Off the Grid Sustainable Housing Options

Shipping Container Homes:

Shipping Container Housing is becoming more popular as people are looking for more inexpensive housing options. Dimensions for a standard size  Steel Building Unit (ISBU) are 40-by-8-by-8 feet; 20-foot containers also are available. Steel containers typically cost from $1,400 to $4,000, and customizing a container home with electricity, plumbing, windows and other options can cost from $50 per square foot. Anyone considering a container home also should take into account the cost of the land and a foundation upon which the container will be placed.

Steel shipping container homes, also called storage container homes, offer a fast, green, and sustainable approach to building. They can be used to build an average-sized home with almost no wood. Pre-Fitting Off-

Site: When building a shipping container house a foundation on cinderblocks is built first. An insulative coating, is sprayed on both sides of the container walls to prepare the house for heating and cooling loads. with an R value of R-19 and adheres to the steel surface of the shipping containers. This help to keep the shipping containers cool as they can become very hot inside.

Attaching the Home to its Foundation: A shipping container house will sit on a traditional concrete block foundation. A 40′ x 32′ stem wall foundation is set and reinforced with steel rebar. Concrete then fills the cells and 1/2″-thick steel plates are embedded into the concrete at the corners. Each plate sports a J-hook, which connects the shipping container to the exposed rebar and ties it all the way down to the footing. Additional footings are poured and individual concrete blocks are placed inside the foundation to support the sides.

When the containers arrive on site, they are crane-lifted one by one onto the foundation, hooked into place, and welded down to marry them completely to the foundation. These heavy-gauge steel shipping containers are so strong—each is designed to carry 57,000 pounds—that they need only be fastened at the corners to hold fast, much as they would be on a ship. Attaching them to embedded steel reinforcements and welding them in place ensures they will be immovable.

On-Site Construction: A conventional hip roof can be placed and secured atop the “big steel box” structure in a matter of two or three hours. A trussed roof is fastened with metal straps that are welded to the steel sides and wrapped around the rafters at four-foot intervals. Simpson hurricane clips tie each individual rafter to the steel roof for added security and protection against uplift.

Interiors: Inside, workers install a 1/2″ plywood floor over the existing 3/4″ plywood subfloor. The crew runs metal hat channels for wiring along the walls and vertical support beams that dot the interior. Metal studs and drywall are used for interior partition walls. Once insulated, the existing container walls are faced in drywall for finishing, transforming the ugly corrugated-steel interior and prepping them for paint or wallpaper.

The exterior are clad with James Hardie fiber cement siding. Windows and doors are installed into pre-cut openings with a minimal use of wood framing. Doors are hung and the roof is shingled, leaving the house ready for furnishing.