Housing Market Near You

Quote: gordonm888

Quote: AZDuffman

Quote: rxwine

Quote: AxelWolf

Quote: rxwine

Quote: billryan

Quote: rxwine

Just live in your car.
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I live in a fifth wheel and have no plans for anything else. I have an amish shed I'm using as an office and a storage container for what's left of my stock. My trailer is 38 feet and I might downsize it a bit. I don't want to spend 70K on a big pickup to haul it around if I go in that direction.
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i think the future is 3d printed homes, but printed in basic polygon shapes that can fit together in multiple combinations, and assembled and disassembled and shipped across country on flatbed trucks that you can put on property using standardized plumbing and electrical bases Standardized wiring and plumbing will be put in during the printing.

Afterall, a rectangular living room of a 5-million-dollar house can have the same basic frame as a 250k house, just better exterior and interior external bits (and larger and more rooms) And if you want a octagon room with a 30 ft walls and domed ceilings you can order it.

Plug n play houses' No reason to sell or buy, just ship the modules for as long as they last.

edit, I just went an looked up images of shipping containers homes, and many look pretty fancy now. The home i saw still looked mostly container on the outside, Footage was 5000 feet as the 3rd story roof was used as a deck.

Don't tell Elon, he's always stealing my ideas.
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They will always find a way to make it just as expensive. If you find a way to make super cheap houses the cost of land will skyrocket.

I hear the shipping containers are seriously stacking up in china. Problem solved.
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I've been in a 3 story shipping container house. It was interesting. Has to be one of the cheapest ways to build a home, assuming you're not getting inflated prices on used containers. Although many of the rooms were small, some were cutout enough between two or more containers. It was furnished just like a regular home. If you don't mind the metal shipping container look you can go heavy metal.

Of course, one issue could be finding a location where your neighbors won't complain about that look. But functionally, there is nothing wrong with the idea.
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Containers are not great to build homes despite looking hipster-cool. When you cut out walls. doors, and windows you seriously weaken things and have to add in support. Better ways out there.
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Do you add insulation to the exterior walls of a container house?

There are many features of a house that go beyond an exterior shell that make modern homes comfortable. Ventilation. Roofs and gutters that channel rainwater away from the structure. Floors with some give so that your legs and feet don't start to ache. A firm foundation so that the structure does not start to tilt/lean in the future.

Getting wifi/internet into steel containers will require a penetration since wifi doesn't go through steel containers. Clothes driers, dishwashers and stoves require vents to the exterior. So will whatever options you use for heat and AC. Electrical wiring in an electrically-conductive shell is a pretty serious matter because of the hazards posed by shorts and arcing in the future. Also, wall penetrations for pipes for running water and sewage.

meh.
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Google "shipping container homes" and the "Image" tab and take a look at all of them. I don't know what they're doing, but they almost all are prettier on the outside than the one I was in.

Quote: gordonm888

Quote: AZDuffman

Quote: rxwine

Quote: AxelWolf

Quote: rxwine

Quote: billryan

Quote: rxwine

Just live in your car.
link to original post

I live in a fifth wheel and have no plans for anything else. I have an amish shed I'm using as an office and a storage container for what's left of my stock. My trailer is 38 feet and I might downsize it a bit. I don't want to spend 70K on a big pickup to haul it around if I go in that direction.
link to original post

i think the future is 3d printed homes, but printed in basic polygon shapes that can fit together in multiple combinations, and assembled and disassembled and shipped across country on flatbed trucks that you can put on property using standardized plumbing and electrical bases Standardized wiring and plumbing will be put in during the printing.

Afterall, a rectangular living room of a 5-million-dollar house can have the same basic frame as a 250k house, just better exterior and interior external bits (and larger and more rooms) And if you want a octagon room with a 30 ft walls and domed ceilings you can order it.

Plug n play houses' No reason to sell or buy, just ship the modules for as long as they last.

edit, I just went an looked up images of shipping containers homes, and many look pretty fancy now. The home i saw still looked mostly container on the outside, Footage was 5000 feet as the 3rd story roof was used as a deck.

Don't tell Elon, he's always stealing my ideas.
link to original post

They will always find a way to make it just as expensive. If you find a way to make super cheap houses the cost of land will skyrocket.

I hear the shipping containers are seriously stacking up in china. Problem solved.
link to original post

I've been in a 3 story shipping container house. It was interesting. Has to be one of the cheapest ways to build a home, assuming you're not getting inflated prices on used containers. Although many of the rooms were small, some were cutout enough between two or more containers. It was furnished just like a regular home. If you don't mind the metal shipping container look you can go heavy metal.

