Now, THAT´S thinking inside the box.

Jeez. It stinks in here. You don´t suppose...nah, he wouldn´t be that desperate...would he?

Wow...This idea is a winner. Gives a whole new meaning to ´recycling´ and the possibilities seem to be endless.

Rust: it can´t be stopped (no matter how much you paint) and it can´t be repaired. Future urban blight. Thanks, green weenies.

We use to call these trailer parks.

Ranchers in Oklahoma have been using these for years as storage units.

If these containers can be refurbished, why not use them as, uh, let´s see, shipping containers?

#3 Many good rust inhibitors are available and they work. I would love to make a little studio apartment out of one in my back yard, a man cave of sorts. Looks like fun.

About 40 or so years ago we´d have called this idea "The Projects". Four more years of the Obamboozler and we´ll all be living in The Projects!

#Yes indeed we do.
And they make nice hooches; I lived in one in Iraq. And am thinking of one as an extra living space/office. They can be found in good condition for about 2K with free delivery.

Oops meant #5.

New San Francisco apartments? As noted at Ms Luci´s a few months ago.

http://www.homedit.com/san-francisco-smart-and-small-apartment/

#4 for the win

back in the late 70´s - early 80´s, when I first started my career in ocean freight forwarding I learned that we were not allowed to ´´door deliver´´ containers in the ME because they would not be returned to port. Shipping lines were losing track of their equipment and losing lots of money because the containers were ´´repurposed´´ with alarming regularity. Insurance companies would not cover since the equipment loss was a fairly regular occurrence. Now, it appears that these container remodellers were just ahead of their time...

These empty containers are a tragic reminder of the collapse of our manufacturing industry. Evidently is costlier to haul an empty container back to China than to have new ones manufactured every trip.

I am reminded of the oil drums left in South America that were be repurposed for use as musical instruments.

New Sardinia

Been trying these as homes here in Tucson.

Not unexpectedly, there have been some complaints and permitting issues.

http://homeinabox.blogspot.com/2012/07/upcycle-living-tucson-arizona-container.html

These are already employed in some parts of Arkansas... oh wait, that´s railroad boxcars.

I´ve seen some pretty creative ways of hiding the container look of these things-most memorable of which involved spray-on insulation. Much as I enjoy the photos in the Daily Mail, some of these look a bit photoshopped, if you axe me.

How about dumpster villages? That was the big thing during the BJC admin. Landscaped with artificial Christmas trees. The streets were to be Hillary Way, Reno Court, etc.

1. The intermodal shipping container is not -- sit down! -- "the government´s" idea.

It was the invention of Malcom McLean, and the first commercial use was in 1956. That ship carried only 58 containers. There are now about 18 million of his containers in service. McLean changed his name from "Malcolm" to "Malcom," the Scottish spelling.

The invention sped up shipping and cargo handling greatly, while reducing theft and damage to cargoes. While the number lost varies year-to-year, and is hardly advertised by shippers or insurors, roughly 2,000 to 10,000 containers go overboard yearly. That so many containers can be lost without trade suffering indicates how much container traffic there is. The expansion of the Panama Canal is being done to accommodate large container ships.

I recommend "Moby Duck," the diaspora story of one lost container´s pelagic bath toys, and "The Box," about McLean and the container revolution.

2. Talented architects are needed to offer designs that don´t look like the storage yards of ports or railroads. Some architect[s] can get rich from talent.

#3: A smart architect will be able to largely counter rust with a few "obvious" [to the competent] steps. a. Thorough cleaning and maybe epoxy-type paint. b. using a sacrificial anode as is done on boats to protect them in salt water. c. using electrically non-conductive isolation between structure and the ground. A couple additions to building codes and -- off we go. Remember, wood rots, but we use it, too.

The economy has been so damaged by the socialist that there is not much left to ship in those containers. Hey wanna come over to my place? It´s on 8th street. Third abandoned car on the left. Next to the rich guy that lives in the dumpster. Now that´s some nice digs.

You know your nation has reached a new level of expectation when it is applauded that people are now living in shipping containers.

I´d love to add windows to one and make it storage in one end and my workshop in the other. I could quit worrying about termites eating my shed and even the assorted critters that occasionally manage to get into the barn and gnaw into my storage boxes.

Charleston tried this idea a few years ago and, apparently, it didn´t catch on. If you search on " Recycled homes, one box at a time" you should come up with a CNN piece showing a gallery of how it´s done. Just click on the photo. I´ve seen European sites where very attractive new homes were created.

Back even further, steel homes were manufactured around the 1950s. They were called Lustron homes and there are two in the Watts-Hillandale area of Durham, NC, where we once lived. I´ve actually been in the Lustron at 2120 Sprint Avenue and it´s amazing--like being on a ship. I´d have no problems living in such a dwelling and would love the low-maintenance aspects. See a story on same at:

http://www.opendurham.org/tours/lustrons-durham