Monday, July 26, 2010

A Small Snag....



My husband, Tom and brother in law, Ronnie had started digging the area to set the containers in, the well digger was drilling our new well, they had the forms ready for concrete man and then the well came up dry!  We have a well on the property that we put in for my sister in law almost two years ago, but isn't a strong flowing well, runs about 3 gals per minute.  And while it is possible to share this well, it would not be possible to use the containers in the area we'd need to be in to access the current well.  So we had to rethink our decision to put containers onto the property.  Tom was bummed, we started coming up with alternatives.  However, there is city water available, so we waited til Monday morning and headed for Porum, Ok to see if it was available to us.  The head of the Water Dept came and spoke with us, told us he'd come and look over the situation as their main line is about 700 ft from our property line.  He'll have to put in for a permit with the state, we'll need to apply for access to Porum's water and have the septic approved. And then if they can dig a trench 24 inches down into the ground and  rock, we will have access to water.  But our plans will be put on hold until all of this is accomplished.  Everything happens for a reason, I always say, so I'll wait to see how things go.  It could always be worse, I could have no where to live!
The first two shots are of the hole for the containers, the second two shots are of the building of the forms for the concrete footings needed for the containers and the last if of the well digger.









Monday, July 5, 2010

The Plan

My husband and I are so looking forward to getting started on this project.  We are starting with the floor plan that we worked on together.  I did a mock floor plan in Photoshop early this morning, then we sat down together and hammered (pun intended) out our differences.  Then Tom, my husband,  with his engineering background went to work with a blue print program.  We intend to tile the floors, add a product called cement fiber backboard because it is mold and mildew and moisture resistant, seal the outside, berm the dirt around the containers on three sides and lay a slab of "Lite Crete", which is light weight concrete on the roof.
The lines coming out of the sides of the front view are concrete retaining walls.  We also hope to add a patio eventually with a roof and screened in to keep out critters and insects.

Here is the floor plan and a drawing of the front which is the only area which will be exposed to the elements.






Sunday, July 4, 2010

The Beginning

We started with an idea.  To live underground, saving on energy costs, saving on building costs and we wanted to have the most unusual house on the block. My husband and I are not city folk.  The hustle and bustle of a big city, traffic, honking horns, sirens are not something we enjoy.  We like the quiet and solitude of the country, surrounded by trees, nature and lots of dogs.  As truck drivers we were able to 'shop' around the US for a place to live.  One of the greatest gifts I've ever been given is the opportunity to live anywhere I want and not where I need to live. We first decided we'd like Arizona, but changed our minds as there weren't enough trees for us. Then we found Oklahoma, on the eastern side, there are hills, trees and the solitude we were searching for so we purchased 20 acres on a hilltop with a seasonal stream. We continued trucking and discussed various types homes, everything from steel buildings to underground concrete homes.  We checked prices and kept looking.  One day we came across shipping containers, did some research online, and discovered the amazing things being done with them in terms of living spaces. So that was it, shipping containers met our needs and wants.  And they were cheap! We have purchased 3 high cube shipping containers, so called because they are 9'6" high as opposed to 8' high.  They are 8' wide by 40' long.  Below are the images taken by my brother in law as the containers were being delivered.