Container life

After a relatively uneventful winter I returned to my new home. Yes. A shipping container. A twenty foot one at that. I purchased one last year to use as storage for building materials and ultimately itll become a workshop of sorts. The house survived winter just fine and now was the time to get moving on it again. April still saw snow and plenty of freezing temperatures. The container serves as a good half way house of sorts.

I grew rather found of living in the container. I abandoned the idea of building a home out of them, despite all the cool ideas on the internet. Its a trend, like most things. As I looked more into it there wasnt any solid benefits. In fact, there were more cons. Sure its nifty to have a weatherproof shell dropped on your land. Its a nightmare to insulate, completely imbedded with chinese pesticides and is hardly "cheap". I didnt give up on it completely though, last year I began insulating it and finished it this spring. Solid metal shells get very hot and very cold, oh and dont breath at all. A combination of guaranteed problems down the road. The only true answer is spray foam insulation which destroys any hope for cost savings. Since its not a permanent home I opted for my own custom design, an experiment of sorts. I read through a plenty of homestead blogs and figure someone else may come across mine. My advice is unless you can get the containers super cheap (less than $1000) then its not worth the trouble. Unless youre trendy, then have at it.

I basically framed out a box inside the container with an air gap on the top. Each stud bay I used 1" foam board which is suitable for subgrade installation so it wont grow mold or hold moisture. The entire interior was then wrapped in 6mil polysheeting, trapping the air between the foam board and interior wall surface (sheetrock). Unknown to many, air holds a R value, its the moisture and convection that negates it. Dry, still air provides some insulation. 3.6 R value supposedly per inch. Combined with the foam board total R value could be around 12. Who really knows. I dont care. All I know is it works and was perfectly cozy. Took off the temperature swings, heated up quick with the campstove and held the heat. Opposing vents were drilled out and a CO detector installed. Having a fire in a 19x8' space isnt safe by most standards and Ive had CO poisoning before.

On a windy day, with a mostly closed flue, CO levels did rise in the container. Its a real risk, be careful. Funny me saying that but I suppose a two week headache and being scared of falling asleep and not waking up did knock some sense in me.

I do recommend paying extra for the digital readout, kind of an early warning rather than waiting for the alarm to go off when it rises to dangerous levels.

In real time, I (we) are moved out of the container and in the actual house. So now the container will be serving as a workshop/gym. Such an odd sized space made it difficult finding a squat stand thatll fit the space. After months of hounding craigslist, I built my own. Out of wood. Yes. The biggest driving factor in my homestead mission is to have the freedom and challenge to do pretty much whatever I want. I love experimenting. I learn by pain and error. Thus, squat stand needed. Container life aint so bad afterall.

Adept

Building has always been in my blood. From legos to anything thats been broken. I want things to work. I want to know why they do not work. In the advent of the internet, knowledge is at the edge of a keyboard at all times. Much of it useless dribble. Ive taken what I know and mixed it with the new, thus embarking on a new kind of adventure. 2016 marked the year where I truly gave it all up in lieu of making everything my own. Im still not sure of Maine however I suspect my confidence will grow with time as it already has a bit. A home is being built. 

Earthwork. It all started with a hole. This hole is where the gate would be, representing the first change to the landscape of where home will become. 

Officially, its official. Spring brings mud and soon after the bugs. Its certainly not for everyone. Or really, not for most. The idea of not having good cell phone reception, no plug and play electricity and nights as dark as the stars allow is simply not mainstream. Perhaps romantic on the surface, it isnt very forgiving. 

First signs of shelter appear. Refuge from weather is now possible. 

What to build first? Ive read through many other stories of folks heading down a similar path. Theres a general consensus to first erect structures other than the house. The wood shed would be first. Or shack. Not really a shed. 

Keeping cut wood dry is of fairly high importance. Theres no sense of having a house if I cant heat it. Plus it takes time for it to dry hence why it was the first structure to build. 

Home site chosen. High and dry made the choice for us. Incredibly well drained soil, highest point in the clearing. Originally the idea was tuck the home in the woods but theres a certain appeal to having "big sky" available at all times. No worries of trees and branches falling on the home either 

Every real boy dreams of heavy machinery. Albeit a mini-excavator, the amount of work it saved me was immense. Roughing in the foundation and drainage was all I really needed. 

There will be no septic. Septics are costly and totally unnecessary. Two grey water drains run to a pit of stone. Simple and all thats needed. Well. Technically not needed but in the sense of convenience, its a minimum. 

Drain pipes in place and buried. Foundation roughed in. I was pleased how close I got it to its final dimensions. 

Theres no denying how much fun it is. Finished off a bunch of small earth work projects after I was done with the foundation. Gate needed a second post and 5 minutes later it was done. 

