All Forum Posts by: Josh Cuthbertson

You haven't seen them in California much because the seismic codes are too stringent to make them work here. We have been approached by TONS of developers / owners / investors to do shipping container homes. I mean people with enough resources to make them workable but every single time I tell them the official process to make them work, they back out.

In short, if you want to do one, you'll need to build two. One to keep and one to destroy through the ICC testing process. seismic loading, fire testing, etc. etc. We're doing underground hobbit style homes that are domes buried underground. And to get those past all of the necessary testing requirements it has taken nearly two years. It would be a similar process for shipping containers.

In fact the only container building i've seen in CA is outside Giants stadium in SF. They have a cool food truck style courtyard built of all shipping containers. Still trying to figure out how they did that. My guess is they are permitted as mobiles and not on any foundations.

You are looking at just the hard costs of the home at that price yes? Not any of the site or soft costs? That seems really close. I've seen commercial vertical builds in that area at $135 per sf on modular hotels.

We did an 850sf 3 bedroom home for $79k before 2 hours north of Sac. It can be done.

Have you asked your architect all of these questions? Aside from the using a GC's architect question of course. They should be your best resource for all of these questions.

The idea is very cool.

Planning in this County though has been on the look out for Airbnb style rentals because it is currently on their radar. I would speak with planning as soon as possible to see if they will view this "code-hack", as the architect states, the same way.

I mean, it's possible, but...

1. (7%) Are you really going to buy something without a real estate agent?

2. (20%) Are you really going to save this? Or end up spending twice as much time as a GC would because you're trying to figure things out? I've never seen a builder markup over 15% anyway.

3. (4%) Material savings? You, the general consumer will not get any savings here. If anything the builders have developed relationships that provide bulk discounts. You'll probably pay retail for most materials unless you have a source.

4. (2%) Cost saving construction? What does that even mean? When you're not a GC who knows what they are doing I wouldn't put it past the subs to "convince you" that you need something you probably don't.

5. (9%) Doing the work yourself. Ok. You probably could do that one if you know how to paint / drywall / install cabinets / tile / lay floors, etc. etc.

My guess is that while this is all very appealing, you may save 9% or more but it may take you twice, or three times as long to finish.

What happens when a construction conflict arises and because you're not sure how to solve it, all your subs pull off the job until you figure it out. When you're ready to start again they say "Ok. But we have to finish this job now. We can be back in 6 weeks."

Find a good GC. They will be your best friend. Not sure how? Call some architects and ask who the good ones are.

Good luck!

Yes. You hire an architect. ;)

Sid - Go into the local planning department or give them a call. There are too many factors in the local zoning code to list and check. Ask for their planner on call, tell them your idea, and they'll start to list all the contributing factors.

I would try to find the most versatile solution. For example, if you get your engineering degree you can still do REI and business development, but would also have the handy engineering skillset. But if you went into finance, you could do business development and REI related items but couldn't do any engineering.

Don't feel like your degree will limit your interests after graduation. If anything it'll open different doors. But you'll have time to pursue your passions once you're not doing a ton of homework. ;)

+1 on @Scott Choppin's thread. Great read.

I would speak with two different people. Right off the bat you'll need a civil engineer to talk through all of the infrastructure necessary and to deal with the subdivision. Then find a GC who is familiar with doing construction on this type of subdivision.