Recently we have moved to the peaceful village of Farmville Virginia. Moving is great fun. Part of the fun comes from the fascinating world of house renovation and ceramic studio building. This post is dedicated to a part of these processes that I will call the Container Workshop Project. This will be a building for my pottery kilns as well as additional workspace separate from my basement clay studio (also being remodeled). The building is made from two 20' steel shipping containers sometimes referred to as ISBU's or Intermodal Steel Building Units, which are becoming a popular way to create a building that is structurally sound, economical, and environmentally friendly (made from recycled materials). Lets start at the beginning...
First, our new home came with a deceptively crappy storage building complete with dirt floor, leaky roof, and a mostly rotten, ant-infested interior. Good times!
The shed and its evil entrails fit neatly into a garbage bin.
Next came the tedious tasks of leveling out the grounds, and digging and forming up a cement pad behind the house.
Casey proved that she is more than a pretty face with great hunting skills, but that she can work circles around anyone on the work site (which is usually just me, that's pretty good for a dog).
Cement day was tackled by my wife Rachel and I and it went really smoothly. It's a shame that we didn't manage to get any pictures of her raking cement, since she really enjoyed it.
Next we made cement piers to serve as a foundation for the steel containers. Digging these deep holes wasn't nearly as fun or as exciting as these pictures make it look.
Eventually the holes got dug, I poured the piers using cardboard tubes for forms, and spread gravel for a driveway and under the building.
Now I didn't manage to get pictures taken on container delivery day, but be assured that it was an epic event that included a 2 semi trucks, one telescopic forklift, many chains, and one head injury (nothing too serious but exciting nonetheless). None of this could have gotten done with out the help of Jeff from King Equipment Rental out of Pamplin VA. He and I worked really well together to get the containers set in place.
Now I am in the process of connecting the containers, cutting out windows and doors, and so on. More to come soon!
My friend Joe had some old casement windows, cleaning them up, and re-glazing them seemed like a good idea. Two long weeks later I was hating ever even looking into recycling windows, but in the end, they look like they belong.
The electric proved to be one of the easiest parts of the project to date, because I actually broke down and hired my neighbor, who is an electrician, and he did a fine job.
Recently we have moved to the peaceful village of Farmville Virginia. Moving is great fun. Part of the fun comes from the fascinating world of house renovation and ceramic studio building. This post is dedicated to a part of these processes that I will call the Container Workshop Project. This will be a building for my pottery kilns as well as additional workspace separate from my basement clay studio (also being remodeled). The building is made from two 20' steel shipping containers sometimes referred to as ISBU's or Intermodal Steel Building Units, which are becoming a popular way to create a building that is structurally sound, economical, and environmentally friendly (made from recycled materials). Lets start at the beginning...
Next came the tedious tasks of leveling out the grounds, and digging and forming up a cement pad behind the house.
Casey proved that she is more than a pretty face with great hunting skills, but that she can work circles around anyone on the work site (which is usually just me, that's pretty good for a dog).
Cement day was tackled by my wife Rachel and I and it went really smoothly. It's a shame that we didn't manage to get any pictures of her raking cement, since she really enjoyed it.
Next we made cement piers to serve as a foundation for the steel containers. Digging these deep holes wasn't nearly as fun or as exciting as these pictures make it look.
Eventually the holes got dug, I poured the piers using cardboard tubes for forms, and spread gravel for a driveway and under the building.
Now I am in the process of connecting the containers, cutting out windows and doors, and so on. More to come soon!
Saved from the fangs of a small terrier Hymee The Friendly Hippo donned his disguise and fled to the Commonwealth of Virginia to find a new home.
