50 acres with a man can

After having a big shed/turned cabin and seeing a family owned vacation home wrecked... the idea of a wood constructed vacation spot in a remote area does not appeal to me. Some people are just plain mean... I have even heard of a few hunting cabins burned to the ground for grins. CONEX boxes would hold up to such much better- though enough brush piled against them could soften the steel.

One thought on your tunnel exit is to plant natural cover at the exit- good and heavy. Would prevent people from walking up on it and finding it and also provides you cover as you exit. Sounds like a fun project to tinker with. I like sliding steel doors with reinforce tracks--- much harder to dynamically breach. Also keeps bubba from ripping it off with a 4X4 and logging chain...

Ventilation would be a major concern for me in the box-- would get mighty hot and stagnant in there.

2Door
 
i always thought these were cool:

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

you could build one in your driveway and haul it up to your land:

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/houses/lusby/

tumbleweedhouses_07212006.jpg
 
Dude, do the cabin. Containers rust out and leak after awhile. I worked for Maersk Line and the old containers are shit when we are done with them. Other than storage, I would not use the damn things. Start slow and build it yourself. Forget the tunnel as well, there isn't anyone trying to get you if you live among mountain folk. Find a holla and settle in with your new country living brothers. Build a still, buy a couple of beagles/hounds, and go hunting.
 
I would build something on site. Trucking your creation to the spot is bound to undo a lot of the hard work you put into it in the first place. Plus, I suspect hauling it from purchase place A to your current place B then hauling it to new property C will end up costing a bundle and equivalent to what it would to have Shed or prefab building shipped from hardware store to new property C. Just my two cents.
 
If you are really thinking about living on the property, I would put more time into thinking what KIND of property would suit your needs. For example, will it grow anything? Is there good soil? Where will you get water? Is there wood? Can you put livestock on it?

As far as shelter, there are lots of inexpensive trailers available on the market. You could probably buy a used camper or such with all the amenities for a lot less trouble and about the same amount of money as trying to outfit a storage container.

Andy
 
Andrew Colglazier said:
If you are really thinking about living on the property, I would put more time into thinking what KIND of property would suit your needs. For example, will it grow anything? Is there good soil? Where will you get water? Is there wood? Can you put livestock on it?
Andy
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Yeah what he said.

Your woodland you could hunt in (if big enough) and you can harvest lumber firewood nuts herbs and mushrooms from.

Fields and open areas have berries and stuff and can be converted to pasture.

Water sources. Full creek running is great but even a few springs are decent.

Flat land.
 
Suggest you take the Annual Self-Reliance Symposium (I am assuming it is at Cody's house which is worth a visit). Would be a good investment before you start spending money as there is much you can learn about design, what to buy, where to build, how to build, etc. Cody also teaches some sort of architechture course as a n. AZ college too.

Click on Course Schedule, Skills, then Self-Reliance Symposium
http://www.alssadventures.com/
 
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I'm currently converting shipping containers (20' and 40') into dog kennels. I've timber framed the interiors because they're going to be buried. When buried, the sides of a regular container deflect inward about 4" for an 8' container and about 6" on a hi-cube (9'6" high) unless supported (wanna see pics ? lol). That is enough to crack the paint and put groundwater in contact with the steel. I'm using foundation damproofing on the outside of the steel - it's a thicker film and more flexible than paint and it's made to be buried. Man, do they ever warm up in the sun between painting and backfilling though !

Ventilation is a must, obviously.. I've buried one right to it's end and the insulation value is pretty impressive : 20-odd dogs barking inside is barely audible unless you're facing the (unburied) door, and then only because I haven't finished insulating it yet.
I don't recall how the math worked out on air changes (check your local building code), but I'm using Broan DX90 bathroom exhaust fans to change the air.

Insulation is required only where the steel is exposed to the air: the temperature difference will cause condensation.

To live in it, I'd definitely figure out a way to get some natural light inside. I found when I was doing the final hookups I felt like I was in some kind of a cell after a while and I'd go find something to do outside...but maybe that's just me lol. There are skylights made for use in a trussed roof that have an internally mirrored duct to bring light through an attic. Maybe a couple of those ?

As far as $$ goes, our containers run about 2500-3500 (used) and about 400 (I think) to get them shipped about 100km (including a ferry at about 100 bucks).

One thing to check is permits. I need permits only to have the containers on site. Both of the local building inspectors have been pretty lax because there's no real precedent to come up with building standards and (as mentioned) it's a different loadpath than conventional construction. I actually had the second container's framing inspection signed off over the phone and email pictures after he'd seen the first one ;) I expect the rest to go the same way although he does drop in from time to time, probably out of personal interest.

