation. Jeff says, “It is by far the most efficient and effective thing on the market, and with containers, the lack of space makes it almost a requirement.  It’s also the most environmentally friendly option, because of the massive amount of energy saving.”

   

ARE CONTAINER HOMES QUICKER TO BUILD?

Victor at ContainerHome.Info says,

“It is said that container homes are faster than regular construction – you read things like the home was built in 7 days – you can say that about modular homes as well but the work is still being done somewhere else. It doesnt only take 7 days and some things like getting approval and sign off will likely take much longer.There is definately a place for container homes and prinicpally that is the opportunity it presents for a greater measure of “sweat equity” – doing some of the project yourself, that is where the savings are and that is what the site is all about”

Quickly becoming my go-to source for this alternative housing construction is Alex Klein, of Renaissance Ronin, who describes himself as a “crochety old jew living in the south”. He’s been building homes using shipping containers for a couple of decades and he wants to show other brave DIYers how. Alex seems to be EXTREMELY knowledgeable (and passionate) about using these Corten Steel boxes. In addition, he and some friends have been working on a project that makes me want to slap somebody (in a good way). The Corganix Project is  a hybrid home using a shipping container as the core and earthbags to surround the house – creating more living space (and external insulation)!

Sooo, dinner at your place, Alex?

HOW MUCH DO THESE CORTEN STEEL BOXES COST?

Alex says, “ISBU Containers are running/averaging a hundred dollars a foot, nationally. In LONG BEACH, they’re running a hundred dollars a foot. I checked TODAY. I know for a fact that boxes in the SF Bay area are priced similarly. That means that a 40 foot High Cube is going to cost you about $4000.00.”

When I asked Alex why a used container cost so ^*#&ing much he said, “There are literally hundreds of brokerages popping up as shipping containers become more popular. This is why the prices are getting so “inflated”. It’s making it MUCH harder for the “average joe” to just go buy a container. You’re going to jump thru hoops and the selection (once you learn what to look for) is going to diminish. 

 SO HOW MUCH WOULD A HOME COST?

PieceHomes (on the west coast) charges $225 – $250 per square foot. Jennifer Siegel, who has worked with shipping containers for more than a decade, and her team at Office of Mobile Design charges about $260-$280 per square foot for a home. Included in OMD’s price is the transportation, installation, foundation, finishes, and steel framed construction. These prices do NOT include the cost of the land (if you’re buying land) or permits. Stillwater Dwellings homes start at $200/sq.foot depending on floorplan and style package.

Although some of the sites I’ve visited have a comparison charts, I wanted to check for myself just how much it costs to build a traditional custom home. I’m still waiting for those figures to come in. When they do, I’ll revise this post to reflect what I learn.

AFFORDABLE OPTION FOR STRUGGLING FAMILIES??

Some sites I’ve visited are building shipping container homes for families in need. I wonder, though, with the prices I’ve seen so far, how can a family in need really afford a shipping container home, let alone afford to build one themselves. This is what Victor of ContainerHome.Info says, “The truth is Banks and finance companies don’t like alternative design technologies ( and for good reason ) so they will not go anywhere near a container home ( yet ) unless you don’t need the money – always the way huh. So you need cash to build – I don’t know any struggling familes that have that sort of cash.” 

He went on to say…

“The bottom line is if you’re a struggling family the last thing you should be doing is designing and building a custom home – and that is what this is with all the one-off design fees and planning and mistakes that will be made and need to be paid for - that come with custom homes. 

 Struggling families need to purchase an older style home with potential and fix it up doing what they can and bringing in tradesmen when they need to OR build a home that is the easiest, quickest and low cost home to build and that means a modest proven plan – probably modular that is just a rubber stamp at the planning office and start building.”

 WHERE DO YOU BEGIN?

If this process seems a bit overwhelming, it very well could be for the beginner (such as myself). Where do you start? What questions should you ask? Who can you trust? I’m hoping that this blog post will give you a good start. One question that I would have never thought to ask the builders is ARE YOU FINANCIALLY STABLE? Read what Stillwater Dwellings says about why you should ask this very important question. If I can offer any piece of advice, it would be to take it slow and do what I do  -  ”stalk” the builders.

 I’M CURRENTLY STALKING…

Robert and Joel of Hybrid Arc and Cargotecture who are based in Seattle, Washington.

Peter DeMaria of DeMaria Designs (and LogicalHomes)

Roy Maufus of Gorilla Designs built this beauty in Utah. Check out what they’re doing to Sega Lily school!   

Brian McCarthy, while on a business school trip in Mexico, came up with the idea of using shipping containers to raise the standard of living for families in need. PFNC is located in Mexico. 

Maison IDEKIT Home, a husband and wife team, recycles last-trip containers AND their designs allow room for a vegetable roof! 

Victor from ContainerHome.info contacted me a few days ago to tell me about a FREE 120 page e-book called The 30 Most Influential Shipping Container Homes Ever Built. He is a former builder from Australia who now lives in Thailand. His membership site is set  up to be a community of shipping container enthusiasts who want to learn the do’s and don’ts of home construction. 

PROJECTS AROUND THE GLOBE:

     

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

The Strait of Malacca is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. It’s a narrow body of water that connects the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and 60,000 ships per year pass through. An Aljezeera website puts that number at 94,000. To put it into perspective, think about a big, smelly, loud semi truck rattling your windows every 6 minutes of EVERY day for an entire year!

The narrowest part of The Strait of Malacca is only 1.7 miles wide, which creates a major choke point. It’s exaclty what it sounds like. This narrow part of the already-narrow body of water is so small that ships have to drastically slow down in order to pass through. This has been an international problem for many years due to collisions, thefts by pirates, terrorist attacks, and oil spills. Each time crude oil tankers get all choked up in the Strait, a substantial increase in energy costs always occurs.

