the beginning....

We are downsizing and going from a huge Victorian home with a 3 story barn to a shipping container home. Why shipping containers you may ask ? We wanted no mortgage, a reasonably priced house, something that was unique, and earth friendly- reused and recycled. This is our adventure 2013. Enjoy and ask questions along the way if you'd like. 

Jan 2013

Jan 9 2013.

The containers arrive and let me tell you that was quite the challenge for the guys from Page St. Our property is on a dirt road, a good one but still dirt. It has just enough of an incline to make the trucks spin tires as they drove up. There is also, much to their dismay also a bit of an incline into the property. "They were there so they would be delivered" the guy said as he sat stuck crosswise in the road. I was fascinated watching as they inchwormed the trucks wheels to move the load and get traction to climb the hill. The first 2 (there were 2 20 footers on each truck) were placed after about an hour of maneuvering. I said placed as I had the nerve to also ask that they be placed away from where we would ultimately dig the cellar hole. "We don't place these, lady....we drop them off and are on our way" Goodnatured guys so they, indeed, did place them. At least the first 4. It was winter and getting dark at around 4pm when the first 4 were on site. I figured that would be it for the day but they came back, got stuck in the ditch, and delivered the other 4 in the dark ! 

It is really happening, it is really happening ! 

Now the last 2 years in Maine have been very mild with little snow so our intention was to get the cellar hole in over the winter and be ready to start construction in the spring. Best laid plans.... everytime we had a few nice days we'd think we were good to start and BAM (a little Emeril humor) we'd get another snow storm. 

So we drew our plans, revised our plans and drew some more until we came up with our design. 

There will be a full basement under this, not the usual as they are either on a slab or piers in most of what we've seen but we needed the storage. We had a Feng Shui expert come out to the site and let us know where the house should be placed so as not to place the house where we would sleep above a fault in the earth or water. We had a dug well put in and the septic designed. 

The plan has 4 containers set in each corner and 4 more stacked above those. There is a 24ft atrium that will be in the center open the full 16ft. The house is sitting so that the back is due south with lots of  windows on the atrium walls to utilize passive solar. The main floor containers will house the kitchen, a guest room, my son's room, a library, and a  3/4 bath with laundry. There is an 8ft space between the containers on either side to accommodate the stairs going up to each side. Below the stairs will be a guest powder room on one side and stairs to the basement on the other. Upstairs on one side one container houses the master bedroom, another adjoining houses the master bath and closet. A separate stairway goes up to the other side which houses my daugher's room, her bath and closet. Our design is similar to the Kalkin house in northern Maine but not as large and less containers. 

Minor water and to ensure a dry basement, a french drain was installed. Just why is it called a french drain, you ask ? sounds exotic doesn't it ? However French drains were invented in Concord, Massachusetts and named after their inventor, the judge, farmer and Harvard graduate Henry Flagg French, who wrote a book on farm drainage that was published in 1859.

The footings were poured adding 3 additional to hold the containers at each inside corner. 

Gravel was then added so that the french drain would work properly.

Now for some reason, my husband thought what he had paid for at the town was the OK to do the foundation work so we went merrily along until the stop work....duh duh duh....The permit was for the septic ! Honest mistake so we stopped everything until the town sees a stamp from an engineer that the way the containers will be attached to the foundation and that, indeed, the foundation can hold the containers, etc etc. 

The forms have been up for a week awaiting the plans form the engineer. He said all looked good in that there was rebar in the cellar walls for extra strength, our plan is to sink a steel plate 1/2" thick with two rebar hooks that will go thru the center hole and down into the wall concrete at each outside corner. Then each inside corner (the one that is not supported by the cellar walls) will have a pole from the footing to the floor bottom of the atrium. For extra support, there will also be another pole in the center of each long wall of each container to the footing as well. Not necessary, but feels right. 

June 6, 2013

We got the building permit ! 

We had to hire an engineer to draw how the corners would be anchored in the cement. Each plate will have 2 18" j hooks sunk into the concrete.  Weather permitting we should pour the basement walls early next week. Stay tuned.

June 10,2013

We are having the walls to the cellar poured today. They are reinforcing at each corner of the container with rebar the height of the walls and the J hooks will be set that will weld the containers to the wall.  

Here is the picture of the J hooks and the plates that will be in each outside corner of the containers.

Lots and lots of concrete...