Straw bale and shipping container home

[wa4aos]

Information and less of the irritating music would have been better.

[jmstlr632]

Dude, solarcabin man you are a genius with a beautiful mind . period end of story ! i really like your ideas with alternative living . you really seem to be comfortable in your cabin and i would be too in mine if only i had one but im locked into a $76,000.00 mortgage for the next 30 years or so . So im pretty much out of luck huh ? If only i had known then what you have shown me now i could be rich in no time .  Oh well good for you man ,keep it up cause this is an awsome idea .

[TheAllResort]

great idea combining the straw bale and shipping container concepts

[Pesadelo80]

Would it be a good idea to put grass on the roof ??

[solarcabin]

@Pesadelo80

I suppose you could but you would want a water proof membrane to prevent rust.

[noblinger]

The rats would love all the hay.

[solarcabin]

@noblinger

It is straw not alfalfa hay bales and insects and rodents are not usually a problem with strawbale homes.

[cypherf0x]

You can spend a bit more and get insulated shipping containers to make the design even more efficient for heating and cooling.

[kdp66]

What about insulating the roof? Isn't that where most of the heat loss occurs?

[solarcabin]

@kdp6

The ceiling is insulated inside with foam board, Floors are insulated with carpet pad.

[billpeart]

is it easy to get something like this insured?

[solarcabin]

@billpeart

Would depend on where you build and if you meet building codes.

[eitoobmiz]

cover the roof with straw bales then cover the whole roof with a giant hay tarp like they use at the ranches, water proof and can buy online.....

[aloisgault]

The cargo containers and starw bales will need to be up off the ground, or set up on some sort of gravel bed at least. water rots the bales and rusts your containers........ There are premade concrete piers you can get at home stores for tool sheds that will work if you have enough of them (corners and midspan of the containers at least). You would also need something like a metal/tile roof as well for the same reasons.......

[solarcabin]

@aloisgault

The video is just a basic explanation and the plans in my book include details for using railroad ties and a gravel base under the containers and straw bales.

[teamgrn]

those containers are $3500 to 4k in arizona. think the price of scrap steel went up. they are not cheap

[solarcabin]

@teamgrn

Yes if you are not near a port they can be expensive and not worth the effort.

[sgprailfan]

@solarcabin How close to a port do you have to be to make it worth your effort?

[solarcabin]

@sgprailfan

If you can get them for under $2000 delivered it is a good deal.

[Daraluz]

The straw bales need to be sitting up off the ground on a dry foundation, I've seen gravel packed into bags and surrounded with chicken wire.. if this is not done...moisture will wick up into the bales and they will mold and rot... the plaster will come off as well.. walls need "dry head and feet" to be durable...

[solarcabin]

@Daraluz

The video is just for ideas and the plans in my book contain directions for placing the bales on a gravel bed for drainage with a railroad tie foundation.

[mushymcsquishy]

many containers come already insulated, too.

[iulian28ti]

very nice

i was thinking about large earth bricks instead of straw bales

earth tends to insulate better and has greater thermal mass

[solarcabin]

@iulian28ti

That would probably work.

[BenPeckover]

how much are the containers?

[BaronVonSTFU]

I'm assuming you are putting something under the straw bales so they aren't just sitting straight on the ground

[lthobbes1]

I like your posts- but how in the world would you make windows on the side with the haybale walls? are they just decorative?

[TheIndustrialphreak]

I would probably figure a way to drop it in the ground and or build it into the side of a hill for earth insulation.

[IamScott351W]

@TheIndustrialphreak My thought exactly. The solar portion of the project doesn't need to be located on the roof.... also, a thought about longevity. Have you ever heard about the spray on truck bed liners..... they have been shown to make concrete completely waterproof (sometimes blast proof too). At the minimum it would make these containers last basically forever, above ground or below!

[bvonmoss]

@TheIndustrialphreak dirt and water on steel will eventually lead to rust. Dirt doesn't insulate much. It's better to do something like glue on polystyrene panels.

[medicinaluse]

What is the music used in the video please?



[TheIndustrialphreak]

@medicinaluse Sounds like tabula beat science.