The state of Maine is beautiful. Part of what makes it beautiful is that its still okay to have an outhouse in most of the state. Regulation is minimal especially coming from NY. No its not completely free but its a good compromise. This hole will later have a sweet outhouse built on it. Not a priority especially since a primitive composting toilet works fine. 

The greywater pit. A bed of stone with a concrete distribution box buried in it. A layer of landscape fabric is placed on top and then buried completely under soil. The shower and sink drain will drain to this pit. Its considered a primitive system and I love it. Simplicity is my focus and it doesnt get much simpler. 

The concrete forms are up. A visit from my father helped kick start it as I found myself in a slump. The amount of work (and money) was far exceeding my plan. Actually, my plan didnt exist anymore. Originally I was going to build on concrete piers. I liked the idea of accessing the underside of the house and a concrete slab can be cold. Plus I understood the pier system. In a way I was scared of what I didnt know. After much lost sleep I settled on a monolithic slab, aka an alaskan slab, aka a frost protection shallow foundation, aka other names. Its a tried and true design that is still relatively new. I hated the idea of having footers going below the frost line especially in Maine. The cost was immense and didnt fit my ideal simplicity.  

Although the site was super dry, I had extra stone and added a drain to the low side of the foundation. Water should never get under the foundation. But if it did, it has a way out now. 

I had it in my head that due to many plan changes and being behind schedule I was going to wait until next year to pour the foundation. As a side project I framed out the inside of the shipping container with intentions to insulate it and heat it with a small wood stove. A simple yet incredibly effective shelter. 

But then things shifted again. I was filled with worry and it was time to set it aside and just do it, like I always have. A 6 mil vapor barrier is set down to keep water in the ground from getting to the concrete. Concrete is not as solid as one may think. Water can pass through concrete. 

2" xps foam board comes next. With taped seams it serves as a bonus extra vapor barrier. This insulation is essential to the design of a frost protected shallow foundation. 

Another design change. The cost of pex tubing is minimal. The hurdle of using radiant floor heating in an off grid home will be a challenge. However I am up for challenges and will figure it out later. 

Well. Its permanent now. Ive never poured concrete on this scale. Just minor stuff like a small staircase. It really is all in the prep work. Having the right tools, building the form level and square and heavily reinforced. I was dumbfounded by how easy and smoothly the concrete pour day went. All my concerns were squashed and for the first time I felt a sigh of relief that this project might work afterall. 

With the foundation poured, everything else was cake. Working on a surface thats level and square simplifies everything. Sill plates bolted down fine. Everything was measuring up within reasonable tolerances (1/4"). 

Moving here has a lot of hidden surprises. Like a lumber mill down the road. Its all from local forests, cut and planed to order. Cheaper than chain stores (that stocks Idaho lumber!). I was very pleased with the price and beauty of the lumber. Dropped right off next to our foundation it was go time. 

I was really, really looking forward to framing. One. Its easy. Two. It happens quick. Three. Its what makes the house start looking like a house. All summer was spent preparing for this day. 

Walls went up in two working days. No power tools. Just a japanese pull saw and hammers. The picture above is a great example of the "big sky" that northern Maine offers. Its already mid October but daytime temps were still warm and the sun shone brightly. 

Zip sheathing was to wrap the house. Conventional osb and housewrap didnt appeal to me. I really liked the idea of how zip sheathing is osb and housewrap combined. Costwise it really isnt much different either. One can waste many hours researching in the internet. Im happy with my choice. 

While the building continued, another big decision was made. The clearing needed work if we were to ever grow crops. The loggers left a heavy layer of mulch, sticks and small logs. Some weeds poked through. Clearing by hand was daunting but I didnt want the organic top layer to get scraped off by heavy equipment either. Again, one can waste many hours researching on the internet and never figure out what to do. The decision was really made by the guy I get gravel from. He asked about the clearing offered to clean it up for a good price. At this point in the adventure I came to terms with my own body and knew I just wanted it done. It cleaned up nicely and theres plenty of good soil that didnt scrape off. 2017 will have a major focus on rejuvenating this clearing with some hand work and perhaps the assistance of pigs. 

Things went up quick, largely in part because of my focus on simplicity. The house design revolved around basic measurements. Lengths were kept in intervals of 4'. Angles are all 90* and 45*. I dont like waste and in an effort to save waste of tried to use odd sizes of cut sheathing to fit around doorways. It was a complete headache. I reckon I barely saved any waste and only made things difficult. One of many lessons learned. 

I love looking at this kind of symmetry. 

Standing in the loft, which will be overlooking the living room as it is a half loft. 

Signs of moose were all over the place. Fresh tracks and poop. Finally one came around. I was surprised at how docile he seemed. Really didnt seem to mind my presence. The small antlers suggest hes a male of 1-2 years. His name is Bill. 

