Living in a box

[MacGyver]

[quote name='gjohnsoniv' timestamp='1354204538' post='852425']
Here was something interesting I found this morning: [url="http://9gag.com/gag/5955815"]http://9gag.com/gag/5955815[/url]
[/quote]

Saw this on Reddit the other day. Just be sure to allot some time every day for removing splinters.

[gjohnsoniv]

[quote name='MacGyver' timestamp='1354205165' post='852428']
Saw this on Reddit the other day. Just be sure to allot some time every day for removing splinters.
[/quote]Very True. Maybe throw up some really thin drywall/similar?

[sigmtnman]

[quote name='RED333' timestamp='1351735156' post='836953']
The problem with steel is it "WILL" rust, dont care what yo do it will....
[/quote]

cathodic protection

[sigmtnman]

[quote name='1gewehr' timestamp='1351867205' post='837747']
Do not bury a cargo container. The roof is not designed to support much weight. The corner posts can support all kinds of weight, but the roof between them is relatively weak. Just a foot or so of wet dirt can cause the roof to bow in and lead to collapse.
...
[/quote]


This is the big problem. I'd think the necessary reinforcement would negate the savings. May as well just build something with rebar and concrete.

[Il Duce]

Might wanna take a look through this

http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=148884

[Guest Lester Weevils]

[quote name='gjohnsoniv' timestamp='1354204538' post='852425']
Here was something interesting I found this morning: [url="http://9gag.com/gag/5955815"]http://9gag.com/gag/5955815[/url]
[/quote]

I like those, thanks for the link. There is a further link, [url="http://i-beamdesign.com/projects/refugee/refugee.html"]http://i-beamdesign....ee/refugee.html[/url] with several pallet houses. There are right-left arrows by each item and most items have a few slide-show pictures of construction details. There are also "show description" inks that show a few paragraphs each of explanation.

Maybe a pretty tight long lasting shed could be made putting foam cores in the pallets then stucco. Stucco is pretty cheap in materials and lasts a long time, but somewhat labor intensive. Wrap it in Tyvek then stucco?

[quote name='sigmtnman' timestamp='1354207636' post='852446']
May as well just build something with rebar and concrete.
[/quote]

Rebar and concrete is pretty easy, not expensive and probably last longer than the builder. It doesn't take much skill but does require a strong back. One way, use wire between blocks to tie it all together pretty rigid, put a piece of rebar down every vertical hole, and fill all the vertical holes with concrete. If you later decide to tear it down, maybe dynamite would be a better tool than a sledge hammer. Edited November 29, 2012 by Lester Weevils

[gjohnsoniv]

Thanks for the link, Lester, I always like finding the original site.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Coincidentally, ran across this link about wood preservation. Had been looking for links on the old "used motor oil" preservation, but too many references on that claim eventual environmental damage as the oil leaches out.

http://www.bearfortlodge.com/home-brew-wood-and-log-preservative/

Borate dissolved in propylene glycol. Environmentally friendly antifreeze, must not be too nasty as it is found in various medicines and e-cigarette juice and such. Supposedly the propylene glycol is hydroscopic and draws the borate into the wood. A link on wikipedia said this was good for interior but if surfaces are subject to routine rain or moisture the borate will leach out over time. Was just thinking, in the old days such as pallets are not made of pressure treat wood, but maybe nowadays are.

The wikipedia link mentioned that tung oil is a pretty good preservative because it soaks in and hardens the outside layer of wood, making it water resistant. So maybe spraying pallets or other untreated wood with borate/propylene glycol, then after a few days drying, hit it with a couple of coats of tung oil. Then water-tight the finished exterior with stucco or shingles or vinyl, so that water can't get to the "home treated" wood and leach out the home-treatment? Maybe that would keep the soft wood from dry rot or insects for awhile?

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Ferro cement is another interesting old building technique. It doesn't cost much in materials but is most likely "labor intensive" compared to other methods. Unless a fella happened to be an ace at a similar skill set such as stucco.

Long ago when people were interested in building geodesic dome buildings, ferrocement was popular because, domes are inexpensive for the volume and very strong, but non-square dwellings are beastly difficult to seal against the weather using conventional materials such as shingles or terra cotta tile. So some folks would build big old strong domes out of 2X4's or even conduit, then skin them with ferrocement. I never made anything out of ferrocement but it was another of those things reputed to be easier to tear down with dynamite than a sledge hammer. Though nowadays a chainsaw with some kinda special blade, or an industrial-quality sawzall and a pallet full of demolition blades might be a good way to take down a ferrocement building.

This is a link to a ferrocement garage a fella made in rural hawaii. I don't think I'd want something exactly like that on my property, but its an interesting read about the technique. Also illustrates the likely "labor intensiveness" of the medium, because he admits that thang took him 3 months at "more than part time but not full time" to build, and unless he is awesomely slow it wouldn't have taken him hardly any time to build an equivalent sized shack out of lumber.

[url="http://eco-living.net/projects/hifcgarage/"]http://eco-living.ne...cts/hifcgarage/[/url] Edited December 4, 2012 by Lester Weevils

[Dolomite_supafly]

I had a guy come in with a bandsaw mill. He setup his mill then bought the logs at .10 a board foot in the log then he sold them back to me for .25 a board foot after it was sawed. It cost us under $1,000 for the lumber to build the house. We did have to spend a few hundred on the interior wall lumber. The same lumber would have cost me $8,000 if I walked into Home Depot and buy it.

Dolomite

[camp]

http://tinyhouseswoon.com/two-story-container-home/