Here's a slightly bigger, fancier container home that was built for $40,000. http://smallhousebliss.com/2012/07/04/containers-of-hope-by-benjamin-garcia-saxe/ A new, decent 2/1 single wide mobile home runs around $33,000 here in north Central Florida, and its just a box with plastic everything. I think I can do my thing for around $30,000. Denny, I would never even consider living in a development with a neighborhood association. First they would complain about the chickens, and pretty soon they would tell me that I cant cut the grass or swim in the lake nekkid. No thanks.
This is the floor plan of the 40' single wide we nearly ordered from Inidana for central Illinois. $22,000 with range and fridge. By the time we had it put on foundation, deck, furniture, drive, utilites, it would be over $40,000 and that did not enclude permits. Then after we die next year son would have had to have it removed. Still they are made of cardboard and plastic. For not much more we lucked out and got the house pictured. 3-BR, basement, garage 1/2 acre lot, furnished. Behind is a farm field and it's on a narrow lane like a paved bike path. Can't mow or swim nude though! Probably could have chickens. I only like mine fried.
If one of these is nice enough to be on World's Most Extreme Homes, why not? Soundsike a great idea to me!!!
Check this out.... http://news.yahoo.com/shipping-container-home-readying-detroit-debut-144107855.html
People are making this out to be a new thing. I've heard of shipping containers used as homes, offices, workshops, and more ever since the first used container was available. I still say government red tape will be the biggest problem. If you don't believe that try to get permits to put a cheap mobile home on a lot anyplace. They would rather see people live in a tent or cardboard box than to have cheap housing.
We have quite a few container dwellings popping up here and there most are pretty nice and not to expensive so if it work for you and your Beer goggles are clear Cheers :2_thumbs_up_-_anima its been a while
I suppose if they are Kangaroo proof they should be Alligator proof. All we have to do is keep him away from the 100 proof!
Andy and I were wanting to use a 220 VAC compressor. That meant running a 220 VAC line, temporarily to the outside. Problem for me, because my washer/dryer is under the kitchen cabinets, meaning an open window, for the mosquitoes and birds to come inside. Never planned on an outdoor 220 VAC power outlet. I do have a 20 AMP - 120 VAC outlet to plug tools and the winter engine block heater in, so I got a 1.5 HP motor and have to change the drive pulley to a 3" unit to drive Andy's twin-head compressor pump. My point is that you want to plan for exterior water and electrical outlets, before you seal up the walls. That will require a building permit, for sure. And provide for hanging holiday decorations (welded hooks, etc.) and motion detector powered yard lights, etc. Steel construction is great, but like my favourite (round field stone construction), it can be really restrictive to change later. fannie knows where I mean, for this side-story. My first wife's grandparents lived near Look-Out point in Nova Scotia. We drove there for our honeymoon, from Ottawa. I was making pretty good money, back in 1975, and we had gone looking at some pretty nice Ottawa homes. We saw this monster Stone house, which was up for sale. 2 story solid round field stone house, ex-Italian embassy, $160,000. 5,000 sq. feet. 2 foot thick walls at the base, tapering off to 9 inches at the cedar-thatched roof. Well, we loved it. And I could have bought it. Normal homes were under $40,000. But as drove across to Nova Scotia, on the South shore of the St. Lawrence river, we saw all kinds of stone houses, built from river side stones that locals had collected along the shore. When we got to Nova Scotia, my ex wanted to show me the entire province. Her grandparents had a small farm around Windsor, Nova Scotia. Beautiful country. We found a lot, up hill from them, a few acres. Off we go on our touring adventure. Look Out Point is on top of a long cliff with all kinds of old quartz and amethyst chunks. Getting down that cliff would make even Tom Cruise think twice. And from the water below, thrashing up huge waves, its almost impossible. You can find lots of small pieces on top, why go down? We drove up to Samba Beach, only to find a huge bay, cluttered with white field stones. Nobody, except the Government wanted to take them out, there were so many. Solid, 8" to 12" stones, perfect for building stones! I made enquiries, and there was a rail line that could haul them close enough to our intended site, and a dredging service that could take them out. And the Province would give them to us, free! No legal issues. They wanted to expand the shore line and beach! Fishermen could do more fishing, tourists and locals were happy about it. The marriage went south after 14 months. Her dad was 51 and diagnosed with incurable cancer, and she wasn't allowed to help him, because she wasn't on staff in his Military Hospital (he was colonel in our forces spy unit. She was an RN.) Nice guy. Great gal. She got depressed, and frustrated, and we went our own ways. Broke my heart, but I bit the bullet and moved to London, Ontario - a few hundred miles west. Anyway, I had chatted with some architect pals and some of my engineering classmates about building this stone house, and they recommended underground conduit or an entirely separate panel and meter outside. Actually cheaper than from an interior panel. And far more flexible for outside and future changes (unforeseeable stuff like BBQ pits, evening lighting, snow blowers and lawnmower connections, etc. Too late for me to do that now, but at 25, man, the house would have outlived me for another 100 years!
Stoned. Along the Mississippi river in W central Illinois there are these rocks called Geodes. Mostly semi round. Beautiful glass like crystal rocks when broken open. many are already split. Some have oil in them. Locals sell small ones for souveniers. Dad's friend used to use a saw to cut them nice and flat. He'd slice some like potato chips and use them as table top inserts and other things. We collected quite a few over the years. Worth some money. Like a fool I was adding a footing for a shed next to my garage. In went the Geordes to get rid of them. Still have a few here in Florida. heard they are only found alng the Mississippi river next to small streams and a few other places. Along the river route there are several houses with Geodes as walls. When the sun hits them it is beautiful. Always wanted a Geode built stone house.
My folks were rock hounds and in retirement, they made all kinds of jewellry and travelled all of North America buying and selling at rockhound shows in the US and Canada. Made more money retired than in their non-retirement years, and during only 6 months of the year! Your walls would have to be kept secret. Or they'd tear them down...
Dad's best friend was a rock hound. Haven't heard that saying in years. Possibly Tom and your parents met someplace. Tom used to go to places like Africa and do documentaries back when they had to use large movie cameras. He also made more retired than when working. Another thing Tom got me doing was going to a strip mine in central Illinois to chip petrified snails out of the coal. Made a few dollars selling them. Most weren't bigger than the size of a quarter or live small snail. My wife and I also collected a few rocks everyplace we went on vacation for a souveineer. Weren't worth anything except memories. For years I could go in the yard, pick up a rock, and tell people where it came from.