[AMilitantAgnostic]

For the roof -- (If you don't do something you have just made an oven to live in) find discarded pallets then;

tar paper the roof of the container.

place pallets.

more tar paper then 12 inches of dirt.

be sure to build a rim around the edges so the wind does not just blow the dirt away from the edges.

plant a garden!!

change out in 20-25 years

[AMilitantAgnostic]

For the roof -- (If you don't do something you have just made an oven to live in) find discarded pallets then;

tar paper the roof of the container.

place pallets.

more tar paper then 12 inches of dirt.

be sure to build a rim around the edges so the wind does not just blow the dirt away from the edges.

plant a garden

change out in 20-25 years

[Jigaboo123456]

I saw yourbuild on the house you live in. Great job!. I saw you shelled a few bucks out for your windows .In my shack I have big 6ft by 4ft double-glazed windows I got for free, and I could get plenty more. Here there are quite a few double-glazing companies around. I asked them if I could take windows out of their skips--no problem. get lots of wood too. The windows ahd minor imperfections-- gold-coloured metal spacer had used, not silver as ordered! Might work for you too?

[weldonw3]

i would hate like hell to have live in there cuase those bales of hay wil start to rot in almost a year

[AMilitantAgnostic]

@weldonw3 You don't know what you are talking about - sorry to be blunt - but you just don't

[IamScott351W]

@weldonw3 not if they don't get wet.....

[lustcorp]

I will take one.

[bjb47]

With just the unprotected roof that would be more like a oven than a house. You need some sort of covering to keep the tops insulated from the sun.

[solarcabin]

The roof is insulated inside with foam core insulation and painted white tor reflect the suns rays.

[astrialkil]

@solarcabin No you want to put up a double roof, so your primary roof is in the shade in the summer.

[solarcabin]

@bjb47

White coatings reflect sunlight. Insulated polyfoam insulation ][nside ceiling.

[TheLatoyia22]

hi can you please tell me if this type of home can be used in jamaica, will it over heat and how long will it last for eg 20-30yrs?

[solarcabin]

I am not familiar with Jamaica's climate but if you place the container off the ground or on a bed of gravel for water drainage and you keep it painted it shouldn't rust and would last 30 years I think.

[jkcarroll]

Do NOT use cement in the stucco; use lime. Cement does not breath; any moisture that gets trapped in the straw bales will rot. Lime stucco will breath; requires a bit more maintenance but will keep the straw bales from rotting.

[PacoBell]

With a flat roof like that, doesn't water tend to pool a bit? How do you handle drainage?

[solarcabin]

The container roof is has a slight slope to the sides and a channel for water run off.

[Gunnarsguns]

Shipping containers are extremely strong. As long as they are anchored they could probably withstand 300 mph winds

[mikxr]

great idea , i have thought about these used for homes many times , i used to transport them, my main worry would be how they would go in severe weather like tornado or cyclone, from memory a 40 footer is about 4.4 ton, they have a big surface area.

[notefromself]

Why show a computer-generated example rather than the real thing?

[glpirate37]

Are you a structural engineer?

[solarcabin]

No I am an off-grid homesteader and architectural draftsman that has built many off-grid homes. These designs are for people wanting inexpensive homes built where there are few or no building codes and engineers to worry about!

[glpirate37]

How can you guarantee they're safe?

[solarcabin]

Do some research on container homes. They are used all over the country as safe housing.

I don't guarantee anything I just give design ideas and the construction safety is up to the builder.

If you want a guarantee hire an architect and an engineer but that will cost more than the house does to build!

[marthale7]

Yes pulsefuelnerd is building one of these now. not with straw bales but a different design. I bought one of these cargo containers 9feet high by 6 feet wide by 40 feet long, has a bit of rust, but I love it for storage. It just may be my home some day. Very cool ideas. Thanks for sharing...

[solarcabin]

Your welcome!

I can definitely see these being used for cheap strong houses by people.

[solarcabin]

Lime plaster and earth plasters are called stucco!

Here are a few links for people interested in strawbale and stucco applications:

google genavar strawbale stucco

google solarhaven strawbale lime

[TheDudeRulez09]

My suggestion would be to first get the strawbales off the ground, then I would only apply a clay scratch coat then a lime or earthen plaster after a finish coat and a convention roof over.

[solarcabin]

Its is assumed people would put a plastic sheet or a cement pad under the bales. This is just a basic plan for ideas and not detailed instructions after all.

[WHITERACIALLOYALIST]

Excellent video - thank you.

[prov223]

Thanks