Actual progress...I hope

Next month we'll actually get some progress done on our five acres. Income Tax time has come and while most get a little nauesous over it, we get a little giddy. One of the perks for having 5 kids is a nice sized credit, add to that Rob's untaxable income from being in Iraq and we've got a nice little nest egg for the land.

We'll be setting up a hotel room for late February. The first day we'll meet with someone to clear the land with a tractor and bush hog. The next we'll have an eight by twenty shipping container delivered. We already have a few things to put in it for later. We've decided to go with a wood frame house, using recycled materials throughout, and using the shipping container for one side of a pole barn.

It's not a lot of progress but it's something! Stay tuned for more information on the land clearing and shipping container delivery.

Container Housing

http://www.isbu-info.org/

We are looking at using recycled shipping containers for a self-build home on the site. I've been seeing these every day in Iraq and have wondered how feasible this would be. I have CAD templates of 20' and 40' ISO containers and have been learning AutoCAD. My goal is to be able to create plans that would pass any building department scrutiny. I also completed the US Army CSC container inspection course and am qualified to verify the seaworthiness of used containers.

In addition to AutoCAD, we are doing our preliminary floorplans in Visio. I want to use Better Homes and Gardens home design software for doing 3D walkthroughs. The more we can plan out in advance, the better.

We are considering using reclaimed grey water for irrigation, flushing toilets, etc. and using solar to pre-heat the hot water supply for the house.

More to come!