Single mom builds home out of shipping container and cargo trailer

All the different ways of solving the shelter problem. To be static or mobile? Roots, legs, or wheels?
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boltzmannsbrain
Posts: 40
Joined: Sat Mar 10, 2012 9:57 pm

Post by boltzmannsbrain »

(Searched the forums, couldn't find any mention of this story, even though it's from Nov 11)
"Lulu is a single mom who'd gone back to school and didn't have the time or interest in working full-time to pay for rent. So when she had to move out of her more conventional home, she decided to move herself and her daughter into a shipping container.
With no building experience, Lulu spent just one month cutting windows and a door and installing insulation and a basic kitchen (complete with propane-powered campstove and on-demand water heater)."
http://faircompanies.com/videos/view/ca ... iler-room/
So cool! I wish I was just half as competent. It looks really cosy and not "poor" at all. Has anybody considered anything similar?


ktn
Posts: 115
Joined: Wed Jul 21, 2010 10:33 pm

Post by ktn »

"Material things, all of it is on borrow right, we're all just borrowing stuff... None of this is ours and we try to secure ourselves in these identities like my house, my wife, my car, my children, my career."
What an inspiring story and such a cool gal! She lives in a box but thinks way out of it.
I thought a shipping container would be expensive to buy. But a quick internet search proves it can be had for $4k or less. Which shouldn't be a surprise considering how they can't be used for shipping once they are old, damaged, etc. Perfect for housing. In a cold climate, a well-insulated small space like that should stay nicely cosy even in deep winter.
If you want to stay inspired after the video, you may want to avoid reading the comments on that story. Especially some of the ones way down. Seems that all too often we forget there is so much jealousy and envy out there. I can't think of any other reason for those comments.


george
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Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2011 9:41 am

Post by george »

@ktn
The small number of people who made those comments are just plain dumb. There are lots who get it
Absolutely admire Lulu and wondered if there was a way around some of the problems she must face.
one of the difficulties was the building code. There must be someone who could come up with safety guidelines for such a building, a template that people could adapt
Perhaps an organisation like Habitat for humanity, or someone posted about a dutch student village made out of shipping containers, they will have to have met building codes.
It just amazes me that we live in a world they say is governed by market forces, yet there are whole streets in some countries boarded up because people can't afford the homes.
Lulu has found a way to get around this ridiculously inflated house and land market, and we need to make it easier for others to do the same.
I understand the land is rented, but her portability puts her in a great position.
And I'm a homeowner who would lose value in my home if this became common, but I want to see future generations cut loose.


Dragline
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Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 1:50 am

Post by Dragline »

There's something beautiful and ironic in taking a symbol of the consumer culture (a container that brought stuff from China) and turning it into something with much higher value -- aesthetic and otherwise.


boltzmannsbrain
Posts: 40
Joined: Sat Mar 10, 2012 9:57 pm

Post by boltzmannsbrain »

@bigato

Well, when I was a kid, my father showed me how to patch a bicycle tube everytime the wheels (2*5 of them) punctured. Still can't do it and would rather pay $20 to get somebody else to do it. Then again, I haven't really have the time to geek out on it yet...
@ktn

I always read the comments and feel extra smug. Oh, if they only knew, sitting there in their giant McMansions with car loans, credit car loans, mortgages, student debt etc.


Chad
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Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2010 3:10 pm

Post by Chad »

I have planned on doing this for years. The containers are very strong (they get stacked 6 high on the container ships) at the corners. This means for a great foundation you only need concrete posts on the corners. You don't need an entire concrete foundation wall if you don't want one. Plus, cutting doors and windows in the walls doesn't weaken them much.
With more resources than this lady has you can build a rather nice house for far less than a normal house costs. This is not a criticism of her house.


rachelFLF
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 1:05 am

Post by rachelFLF »

Love this woman and her mini-compound she is starting to put together. The aesthetic is great and her philosophy is spot on.
Here is a bigger house built out of shipping containers:
http://www.oneseedling.com/
These folks are survivalists / doomsday preppers, so they modeled their house on fortresses or castles (for defense against the hungry mobs I guess). The containers are arranged in a square with a courtyard in the middle. They can go on the roof and see a few miles I believe. Ignore the extra container in the foreground - it's not part of the house.
A little off topic I guess...I just really like shipping container homes! Though I see myself in a more modest setup similar to Lulu's. One day...


Mo
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Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 1:35 pm

Post by Mo »

About a week ago I was driving around a very run down part of town looking for investment opportunities. It's an old crummy area on the edge of some new development. The houses are tiny, old, and many appear ready to essentially collapse. It's not overwhelmingly dangerous though because not too many people still live there (meaning it isn't the part of town with a lot of shootings).
Anyway, I came across a person who had made a structure out of cargo containers-- 9 cargo containers, stacked 3 high-- a 3x3 cube, roughly. 3 large rows of solar panels on the roof. There were AC units installed, and much of the electrical seemed to be run outside of the containers (properly done though-- well seemingly at least).
It was pretty cool. I wondered how the person got them stacked up 3x3-- obviously with a crane. What I mean is if I bought 9 cargo containers, I'd have to get them delivered and stacked. And how to do it-- one level at a time, or all 9 at once. There's a lot of knowledge to be gained there.
The lot had a fence/wall around it, and was probably about 2 acres or so. There was a conventional house on the property too, and it seemed to be linked to the cargo containers, but I couldn't see for sure.
It started me wondering though-- about things like zoning and building permits. Perhaps if one chooses a site in a part of town that no one really cares about, perhaps all of that stuff is easier. The container thing didn't look old, so I doubt it was granfathered in from decades ago. It looked really new. I know in my neighborhood you'd never get it approved, but in areas where abandoned collapsing homes are common-- perhaps that's the way to go.


Mo
Posts: 443
Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 1:35 pm

Post by Mo »

Some links to the place I mentioned:
http://mwbender.com/?page_id=28
http://www.wcjb.com/local-news/2010/10/ ... ainesville
Since it doesn't seem to be a big secret-- there's some really neat images of the place under construction on googlemaps in the street view. The house is on the corner of SW 6th Place and SW 5th Terrace in Gainesville, FL.
The wall/fence thing I mentioned appears to have been built out of shipping containers too.


SadieGlass
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Post by SadieGlass »

I am happy how she seems so content with this! The open loft with such small children worries me though, just put a rail up there!


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