Take 2...container building

[pam jones]

Has anyone recently built a legal home using containers?[8D]

[Kapohocat]

if we can take this over to the Bldg forum - I got a lot of info from Nani / Bldg yesterday on this issue.

[Kapohocat]

Thanks Rob! (for moving over here).

Okay so the containers can be permitted...with the same difficulty or ease as a residence. Need footings and tie downs --- don't start laughing anyone --- but so they don't blow over in a hurricane.

I just went over this with Daniel Bona and he has all the specs etc for those of you that have containers existing and where told to move them before you would get your final.





Catherine Dumond
Blue Water Project Management
http://bluewaterprojects.blogspot.com/
808 965-9261
"We help make building your dream home a reality"

[john the architect]

We planned two homes that had integral or otherwise structurally connected containers and the designs went through the county. One was revised later to an alternate metal frame system and the other not yet built. It can be done if you know metal detailing and foundation design. I saw some containers on craigslist that were pretty cheap here on island.

[Can Builder]

i have permitted 6 container homes in puna, that is what i do - design and sell container homes. I have had several high level meetings with the bldg chief for hawaii county and heads of every dept., Nani was there, she knows me well. I am now also into steel modular homes that have the same footprint as containers but are superior in every way, especially when it comes to rust. these modules do not require welding or cutting or drilling. they are hot dipped in galvanizing and paint many times, you can choose up to a 10' ceiling, same price as container construction etc. They are made for homes, not for cargo. Beautiful siding etc. anyway, i can help, this is my specialty. take a look at my site http://www.affordableportablehousing.com let me know if i can help you. Aloha, john rogers, affordable portable housing 935-1000

[Susan]

I like the design of the house in Ka'u. Nice modern touch though I would like it to blend in with nature a little more. I would love to see photos of the interior. How many square feet is that design? The two story home is interesting as well. It's just about the sq. ft. we had in mind.
My husband is itching to get back over and do a little work on our property next spring. Are there tourable models on Oahu or the BI that he could see?

One question. Do you have to rip before the foundation can be laid? If not, that would save a good deal of $$ that could be spent on the house.

[gastropod]

OK, I am thinking of containers on the BI as well. Does anybody have estimates as to cost per square foot? Wao Nahele Kane, that was a nice looking pic of a container home! Is that permitted already on the BI?

I will have to be completely off grid. I only have numbers in my head right now, but they look like:
Solar electricity: $25 K
catchment water: $15 K
foundation/peers: $10 K
Septic/cesspool: $25 K (am on rock)

Are those numbers remotely accurate?

Thanks,
Jim

"A man has got to know his limitations!" - Harold Callahan - aka "Dirty Harry"

[Youser]

I think your septic is off, I have heard $4000-$6000, so probably more like $6000 would be realistic. And that would be in rock. Do a search for septic on the forum, there was a post a while back by Menehune that covered the whole subject in detail.

Also, catchment and well costs are similar and you can do a well for under $10,000.

[gastropod]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Youser




I think your septic is off, I have heard $4000-$6000, so probably more like $6000 would be realistic. And that would be in rock. Do a search for septic on the forum, there was a post a while back by Menehune that covered the whole subject in detail.

Also, catchment and well costs are similar and you can do a well for under $10,000.

---

Thank you for the info Youser!

"A man has got to know his limitations!" - Harold Callahan - aka "Dirty Harry"

[Wao nahele kane]

Jim,
The rendering I posted on the other thread is just a trial design I drafted up. It could be signed by an engineer and approved on the BI for the going engineering rate + permit (roof spans over 30’ so needs an engineer’s stamp as I recall from the local code). It’s a 4,500 sf. 3 story design with a mega vaulted area but I have two other versions with the same/similar upper envelopes that are 1 story and 2 story and more modest on the sf. The one story uses two 40’ isotainers combined with a cmu block wall garage and nets in at 1,965 sf. So the isotainer envelope facilitates for the base skip structure perimeter at $4.65 a sf. or $9k in isotainers. Then the flat roof assembly has to be factored in as well as the window glass connective walls. So I would assume about $10-$15k in glass wall and another $12k (minimum) for the canopy roof. The foundation pad would be about $15-$20k for a conservative shell total of about $50,000/1965 = $25.45 a sf without the interior partition walls, electrical, plumbing or finish fixtures. I can see the design off grid for about $80 to $120 a sf. depending on chosen finish products and wall types. It always depends on ones taste vs. pocket book and if both are exquisite... the sf. price has a tendency of going much higher. The basic isotainer prefab is in the ballpark of about $70sf. not including the PV system, catchment and or septic but can be done for less if one lays things out right with some conventional structure blending.

Anyhow… I’m not going with the isotainers as the prices for them are far too high in Hawaii. I can buy those isotainers over here for less than ½ the going island rates and that’s what makes them lucrative to use here on the mainland in place of frame, wall, ceiling (roof) and floor as well as a reduction in labor, but, here in Hawaii, I can’t justify the isotainer prices as I’m doing the majority of the labor on our house alone. I’ve opted for a modern conventional site built and $35k buys a lot of sweet framing material for a 3 story structure.
In short – I’m doing the same thing you’re doing right now with regard to an off-grid house. Now; I’m on my 4th design not counting the subtypes of each design. After 30 years of designing and building homes, one has a tendency to get real nit picky about every aspect when designing their own homes (an architect would be a nice impartial break about now but I FINALLY nailed the design we’re going to use and it’s perfect for our requirements).

BTW… I’m not sure where your site is located but the common “septic” system on the BI is a literal hole in the ground with a 10’ diameter concrete cap atop it simply known as a "cesspool". Seldom do they use septic tanks or drain fields on the Island. You’re also allowed to do the thing yourself if memory serves me. So the probability is high that you won’t have to worry about a drain field either, just the ”hole” and the 10’ diameter concrete cap. As per the “rock”… it’s just lava (aerated glass) and succumbs to a jack hammer nearly like a hot knife through butter.

With regard to water, keep in mind that most houses on the island use cesspools with no tanks and concentrated developments will have a-lot of cesspools around a house site. Water wells on the island are usually best suited to remote areas away from local developments, also, the depth of a well is typically just below sea level unless you strike an underground aquifer. Again, if memory serves me, the distance inland from the ocean should typically be about 3 miles and or about 700’ elevation of hydrostatic pressure flushing the salts from the bottom of the well if within less than the typical 3 mile range. This is merely the common rule of thumb for wells on the island. For the prior reasons I would recommend rain catchment for a common residential dwelling.


E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.