shipping container homes

[fishenjim]

Kander,good luck with your new place.John would seem to be a great resource. Thanks for all the good info

[MarkP]

I bought my container from affordableportablehousing. By the way, I am in my container now (8:30 am) and it is not cold but it is cooler than I would prefer. Weather is rainy and overcast.

[fishenjim]

Hey Mark P if you don't mind my asking,what did you use to cut the holes for your windows and doors? How did you install them? Did you cut any holes for plumbing,electric,etc.How many piers do you have and did you use a crane to set it.I appreciate your previous responses and look forward to any more info your able to share.Hope you have to cut a hole for that Wood stove soon.

[rainyjim]

Hi Jim,

Unrelated to containers,

http://organicarchitecture.weebly.com/th...mplex.html

But, have you heard of this architect / seen this style of building?

I thought maybe you would be curious about this method - and maybe it could suit your needs if you happen to decide container(s) will not.

(worthwhile to check his other buildings/work out on the site - I like the "organic" works the most personally)

[MarkP]

I cut holes with an angle grinder and a reciprocating saw. Anybody could do so. The only saving grace is that they probably wouldn't because of how much work it is. The saw blades tend to bind and stick. There is a tremendous amount of noise and heat and dust from the grinder. It all goes rather slowly. I got 3" x 3" x 3/16" steel angle frames welded up, a little oversize for the windows to be inserted. I fitted 2" x 3" lumber inside the steel frames to secure the flanges of the windows to. Before I put in the wood or windows I attached the frames to the side of the container, one by welding. The first window was integral with the door frame and I had skilled help from a welder. Truth be told he cut the opening for the door/window with a cutting torch, but the container was mostly empty then. The next two windows I did myself although he welded the frames for me. I cut the window holes with the saw and grinder, the heaved the massive steel frames into the holes and bolted them in place, then installed the windows. I have five more windows to install, all 1' x 3' sliders that will go right up against the topmost frame that joins the wall and roof sheeting. I plan to weld up the frames, bolt or weld them in place, then cut the openings after the fact. This will allow the heavy window frames to take the shear load that the wall sheeting had been carrying. No big picture windows here. They would require too much reinforcing.

Containers can be lifted 100' in the air loaded with 50,000 lb of stuff, held only by the corners. It is one of the few things that they do well so I have preserved the strength and made use of it. There are 2 foundation blocks under each of the four corners, keeps it about a foot off of the ground. If you search you will find other posts by me describing how I moved the container by hand using car jacks, come-a-longs and greased skid plated. Now I know how they built the pyramids, and why there aren't more of them.

When delivered, the container came on an 18 wheeler and was lifted off by a huge fork-lift. Boy do I wish I had made up my mind where I wanted it at that point. They could have lifted it and put it anywhere. I just had them set it on blocks in what I later decided was the wrong spot.

[fishenjim]

Thanks Mark P for the further feedback.Did you consider having affordable portable installing any of your doors and windows etc.I was wondering if it was cost or something else that has you goin at it with the grinder.Rainy Jim thanks for the link I really liked all of those works.I am convinced the container home is for me.Kander thanks for the heads up on affordable portable housing,seems like working with them takes a lot of hassle out of the process

[kaialoha]

Mahalo RainyJim for another GREAT website. I'm toying with a number of 'organic' approaches for building my hale in Fern Forest and some of the ideas on this website seem to fit the bill just right ~ ~ ~

KaneHawai'i

[fishenjim]

Paul w. Hope you didn't mis interpret my question about cost of A.P.H citing holes as opposed to the grinder method.I'm not suggesting Your cheap (I am a little) or poor(I am a lot) You seem to be the kinda guy who's not going to pay exorbitant price for something you can do your self(I won't) I'm probably not going to be able to buy one of the finished container homes.Just wondering if you considered having A.P.H doing any customization of your container,I have to imagine it could be cost prohibitive.They don't post any prices to much fluctuation they say.I'm really intrigued with their container paint you mentioned.Again could be cost prohibitive.If you did it again is there anything you would have A.P.H do to your container this time.Your info has been enlightening.May even save me money,time, headache.I'm always very appreciative of helpful people and try very hard to be one myself.I have some diverse skills (plaster,paint,tile,Gourmet chef,mixology,expert fisherman,near scratch golfer.) Unfortunately I pretty much suck at most other things(running the grinder, welding,most carpentry).Maybe you can give me a little help,advise on container living In return I could catch and cook some fish for lunch and help you get rid of your slice on the golf course and make some wicked good cocktails.

[hotinhawaii]

I built a permitted house based around 4 40' containers in Hawaiian Beaches. It was the first one to be bonded by HPM. In the end, it ended up costing more per sf. than typical wood construction. We put a full roof overhead to shed water and keep it cool. Without a roof, water pooled on top, ran down the sides and came in the windows. The initial design could have been improved to make running electric lines easier but it was still a lot of work compared to traditional housing.

[MarkP]

Sounds like you are addressing me, Fishenjim. I am both cheap and poor so that is plenty enough justification for doing things myself, but mostly I have been making it up as I go along and so would not have been able to tell APH what I wanted. Particularly if I were doing this a second time around I would not have them do anything because of the money. For me the container has been a means to an end. It has been invaluable because of the relatively secure storage. If I had it to do over again I would have gotten a smaller container just to be my secure storage/workshop. Now that it comes to it I am not sure that I would go down the route of outfitting the container to live in so I might have built something out of wood or cement blocks. However that would have forced the issue of permits so the container house still has something to offer there, being portable.

Having them completely treat the rust and do any repairs has some value. I would keep the custom work to a minimum. I am a cheapskate though and there is such a thing as false economy. FWIW price-wise I just attended an auction where a few containers sold in the $1,200 to $1,500 range. Makes me think that I made a bad deal back when I payed $3,700 for one at Kawaihae harbor, but mine had no holes (these did), mine was on the big island already (these were on Oahu), and mine was not sold at auction with the requirement that it be moved in 2 days as these were.