I'm planning to do this myself as a cabin's basement, so I bid this job to get someone else to pay for the learning curve. If I can share some of it so much the better. I'll try and get some pics up in the next couple days.

Final thought: It sounds like a good idea (but), you might be best to avoid any external mods before the unit is onsite. Confirm with the applicable transportation regs for your jurisdiction, but any structural mods have to be engineered to be legal for transport. No point paying for that if it's only going for one more haul...

EDIT: just a thought guys, but I assumed he would put at least as much diligence as he's showing here into choosing the right piece of dirt...
Good point on sewer sections for the tunnel. (I didn't know that about the snow 'path'). Sewer pipes by their nature are sealed as new sections are applied. A threaded cap (the biggest I've seen is 36") with a handle on the inside might be the answer for the 'outflow' end.
 
I think I would just pour a concrete slab and lay some blocks.You could get pretty far for the cost of the container.Get your property and two or three working mini vacations later you could have your cabin.
 
The Survival Discussion forum on Arfcom has had a long discussion on this. A guy in TX has made a nice shelter using a 20 ft and a 40 ft container. The good part about this discussion is you can see how he progressed over time and the things he added to it like photovoltaics and wind power.

Here is the link:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=17&t=510228

John
 
I have three 40 foot containers. The last one I bought has a 9'6'' ceiling. I use that one for my workshop. The other two are for storage and keeping 4 wheelers and mechanic tools.The next one I buy will be buried for a root cellar. Remember, walk-in freezers are basically steel or aluminum panels with styrofoam for insulation. You could insulate one very well this way. I would second the log cabin. I bult one and they insulated very well and you can get kitsw vey reasonably priced. Not difficult to build. I would also take the suggestion to plan out the type property to buy. I have mine partially in timber. You can use this as a source of income if needed. I have part in pasture (in the works) to raise livestock. And part for crops. Most vegeteables will be grown in raised beds or green house.
Plan it out and go for it!
Terry
 
I would put more time into thinking what KIND of property would suit your needs. For example, will it grow anything? Is there good soil? Where will you get water? Is there wood? Can you put livestock on it?
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Absolutely. What do you want to do? Where is the property? How is the soil? And often overlooked.....how about the water? Water table is an average of ten feet around here,; makes handdug wells easy enough, but makes mud season a real bitch. Hate to head up to camp and find your container has sunk a foot.
 
The damproofing is a good idea deadeye. I buried a 500 gallon propane tank for my cabin. Propane is 2.10 a gallon gas 3.54 today. Cheaper to run generators. We buried magnesium bag connected by wire to the tank ot neutralize the charge necessary for oxidation. They say the bags are good for about 50 years. I plan on using them for the container as well. How deep did ou bury your containers? I have a friend who grew up in Wyoming. He said they would bury a 200 foot run of 8'' plastic pipe about 7 feet in the ground and run it into theire bars. Attach a fan and it would keep thier barns around 72 degrees year round with fresh air. At that depth the temperature is fairly constant. I haven't tested it yet, but a pretty cheap way to do it. I plan on giving it a try. In my spare time of course.
 
Hell, I don't think your plumb crazy. You sound about as normal as all my friends (and me). I think the shipping container is a great idea. Many of the companies that sell them have them availiable with options including windows and sliding side doors. As for the tunnel, outstanding idea! I would recommend using large diameter PVC pipe and not concrete. I've installed miles of the stuff. It is slick on the inside which means you could slide down it real easy, water-tight, and best of all lightweight. Unless you have a crane it would be hard to set 4' sections of concrete to build a tunnel. Good luck.
 
I agree with the cabin idea. Or a shack if you don't want to deal with logs.

Building it with your own hands will bring a good bit of satifaction too.
 
jpr9954 said:
The Survival Discussion forum on Arfcom has had a long discussion on this. A guy in TX has made a nice shelter using a 20 ft and a 40 ft container. The good part about this discussion is you can see how he progressed over time and the things he added to it like photovoltaics and wind power.

Here is the link:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=17&t=510228

John
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John...this is an OUTSTANDING thread brother. THANK YOU VERY MUCH! :thumbup:
 
Before you plan your building for the land, You better check the area that you are planning to buy the land. What building codes, Land zoning and if they do regular GIS mapping of the area that the government uses as enforcement.
 
555 said:
Before you plan your building for the land, You better check the area that you are planning to buy the land. What building codes, Land zoning and if they do regular GIS mapping of the area that the government uses as enforcement.
Click to expand...

I understand the need to do this completely. This thread was started to investigate the concept of ocean freight containers as housing," but I appreciate all of the good advice and suggestions. :thumbup:
 
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