Of course, one issue could be finding a location where your neighbors won't complain about that look. But functionally, there is nothing wrong with the idea.
link to original post

Containers are not great to build homes despite looking hipster-cool. When you cut out walls. doors, and windows you seriously weaken things and have to add in support. Better ways out there.
link to original post

Do you add insulation to the exterior walls of a container house?

There are many features of a house that go beyond an exterior shell that make modern homes comfortable. Ventilation. Roofs and gutters that channel rainwater away from the structure. Floors with some give so that your legs and feet don't start to ache. A firm foundation so that the structure does not start to tilt/lean in the future.

Getting wifi/internet into steel containers will require a penetration since wifi doesn't go through steel containers. Clothes driers, dishwashers and stoves require vents to the exterior. So will whatever options you use for heat and AC. Electrical wiring in an electrically-conductive shell is a pretty serious matter because of the hazards posed by shorts and arcing in the future. Also, wall penetrations for pipes for running water and sewage.

meh.
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You need to think outside the box when building with alternative methods like containers. It's different in Arizona where snow and winter isn't a factor.
Place two forty-foot containers fifteen feet apart, Put an overhead port between the two , enclose the two ends with lumber/sheetrock and you have a 1560 square-foot shell for about $10,000. I think a solar set up would be another $10,000. I don't think you can build a better shell for that amount. The rest is up to your budget. I've seen homes that looked like adobe houses but were containers someone stuccoed. A neighbor has a 40-foot container that is done up inside like a rustic cabin. While he has a compost toilet, he has a "pissing funnel "in a corner for liquid relief. He's saving up for a septic system and building a deck.

You can cut doors and windows without weakening the structure. I've seen containers where one whole long side was removed.
I've seen a few compounds that had multiple containers- one would be a living room/kichen and another would be a bedroom

Quote: billryan

You can cut doors and windows without weakening the structure. I've seen containers where one whole long side was removed.
I've seen a few compounds that had multiple containers- one would be a living room/kichen and another would be a bedroom
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No, you can't. They get their strength form being a "unitized" structure. IOW, there is no "framing." Saying that cutting a window or door will not weaken it is like saying you can cut a window in a piece of plywood without weakening it.

I will not dispute some people do it and it may not appear weak. But it is. Cut a few holes and it will get even weaker. Any article I ever read about building with them warns about this.

Quote: AZDuffman

Quote: billryan

You can cut doors and windows without weakening the structure. I've seen containers where one whole long side was removed.
I've seen a few compounds that had multiple containers- one would be a living room/kichen and another would be a bedroom
link to original post

No, you can't. They get their strength form being a "unitized" structure. IOW, there is no "framing." Saying that cutting a window or door will not weaken it is like saying you can cut a window in a piece of plywood without weakening it.

I will not dispute some people do it and it may not appear weak. But it is. Cut a few holes and it will get even weaker. Any article I ever read about building with them warns about this.
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Cut a window in an armored car and it is weaker. It's still an armored car. What do you think cutting doors and windows does to a steel container? It's not going to get bounced around.

Quote: billryan

Quote: AZDuffman

Quote: billryan

You can cut doors and windows without weakening the structure. I've seen containers where one whole long side was removed.
I've seen a few compounds that had multiple containers- one would be a living room/kichen and another would be a bedroom
link to original post

No, you can't. They get their strength form being a "unitized" structure. IOW, there is no "framing." Saying that cutting a window or door will not weaken it is like saying you can cut a window in a piece of plywood without weakening it.

I will not dispute some people do it and it may not appear weak. But it is. Cut a few holes and it will get even weaker. Any article I ever read about building with them warns about this.
link to original post

Cut a window in an armored car and it is weaker. It's still an armored car. What do you think cutting doors and windows does to a steel container? It's not going to get bounced around.
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Containers are not armored cars. They are only made for limited uses. What do I think it does? It weakens the structure. Eventually it will sag and the doors and windows will not function. I am just reporting from my research, I am not going to keep debating it.

Quote: AZDuffman

Quote: rxwine

Quote: AxelWolf

Quote: rxwine

Quote: billryan

Quote: rxwine

Just live in your car.
link to original post

I live in a fifth wheel and have no plans for anything else. I have an amish shed I'm using as an office and a storage container for what's left of my stock. My trailer is 38 feet and I might downsize it a bit. I don't want to spend 70K on a big pickup to haul it around if I go in that direction.
link to original post

i think the future is 3d printed homes, but printed in basic polygon shapes that can fit together in multiple combinations, and assembled and disassembled and shipped across country on flatbed trucks that you can put on property using standardized plumbing and electrical bases Standardized wiring and plumbing will be put in during the printing.