For those of you who want to dig a little further…

Upcycle Living (Arizona)

Intermodal-Design (Minnesota)

Lot-Ek (New York)

Adam Kalkin (East Coast)

Ecopods (Canada)

Zigloo (Canada)

Zero Cabin (blog)

ISBU Association

Project: GreenCube (part of ISBU Association)

American Association of Port Authorities

Homes Made from Recycled Materials

A couple of years ago I experienced Garbage Warrior,  a documentary about Michael Reynolds, an architect and visionary on a mission to live off the grid by building energy-efficient and self-sufficient homes from, well, other people’s garbage. He calls these homes Earthship Biotectures and I want one!

Hypnotized by his journey, I began rethinking what I want my future life to be and it goes a lil somethin’ like this.

Like my new BFF Ana White, I want to build my home and most of the furniture in it; however, I want to do it with 100% recycled materials. Then, I would will (still working on the law of attraction thing) capture the entire adventure in the form of a television show WHILE creating a home schooling curriculum based on everything we do!

So…

I’m thinking of using a shipping container (or two) as a craft room that will be detached from our Earthship Biotecture!

You know you want to click on the pictures!

  

shipping container homes, homes made with shipping containers, homes made with recycled materials

I envision mini me reading books about art and entrepreneurship in the structure we build together using plastic or glass bottles.

Hold on a minute….won’t the plastic bottles break down as some point? Exploring the answer to this question will certainly birth lessons in science, technology, math, reading, writing, and the environment!

  

GASP! How about using concrete pipes to host slumber retreats for mommies who need to get away for a day?

Walls made from old tires or earth bags (more on this soon), construction times cut in half, utility bills of less than $50 a year – what’s not to love!

This post does not and cannot possibly cover all the goodies I’m finding in the alternate housing aisle. So stay tuned for detailed posts on Earthship Biotectures, shipping container homes, and homes made with other recycled materials. You’ll be astounded at what I’m discovering!

Now that I’ve found all these flippin’ options, I have to reorganize my vision board, recalculate some time frames, and get busy!

I Have A Crush on Ana White!

A burning passion to create things using my bare hands started decades ago. Not sure of the exact date, but I can tell you that my father, an engineer, was always building something when I was growing up. My mother, Tanzanian-born and raised, was taught by her village to NEVER throw anything away – that everything can be reused.

After all, when life hands you Mt. Kilamanjaro to stare at from your front yard everyday, you make babies who want move mountains!

Daddy’s projects were plentiful; however, one of my all-time FAVORITES was the custom-built van he made in the summer of 1989. I was 14.

He bought the empty shell and mcgyver-ed a lawn chair to make the driver’s seat. Me and my sisters slid and giggled in the back of this van all the way home. After 3 1/2 months of fearless building, we had a fully-carpeted conversion van complete with EVERYTHING from separate radio systems to mood lighting to an automatic fold out bed.

       

*the fam was taking to long to send me the actual pictures so I grabbed these from the internet. They are VERY close to the real deal.

Twenty-two (22) years after the summer of Van-ities, I find myself following closely in my father’s footsteps. However, it’s not a van I want to build. I want to build a home and all of the furniture in it!

Thanks to Ana White, I feel like a giggling 14 year-old again and I want to move mountains!

Ana, you built the closet but I’m coming out of it to say that your website is FLIPPIN’ AWESOME!

For those of you who don’t know her, Ana is the bomb dot com!

She is a mother and wife living in Alaska and is the proud owner of one of the most popular furniture-building blogs on the interwebs today!

What makes her site so special? I’ve been doing this forever, you say.

She, like most of us DIY bloggers, started out with a dream, not knowing what to expect. And now, within two years of her first blog, has accumulated over 41,000 followers (at the time of this writing)  on her Knock-Off Wood Facebook page and has surpassed the 1,000,000 mark on her website.

That’s just the icing, folks!

Ana shares everything she does – for FREE (as of the writing of this post) – and then has the nerve to create a Brag section specifically set up for you to post your finished projects (using her plans, of course).

  

This is how it works.

1. Have the desire or need (and not necessarily the skills) to build a piece of furniture, a loft bed for example.

2. Scratch your head (and rub your belly at the same time) about how to build the bed. Ask yourself, ” Self, where do I start?

3. Go to Ana’s website!

Just click the picture, will ya!

4. Look for loft beds through her simple search button or by category.

5. Drool over the detailed sketchings, shopping list, cut list, and general instructions.

Don’t worry. If you can figure out the difference between a nail and a hammer, then you can follow her plans to build whatever your ticker desires – except a van. That will require a PRO – kinda like my daddy.

6. Convince significant other (also known as your “creative” self) that you can do it!

7. Post your finished project to the Brag section of her site like these builders did.

      

Hold on to your hammers and glue guns!

SHE BUILDS HOMES, TOO!

She and her husband just broke ground for their MomPlex – a duplex they are building for his mother and her mother to live in – together!

Are you starting to understand why I dedicated this entire post (or 4.5 hours – whatever, who’s counting) to telling you why I HEART Ana-White.com?

Don’t get it twisted! Flippin’ Factory is in a monogamous relationship with Upcycle.  My goal is to use Ana’s plans to make just about everything using recycled materials. For my next project, my daughter’s loft bed, I was thinking of using an old chest of drawers, slats from another bed, old rope, used wine corks, and fabric scraps. When it’s all done, you will be the first to know. Until then, enjoy the intense gratification you’ll get from making something with your own hands.

FLIPPIN’ FACTORY + ANA WHITE = BFF

…building frames forever