Shipping Containers Could Be 'Dream' Homes for Thousands (Dems answer to housing crisis?)

AOL ^ | 10/14/08 | n/a

[umgud]

CORRALES, New Mexico (AP) -- It was a side trip through a destitute, ramshackle neighborhood in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, that detoured Brian McCarthy from building houses in Albuquerque to an idea to offer the very poor a chance to own a home.

His answer lies in a humble steel shipping container 40 feet long, 8 feet wide and 8½ feet tall.

McCarthy, 30, and three partners, Pablo Nava, 22; Kyle Annen, 23; and Mackenzie Bishop, 22, have made a prototype out of a standard shipping container that hauls goods worldwide -- a 320-square-foot home with a kitchen, bath with toilet, sleeping areas, windows and a bright blue door. The exterior is painted with a white epoxy coating that has light-reflecting properties to prevent the sun's heat from penetrating.

Each small house includes hookups for air conditioning, ventilation, electrical and water systems, and the units ideally could be set up in small communities to make accessing utilities more efficient.

[ErnBatavia]

Ahhhh....sweet memories (not!) of Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego - July 1966.

[j. earl carter]

It's very depressing to hear your story. I was under the impression that the discrimination against the unmarried service members had lessened in the 90's.

The soldiers with no dependents are so superior to the married soldiers (in terms of deployability), that it's hard to believe they are still driving the single soldiers away, and encouraging the ones with dependents to stay.

[El Laton Caliente]

Any place that has a container shipping dock will have a place that sell these. Most areas have dealers/resalers that buy them from the docks transport them and resale the containers.

I bought a 40 foot delivered 150 miles from the ship docks for(IIRC) $2400...

There are also depots inland as these are loaded off ship and onto trains.

There are basically two grades for sale, one ways that are new and sold after one trip and condemed which have been patched & repaired, made several trips and are deemed unable or hard to seal (they are almost air/water tight when new).

[70th Division]

these were used for years at Michigan State University to house their police department.

[pierrem15]

a) add spring door;
b) bait with tortillas;
c) ship back to Mexico.

Problem solved!

[domeika]

Just when I thought I was the meanest guy alive...

[OB1kNOb]

Where in the country are you?

Arkansas. No where near a seaport. I was hoping there were inland locations somewhere close by that sell them, but haven't located any yet.

[OB1kNOb]

Where in the country are you?

Arkansas. No where near a seaport. I was hoping there were inland locations somewhere close by that sell them, but haven't located any yet.

[OB1kNOb]

Thanks for the info.

[smokingfrog]

Here is a link to their website PFNC Global Communities

I thought about this after seeing Gail & Paul's Barnacle Bar in that Heineken commercial.
Beertender Commercial.

But after thinking about it, I'm sure you would be better off building something with Structural Insulated Panels.
What Are Structural Insulated Panels?

now going condo...

[ikka]

There probably are, I just don’t know the area however. Check the Yellow Pages under shipping perhaps, or Google for a bit.

[hoagy62]

Y’know...that looks kinda classy. Looks like a lot of space as well.

Hmmm.....

[Tammy8]

My neighbor made one into a nice guest room. She stuccoed the outside and made it look like it was adobe to match her home. Finished the inside and it has a bedroom with bath and her washer and dryer are also set up in it. It really turned out nice, she and her husband bought an old adobe house and rebuilt it, but it was small with only one bedroom and they needed a place for company to stay.

Shipping containers make excellent storage sheds, small shops and even guest houses. I can’t figure out how they could get all that they claim into one to make it a house- has to be pretty cozy for sure.

[Defiant]

These would better be put to use as jail cells.

That is a great idea! They could be used to hold illegal aliens. Then, when they are full (each one holds about 300 illegals, based on how many fit in a van), we can use the same container to ship them back.

[B4Ranch]

The roof is NOT strong. Do NOT bury one and expect it to withstand any amount of pressure. They are strong only at the corners and edges.

[OB1kNOb]

Thanks. I did not know that.

[umgud]

An 8 foot wide by 40 foot long motor home is considered huge, so I’d guess these would work OK.

[edzo4]

I saw it on a show called “Extreme Living” it did look nice. Each half of the house was six containers arranged in a T shape with a roof over the space betweeen the 2 T’s forming a large common living area in the middle, the individual containers were made into bedrooms, bathrooms and the kitchen

[MediaMole]

Yet, it is considered torture to house al qaeda detainees in shipping containers...

[B4Ranch]

Basically they are very similar to a cardboard box, engineering wise. If you know how to weld, you can easily strengthen them but again I would ask a mechanical engineer for advice on where to place the angle iron braces. The number of braces needed would depend on what weight you wanted to put on the roof. Don’t forget rain, it does have weight.