The roof sheathing was incredibly easy. As designed, I only had to make one cut. The hardest part was just the labor of hauling them up by myself. Like Ive mentioned before, researching on the internet can be so damning. Just when you think you decided you read something that reverses it. I had no question I was going with a metal roof. Metal roof is slippery and combined with the steep angle of a 12/12 pitch roof snow will slide off of it. Some say you dont need sheathing under a metal roof. I liked the idea of the cost savings but in the end, durability one. Having a weather proof layer under a metal roof sounds like a good way to resist leaks. Sometimes I cut corners and sometimes I over engineer things. Being that its a home that lasts most of decisions have been made towards over engineering. 

For example, hurricane ties. Not needed here. But they made placing the rafters a lot easier and adds a bit more strength to the roof structure. Plus I just like them. 

All the seams are taped. I put a tarp over the roof to resist any unnecessary wear on the sheathing until I can get a metal roof on it. I purposely didnt cut out the windows to help keep the place buttoned. Officially, the house is dried in. No signs of water getting in after a rainstorm. 

Winter is coming. My body ached more than it ever has. As much as I like the pride associated with only using hand tools, its a one time deal. The next house, or major project, Ill be gladly using a circular saw at the very least. 

My side project is intended to be an insulated workshop. Insulating a shipping container is tricky. Best way is spray foam but the cost makes it a total no go. Fiberglass collects condensation and soon creates mold. There really wasnt a solid solution. So I made one. Its only in theory at this point but Im confident in it and Ill naturally find out if it works or not. I used xps foam board as it wont hold condensation. Xps is expensive so I used 1" and some scrap left over from the foundation. The framing was 2x4 so I had a 3.5" space to insulate. I sealed the foam board in each stud bay with great stuff spray can foam, leaving a 2.5" air gap to the interior. The interior was then wrapped with a 4 mil vapor barrier. Effectively sealing the air gal into each stud bay. Air itself is an insulator, if its dry and doesnt move much.  The foam board has an R value of 5. Not that great but better than nothing. Dry air has an R value of 3.6 per 1". Since theres an 2.5" sealed air gap that should give me an R value of 9. Combined with the foam board thats a total of 14, very reasonable and much cheaper than trying to achieve that value with an insulating material.  

I put an old camp stove in it that was donated by my neighbor. I easily cooked myself out but more impressive was how long the container held the heat after I let the stove go out. Short term I think itll work great. We'll see how it works long term. 

The big sky gave me a treat before I left. I wasnt supposed to go back to NY for winter. But a lot of other things didnt go as they were supposed to either so, whatever. Amazing things fell into place that I never expected. 2017 has so much in store for it. The dream is very much real, we'll be back soon enough. 

 

Thus

“A man receives only what he is ready to receive, whether physically or intellectually or morally…We hear and apprehend only what we already half know. If there is something which does not concern me, which is out of my line, which by experience or genius my attention is not drawn to, however novel and remarkable it may be, if it is spoken, we hear it not, if it is written we read it not, or if we read it, it does not detain us. Every man thus tracks himself through life, in all his hearing and reading and observation and travelling.”

-Thoreau

Buying problems

They say buying used is buying someone elses problems. To this date, it has been 100% true. Every used motorcycle Ive bought has been littered with various problems of neglect, abuse and other hidden surprises. Sometimes the deals seem worth it, usually not in my case. A poorly written craigslist ad that essentially read "bike in a box". The price was almost the value of scrap metal. Sure enough it was a bike in a box. The story was told about the issue and at the time I didnt care, it was that cheap. I love putting things together, winter was setting in so why not. 

My kind of puzzle!

A nice paperweight. 

The reality sets in. The backstory was clearly a lie. Stripped and rounded fasteners everywhere. Liquid gasket slathered around. Okay Ill finish the rest of it instead. 

Without the engine, the rolling chassis has a value. I really hoped to get it running just as an accomplishment. If the backstory was true, I probably could have. 

Well nevermind. Broken metal and shavings everywhere. I lost my patience and unloaded it for cheap. It was fun putting the rest of it back together but I think I am done buying used without a very intense inspection. After having gone through the problems with so many different bikes I have a keen eye for such, its now more of a matter of being patient and not buying a bike just because I want it. Perhaps another revelation of age. 

Littering aint so bad

The action of littering is rather disheartening and quite often reflects a persons true colors. Ive never been surprised by someone who willfully throws their trash anywhere and happens to be an overall crappy person. With that said, I noticed a consistent amount of beer cans on the side of the road on my walking route to the gym. It really didnt trouble me to grab them on my way back home. Before I knew it, I looked forward to the walk because of the free money I brought home with me. I was walking anyways so why not. I turned this:

Into this:

It still makes me chuckle. Someone(s) is consistently drinking and driving, tossing their trash into the environment while I easily convert it into useful tools. Ultimately their loss my gain.