Cargo container house, starting from scratch.

[ExperiencingArchitecture]

I saw a Discovery Channel special on this subject once, and it was about a university group of students and teachers getting together and building a container house on a university campus. Don't remember where it was done, but it should be in the Discovery Channel record. Might be able to get a copy from them on this special video. They encountered all types of problems to resolve. To start, they had to go with a smaller container then initially expected, as the large one would not fit onto campus, as the access did not allow for a larger truck to enter with a larger container. They experimented with various types of bat insulation, and even did a "lightning simulation" high voltage producing machine test on the house, which launched high voltage beams against the house while a man was standing inside, and the house passed with flying colors. They used photovaltic panels for the electricity in low voltage lamps and even a bicycle generating machine to run laptop off of kinetic energy. The different rooms were insulated with various materials as a test - bat type insulation, and it seems from what I remember, all seemed to fare equally in insulating the space. All the walls were furred with traditional framing and filled with bat insulation, then interior standard dry-wall. There were problems with the structure and cutting out to many interior passageways, so they decided it was more efficient to cut out the interior panels where the units connected and reinforce the structure with steel bracing where needed. A wood stove was professionally installed to provide all the heating needed, heat the water and space. (Must be professionally built and installed to not simply blow up like a tin can over a fire). This coupled with solar panels and the photovaltic electricity units served the unit well. It seems the overall cost even with all this technological wizardry still came in at a good cost, but a more careful analysis of cost may be needed. The end product was a flat roof structure and although looking more industrial on the outside was quite comfortable on the inside once finished. They even hosted a party there to celebrate the conclusion of the house.

[edgotbait]

i know what you are going threw
i had a idea to make a home out of cargo container some 15 or 20 years ago after seeing a movie that showed a container storage site with thousands of containers in it then cut to a inside shot it had drug dealers in side making drugs but the container were connected. I thought then and there i wanted to do that ! make a home out of container that is not a drug lab Very Happy
my mom thinks im crazy but my wife loves the idea we are now looking for land in Va. for a week end get away to are new cargo container home
i have lots of great ideas ie :money saving ones
the FIRST THING is are you willing to get dirty /hot / and sweaty if not hope you have money.
second i would build a model of what you are trying to do
try using plastic train cargo containers
( yes the do make them for train sets ) us the HO scale size its just the right size small but not to small there about 15 bucks each
i would think a bank would be more likely to give you money if they could see what the finish product looked like. make it as detailed as possible !!!
will post again soon got to run

[edgotbait]

o here is a pdf of a cargo container cut out . ( for some game )
http://www.toposolitario.com/workshop/container/ISO_CONTAINER.pdf
print out on card stock but you will have to enlarge it as it will come out to small i printed it on 11x17 cut out /fold /glue the cut out is for a 20foot container so you will have to put 2 together t.o make a 40 footer
this is the stage i am in now

[jglawson123]

Have a couple of links that might be of some interest...I've been looking at/researching the ISBU houses as well...but more from the aspect of getting pretty near retirement age...don't want a large mortgage over my head...etc...etc...cheap to modify...really fast setup of the units at the site...look really cool...etc...etc.

Supertherm site regarding spray on "Super" insulation paint...Hey they use it on the space shuttle..so it must be pretty good stuff...
http://www.supertherm.net/

Bob Villa video's from Saint Petersburg FL on a house he did a show on:
http://www.isbu-info.org/video.htm

ISBU container info: (I.E. - Detailed drawings/specs on the containers for info purposes)
http://www.isbu-info.org/permalink/article_2008_april_isbu_arch-draw.htm

Cubic Inspirations: (I.E. - projects, plans, pictures...etc)
http://www.cubicinspirations.com/


Joe