What I think is cool is that our earliest ancestors often lived in caves, and after thousands of years of civilization, we are returning to the idea of subterrainian housing.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
What I think is cool is that our earliest ancestors often lived in caves, and after thousands of years of civilization, we are returning to the idea of subterrainian housing.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
SVreX wrote: I mean no disrespect, but are you qualified to figure out where those reinforcements would be necessary? A building inspector would expect that person to be a qualified structural engineer.
If I'm understanding this correctly, aren't shipping containers stacked about ten deep on the container ships? Wouldn't that be strong enough?
Also, if yours comes with "MAERSK" painted on the side, watch out for pirates!
Keith wrote: Whatever the reason, the UK just doesn't get snow.
Gulf Stream...
Yeah, they stack them up pretty high. I forget how high they can go, but the weight is on the corners where there's a frame. A load of dirt in the middle wouldn't be as well supported.
Sometimes in a storm a whole stack goes over the side at once. Glug-glug-glug....
The damn things can float for a while too. Last year there was an incident off of Charleston where a freighter almost hit one bobbing around in the ocean.
jezeus wrote: I didn't see anyone post this company : http://www.rocioromero.com/ They have very cool modern prefab homes. I think they start at 40k.
I'm part of one of the many Young Architects Forum committees (a subgroup of many local AIA chapters) in the US, and our chapter brought her in to speak last year. I was impressed initially, but it turned out that not much was included in the kit.
You pretty much have to do your own legwork to find a general contractor and subs to put everything together, and the panel kit is basically that. A kit of panels, but no electrical, no plumbing, no glass, no doors, no roofing material, etc. Recommendations for these items are all offered, and put into the plans and specs, but there is a lot of legwork still involved.
What you get are pre-made panels and a set of plans. Basically, imagine a stick built house that comes partially pre-assembled. The concept is interesting, and I like the aesthetic of her designs, but I came away from her lecture thinking that her approach offered the worst of both worlds. You get all of the hassles of modular construction (cranes, giant trucks, etc.) with few to none of the advantages (quick build times, low costs).
I came to the conclusion that I could sit down with any number of local architects and spend less than 40 grand coming up with a design for a site specific project that could be built in a similar amount of time for about the same money as a Rocio Romero home. If I wanted to be green, I could ask my architect to help me take advantage of sun and shade on site, as well as making the most of any view I might have.
Were I in the market for a place to live, I'd be looking for something pre-existing. Preferably made of wood, with some kind of siding. As far as it goes, that type of construction tends to be the most open architecture for addition and alteration. I've seen wood framed homes from the 1920s-1960s turned into the most contemporary dwellings I've ever seen. To me, that is the best kind of recycling. Taking something that existed and reusing it where it stands, albeit in an altered form, seems like the lowest use of energy and materials possible.
Keith wrote: Yeah, the UK is fairly far north. Or at least, parts of it are. But weather patterns are different and it's a temperate climate. I think North America is colder because there's no (unfrozen) ocean between us and the pole. Whatever the reason, the UK just doesn't get snow.
Not quite true. The Scottish Highlands can get a fair bit of snow. The last time I visited (June 2007), it snowed as we drove up the Spittle of Glenshee. My uncle, who lives outside Perth, works part-time for the RAC and spends his winters pulling idiots' cars out of ditches after they slide off the snow-covered roads.
But, yeah, generally speaking, the populated parts of the UK (England and the Scottish Lowlands) don't get much, if any, snow. As noted, it's because of the Gulf Stream - it heads north from the Caribbean, along the US Atlantic coast, then cuts across the ocean and runs smack into the British Isles.
Good word, BAMF
CrackMonkey wrote: But, yeah, generally speaking, the populated parts of the UK (England and the Scottish Lowlands) don't get much, if any, snow. As noted, it's because of the Gulf Stream - it heads north from the Caribbean, along the US Atlantic coast, then cuts across the ocean and runs smack into the British Isles.
Same thing here in continental Europe, although the winters get more severe as you head south away from the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. I'm at the same latitude as Edmonton but we probably got less than 12" of snow in total this year.
SVreX wrote: Good word, BAMF
Thanks. The sad part is that though I'm part of YAF, I'm not an architect. I'm a product/furniture designer, and a lot of the clients I work with are architects and interior designers. I wish more of them were interested in reinventing and reusing things that already exist. The few architects I know really doing that are those who also get into the developer role too.
