Comments on: Green Acre: The Ultimate Reuse- Shipping Containers for Hotel Rooms

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 06:15:43 +0000

Very nice, thanks. I believe we call them sea containers.

By: Rui Prado

Rui Prado — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:06:21 +0000

hello my friend
ive been watching your projects and i like your ideas
we have been building a 3 floors building 1.800 square mtrs here in honduras with shipping containers
and we have been thinking on usings the papercrete idea to isulate the metal
but i have the idea that it will not last long on the containers
i wanted to ask you cause you ve done this a while a go how did it work for you
ive been traying to contact you
hope i can hear back from you
thanks and god bless
atte
Rui Prado

By: Containerist

Containerist — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:56:57 +0000

They have a ceramic coating now. Works amazingly! I am planning out my container home and will be coating it with the ceramic paint.

By: Mikey Sklar

Mikey Sklar — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:44:10 +0000

If you have limestone you could use anchor bolts to drill in to the rock and mount weld plates. Then weld the corners corners of the container.

Since Terlingua is a extreme temperature environment I recommend only refer containers (refrigerated).

By: Ara & Spirit

Ara & Spirit — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 02:54:26 +0000

Thinking about it for near Terlingua, Texas! Desert land… BUT, I was just going to drop one on the limestone… never thought abou the floating part!!! (shame on me as I lived on a sailboat for 28 years!) Do you really think they would float?… Hummm… Might have to rethink the no foundation path…
Would you let me know?
Thanks and be well…
Ara & Spirit

By: Mikey Sklar

Mikey Sklar — Sun, 18 May 2008 17:22:49 +0000

the containers are from Maloy Storage in Albuquerque, NM.

http://maloystorage.com/

By: Shaun

Shaun — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:40:50 +0000

Where did you get the containers?

By: Mikey Sklar

Mikey Sklar — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:07:19 +0000

The foundation we used was quite inexpensive and simple.

We dug holes that were 2′ deep and 18″ in diameter at each of the footings. We filled the holes with concrete and added rebar and weld plates so that there would be something to attach the containers too. Using sono tubes can help make these footers neater.

When the containers were delivered we (a week later) we placed them so that each corner hit a weld plate in our concrete footers. I then used some 1/4″ angle iron to weld the container to the foundation. This prevents them from floating away.

You could pour a more elaborate foundation, but this is the most common system I have seen. If you are going be stacking containers bring a structural engineer in for advice on a foundation. They will probably only bill you for 30 minutes of time if you know the weights of your containers.

By: elroy

elroy — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:37:49 +0000

What, type(s) of foundation…(s) have you seen used for container homes?

By: Mikey Sklar

Mikey Sklar — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 03:09:10 +0000

Yes, increasing the paper to cement ratio will increase the R value. Also replacing sand with perilite or pumice as a light weight aggregate will also increase the insulation. Be careful how much portland you use. If you are doing block work you really cannot go below a 1:1 (portland/paper) ratio by weight. I do in my mixes, but I am also using lime, sand, and cactus juice. Plus my structures for the papercrete are made of steel.

I think if you want to keep a shipping container at a reasonable temperature the following works well:

- spray a light coat of papercrete directly on the container (everywhere)

- shade the container from the South, East, and West with trees that drop the leaves in the winter or shade cloth.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:47:43 +0000

i’ve been toying with the shipping container idea for a while now, and after seeing that someone else had the idea for papercrete-insulation, my determination is that much more. Since it would be used more as insulation and less load bearing, would increasing the the paper/concrete ratio increase the R-value? I know that less concrete would be less stable, but we’re just trying to stay cool, right?

By: How to monitor your grease at Ryan Is Hungry

How to monitor your grease at Ryan Is Hungry — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:26:35 +0000

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By: jay

jay — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 18:04:06 +0000

hey Josephine, i would love to see any photos of their set up. Also, I wonder how they keep it cool in the winter with all that metal. I know Mikey solved it with the papercrete.

By: Josephine Howland

Josephine Howland — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 17:46:09 +0000

My neighbors build a storage building by placing two large shipping containers about 30 feet apart then poured a concrete floor between the two containers. They then build a gable roof over the entire structure and formed a workshop/barn type building. Now, I wish I hadn’t bartered away the trailer I had. Ah well, there’s always another one waiting to be repurposed.

By: jay

jay — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:36:54 +0000

Hey phil, you should follow Mikey and Wendy’s Papercrete project at http://greenacre-hotsprings.blogspot.com/. They good people to get advice from.

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 08:52:03 +0000

Love it!
My brothers friend has been doing lots with containers at his refugio/campground in Oahu, HI (Malekehana)

I bought a 85 house no insulation and want to “seal the perimeter” with papercrete.
Peace
Phil

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 19:35:24 +0000

wow!
My friend Joanne & I have been discussing using shipping containers for various things (like homes!) for a few years now, it’s great to see folks actually doing it!!!
Best of luck to you and maybe we’ll drop by sometime.

Dave

By: Jenny

Jenny — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 18:46:59 +0000

This is amazing. I am a design student and for my senior project I am going to design a hotel out of shipping containers, and I love what you guys are doing. Any advice you might have to offer would be fantastic. Great job and I look forward to seeing what else you two come up with.

By: deborah

deborah — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 21:16:02 +0000

Mikey’s office is like Hiro Protagonist’s

By: Ryan Is Hungry

Ryan Is Hungry — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 05:55:27 +0000

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By: Clintus McGintus

Clintus McGintus — Fri, 18 May 2007 04:48:24 +0000

Very cool idea with the containers.

By: Ryan Is Hungry

Ryan Is Hungry — Thu, 10 May 2007 16:41:27 +0000

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By: jonny goldstein

jonny goldstein — Wed, 09 May 2007 23:18:31 +0000

How totally cool. Go Mikey and Wendy! Can’t wait to visit.

By: Ryan Is Hungry

Ryan Is Hungry — Tue, 08 May 2007 03:11:56 +0000

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