Afterall, a rectangular living room of a 5-million-dollar house can have the same basic frame as a 250k house, just better exterior and interior external bits (and larger and more rooms) And if you want a octagon room with a 30 ft walls and domed ceilings you can order it.

Plug n play houses' No reason to sell or buy, just ship the modules for as long as they last.

edit, I just went an looked up images of shipping containers homes, and many look pretty fancy now. The home i saw still looked mostly container on the outside, Footage was 5000 feet as the 3rd story roof was used as a deck.

Don't tell Elon, he's always stealing my ideas.
link to original post

They will always find a way to make it just as expensive. If you find a way to make super cheap houses the cost of land will skyrocket.

I hear the shipping containers are seriously stacking up in china. Problem solved.
link to original post

I've been in a 3 story shipping container house. It was interesting. Has to be one of the cheapest ways to build a home, assuming you're not getting inflated prices on used containers. Although many of the rooms were small, some were cutout enough between two or more containers. It was furnished just like a regular home. If you don't mind the metal shipping container look you can go heavy metal.

Of course, one issue could be finding a location where your neighbors won't complain about that look. But functionally, there is nothing wrong with the idea.
link to original post

Containers are not great to build homes despite looking hipster-cool. When you cut out walls. doors, and windows you seriously weaken things and have to add in support. Better ways out there.
link to original post

Houses aren't built without supports, plus you also you need the rest of the roof. What's the better way?

Quote: AZDuffman

Quote: rxwine

Quote: AxelWolf

Quote: rxwine

Quote: billryan

Quote: rxwine

Just live in your car.
link to original post

I live in a fifth wheel and have no plans for anything else. I have an amish shed I'm using as an office and a storage container for what's left of my stock. My trailer is 38 feet and I might downsize it a bit. I don't want to spend 70K on a big pickup to haul it around if I go in that direction.
link to original post

i think the future is 3d printed homes, but printed in basic polygon shapes that can fit together in multiple combinations, and assembled and disassembled and shipped across country on flatbed trucks that you can put on property using standardized plumbing and electrical bases Standardized wiring and plumbing will be put in during the printing.

Afterall, a rectangular living room of a 5-million-dollar house can have the same basic frame as a 250k house, just better exterior and interior external bits (and larger and more rooms) And if you want a octagon room with a 30 ft walls and domed ceilings you can order it.

Plug n play houses' No reason to sell or buy, just ship the modules for as long as they last.

edit, I just went an looked up images of shipping containers homes, and many look pretty fancy now. The home i saw still looked mostly container on the outside, Footage was 5000 feet as the 3rd story roof was used as a deck.

Don't tell Elon, he's always stealing my ideas.
link to original post

They will always find a way to make it just as expensive. If you find a way to make super cheap houses the cost of land will skyrocket.

I hear the shipping containers are seriously stacking up in china. Problem solved.
link to original post

I've been in a 3 story shipping container house. It was interesting. Has to be one of the cheapest ways to build a home, assuming you're not getting inflated prices on used containers. Although many of the rooms were small, some were cutout enough between two or more containers. It was furnished just like a regular home. If you don't mind the metal shipping container look you can go heavy metal.

Of course, one issue could be finding a location where your neighbors won't complain about that look. But functionally, there is nothing wrong with the idea.
link to original post

Containers are not great to build homes despite looking hipster-cool. When you cut out walls. doors, and windows you seriously weaken things and have to add in support. Better ways out there.
link to original post

Quit stomping on my dreams.

How about an Earthship(I know they can actually cost a lot but I think that's due to other factors unrelated to the actual cost)

I find alternative cheaper house methods fascinating and interesting. Try to have an RL conversation with anyone regarding an Earthship and they will tune out by the 3rd sentence.

Several people are building with EF Blocks. They are interesting. Hollow blocks are assembled in place and then you pour cement into them. It can be cheaper, as you can do some of the installations yourself, but you will need a full construction crew.
you can get the blocks custom cut to your own design but they were backlogged when I looked last month.

https://www.pbs.org/video/good-stuff-power-earthships/

Quote: AxelWolf

https://www.pbs.org/video/good-stuff-power-earthships/
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I'm a big fan of getting off the grid, or what I call the chain of new energy masters. When we stop paying the wood company, you pay the coal company, then you pay the gas company, then you pay the solar plants and wind companies, and then you send your check to the nuclear plant company.

I like solutions that won't require a check to the next master. Or at least as few as possible.