If ever I make it to a challenge (probably as a spectator), we'll have to talk about green/alternative building over a beer or three.
Just today I saw a shipping container on a trailer with an a/c unit in the side and a window. I think it was more of a construction site office kind of thing rather than a living space though.
BAMF wrote: If ever I make it to a challenge (probably as a spectator), we'll have to talk about green/alternative building over a beer or three.
Be happy to.
How about a green/ alternative Challenge car build? I've got a start on it. 
SVreX wrote:BAMF wrote: If ever I make it to a challenge (probably as a spectator), we'll have to talk about green/alternative building over a beer or three.Be happy to. How about a green/ alternative Challenge car build? I've got a start on it.
It's been discussed....
Dude. Anyone else thinking $2010 shipping container garage/workshop competition?
z31maniac wrote: I knew one/some of you would have looked into this before. The girlfriend and I are considering buying a small piece of land and building a house on it. Catches are we can't afford nor do we want to build a traditional house, we're both closet greenies. The idea of a shipping container house is very appealing after some of the desings I've seen. My only real concern is insulating the thing. Oklahoma can see anywhere from 110° in the summer to 15° in the winter, so I can imagine in July/August the house turning into a giant oven. Any thoughts? Good places to look around for more info?
My first thought is if you're in Oklahoma you should be planting that puppy underground. Don't you guys get a fair number of tordadoes?
nderwater wrote: Dude. Anyone else thinking $2010 shipping container garage/workshop competition?
Like I said, we've already got one!
EastCoastMojo wrote: My first thought is if you're in Oklahoma you should be planting that puppy underground. Don't you guys get a fair number of tordadoes?
The metal in the trailer parks attract tornados
I imagine ferrous metal containers would be even worse
Shawn
Have you considered timber frame houses built on a basic Yurt model? More organic, cheaper than a conventional home... but not as cheap as a shipping container home I bet.
For ideas: http://www.yurtpeople.com/yurtpeople/gallery.html
Seems like something you could do most of the work yourself. It would be a project, but it might be a good bonding experience for you and the wifey/gf. 
Back in good old Oz this is the way they go in Cooper Pedy, this is a mining town where opals are the sort after product, daytime temps are in the 140F range to a night low in the 32F area, using the method shown they eliminate heating and cooling issues.
http://davidwallphoto.com/searchresults.asp?tx=underworld&ts=&c=&Lids=&Gids=&p=1&n=15453&phrase=
Want another room, "Hand me a stick of dynamite hon".
Jensenman wrote: The damn things can float for a while too. Last year there was an incident off of Charleston where a freighter almost hit one bobbing around in the ocean.
That is very common ask any blue water sailor, many boats are lost due to floating containers which sit about 12" above water and are very difficult to see or pick up on surface radar.
Taiden wrote: Have you considered timber frame houses built on a basic Yurt model? More organic, cheaper than a conventional home... but not as cheap as a shipping container home I bet. For ideas: http://www.yurtpeople.com/yurtpeople/gallery.html Seems like something you could do most of the work yourself. It would be a project, but it might be a good bonding experience for you and the wifey/gf.
That's not a timber frame. It's more similar to the dome houses previously mentioned.
$222,239 for a 1661 S/F shell only? That's $133 per SF. By the time it's finished, it could be pushing $200 per SF (plus the land). Tell me again how these are cheaper than a conventional house??? 
We build complete turn key conventional houses INCLUDING the land for less than $120 per SF
Canoe's are raising year old posts I see
But, in this case the canoe delivered a thread that I was thinking about when I couldn't sleep last night, but couldn't search for, since my connection was down.
Building with containers is worth taking a look at if you are contemplating a new home.
Good resource is the Residential Shipping Container Primer website. A DO IT YOURSELF (DIY) REFERENCE AND FOR CONVERTING RECYCLED INTERMODAL CARGO SHIPPING CONTAINERS INTO BUILDINGS AND ARCHITECTURE.
Lots of example buildings, details, facts, and links to other articles. They have something new that you can setup your own project wiki to get help with your project if you are the design build sort...
Is that our very first on-topic zombie canoe?
You'll need to log in to post.
