I was starting to think that it would never happen (and I wasn't alone), but you can see from the photo that we have finally broken ground and are moving forward with my shipping container house!!
The last blog I posted on the house was in April 2018. The year since then has not been an easy one. First I struggled to find someone to build the house. There were several young contractors who really wanted to do it but whom I felt lacked the proper experience....and everyone told me it was going to cost 2 to 3 times more than I was expecting.
Because I felt that I needed to do something, I tried to get some bids on the foundation. The people who looked at the plans told me that, as engineered, the foundation could cost upwards of $200,000 due to the numerous piers, some of which went down as deep as 28'. I spoke with the engineer and he stood by his design, siting the soils report and clay soils, while others thought it was crazy and way overbuilt, especially since it is basically a flat lot.
That sent me on my next mission--to see if there was another way to build the foundation. While reading about shipping container construction and watching videos on the subject, I came across a builder who used something called helical piles. I then started researching helical piles. They are screwed directly into the ground, eliminating the need to dig holes and fill them with concrete, rebar, etc. Since shipping containers have built-in structural integrity, they do not need a stem wall or slab for support. They can be supported by the piers alone. Using helical piles greatly reduces the amount of excavation needed as well as saving on tons of concrete.
Talking with people who manufactured and/or installed them led to a referral to a company in Sacramento that has used helical piles for its shipping container homes, no less. The company is TANYR. I sent them my plans and spoke with the owner, James Roberts. He said they normally don't do custom homes, but since I already had the plans, he would be interested in helping me.
I decided that TANYR was my best option, but it was still a slow process. First we needed to re-engineer the foundation and James had other things he thought should be changed in the structural design of the modified containers. We still needed a contractor to work on the containers once they were delivered. The one he initially introduced me to backed out, but James was able to come up with someone else that seems more than capable, though not experienced with containers, Hauser Construction.
All this took a lot longer than I would have liked, but from what I hear, over and over again, everyone is just too busy. One contractor I spoken with said he had a year long waiting list and I couldn't even get on his list until I had an approved building permit. Since I've been doing this, I've watched with frustration as numerous new houses are built in our neighborhood, but most of them are spec homes (built to be sold).
There were many occasions when I thought I would have to give up on using shipping containers. I was prepared to scrap the original plans and build a conventional house, but that would have entailed new plans and more time. While I'm expecting more bumps in the road, I just hope there is nothing that will derail this train because it is full steam ahead!
The plan is to be done this summer, so expect more frequent blog posts as the work progresses.
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