Second look at containers

The only activities on site in the last 2 months were the weeds growing, the gophers digging and, of course, Juno running around.  The main hold up was a manufacturing issue with the 10" helical piles, but that has been resolved and all the piles are due to be delivered and installed this week!!   I've got my time lapse camera ready to go so I can make another fun video.
Meanwhile, work has been progressing off site at the TPU location in Vallejo.  James arranged a time last week for us to meet and get a close up view of the work that is being done.  I invited a friend, Lindsay, to join me on the drive.  

We were met by James, Michael, Randy and Abel.   Randy Larson is the president of TPU, Michael showed us around last time in Randy's absence and Abel works for Taynr.  Lindsay took the picture.

My house-to-be was in pieces scattered around the yard.  At one point I got turned around and thought I was looking at someone else's containers and noticed how they looked just like mine.  Here are the two 20 foot containers that will be the studio apartment.  They are sitting side by side, but unattached, as that comes after delivery to the site.

  

Here is a shot out the upstairs south facing bedroom window looking at the west facing side of the downstairs units.  This is a view you could never get in conventional construction.

This is a shot of the containers which will be the upstairs of the main house.  In place of the container doors, there will be sliding glass doors.  As we looked at them, James told me I have the option of leaving the container doors on and welding them open--expanding the indoor space into the outdoors.  I don't think this would work well upstairs because of the deck, but I will give it some thought for the downstairs.

The container in front is the downstairs bedroom and behind it are the upstairs units.

Going inside the containers was another interesting experience.  Here we are in the upstairs bedrooms and baths.  The openings for the windows and doors have been cut from all 7 containers and have been reinforced with steel.  My first impression was how big the openings were, but then I had to remind myself that the windows that go in will have frames so the actual glass portion will be smaller.  The other confusing part is that the interior walls that are not part of a container have yet to be installed.  Lindsay and Abel are standing in the hallway, but the hall will not be that wide.  There will be a wall in front of them.

Here we are in the downstairs of the main house.  As you can see, it is a large open space--living room, dining and kitchen at the back.  The supports in the middle of the room are temporary and will be replaced with ceiling beams on site.

Being inside the containers allowed us to make some important decisions.  Here is James in the downstairs bedroom/bath.  He is marking out the location of the shower, toilet and cabinets.  In the original plans, there was little room for a sink and cabinet because the shower was so big, but by making the shower narrower I am able to have a full size vanity.

An option came up that I had long since given up on and that was the possibility of leaving exposed the original metal container ceilings.  The alternative is to frame up the ceiling and put on drywall as in a conventional house.   By leaving out the drop down ceiling, the room height will be greater, there is a savings on material and labor, and the look will be unique.  The electrical wiring that would normally be there will go above the container roof.  BTW, the container roofs will be covered--the downstair containers will be covered by the upstair containers and the upstair containers will be covered by insulated roofs.

Another benefit of seeing the units first hand was we were able to catch mistakes.  Before we even arrived, James had noticed that a window was placed too high.  It is the window over the sink in the studio and it is too high to see out, which is not what I wanted.  The solution was simple--just bring the bottom down and make the window taller.  He had this correction made before I had returned home.

There was another mistake that I noticed right away.  The man door next to the kitchen and leading to the backyard, was not where it was supposed to be.  This greatly affects the kitchen design and has to be fixed.  I have no idea how they will fix it, but I'm sure they'll do a proper job of it.  My guess is they could remove the back panel from that container and put on a new one.

Where the containers come together, the seam is not flush with the walls.  I knew there was to be a plate on the floor that will have to be allowed for when the floors are laid, but I did not have a clear understanding about how the walls went together until we were there.   The union projects into the room.  For the most part this doesn't matter, but one joint lands in the middle of the kitchen counter.  I mentioned my concern to James and he said that wouldn't be a problem--the cabinet could just be cut to fit.  But when I got home I looked at the plans for the kitchen cabinets and saw that the cabinet in front of the seam is the one with the dishwasher and cannot be modified.  The solution is to move the dishwasher to a different location--not a huge problem--but it was lucky I noticed it before the cabinets were built and delivered.
There is still more work to be done on the containers before they are ready for moving.  Metal framing will go in the exterior walls and foam insulation will be sprayed behind the framing and in the floors and ceiling.  The windows will be installed, if they arrive before the containers are to be shipped, otherwise the windows will be installed on site.  

The next time I see the containers will most likely be when they are delivered here.  What a day that will be!!

Guess that about covers everything for now.  I have much more to write about--mainly my search for finishings--but will have to save that for another day.