ArkHaus image used with permission.
I like writing survival related posts based in Maine, because … well, because I like Maine. You fellow prepper peeps will probably appreciate this preparedness newspaper piece. Maine’s Bangor Daily News (BDN) ran an article on a young couple that just moved to the coast of Maine will dreams of “minimizing cost of living, but maximizing standard of living.” The BDN article on the couple states (some of the comments on the news article are good):
They are not the first to move to rural Maine from a more heavily populated part of the East Coast — Pennsylvania in their case — with dreams of homesteading in the woods.
But there aren’t many who do so while living inside former marine shipping containers. Seip and Sansosti, both in their late 20s, have two, each about 20 feet long and eight feet wide and high, that they have modified into living units, complete with electricity and running water. They have spent much of the past year modifying the containers, which they bought on eBay for a total of $1,500, in Stroudsburg, Pa.
Inside one of the two containers, which they insulated, plumbed and wired themselves, is a table and bed that fold up against the wall, a cushioned bench seat, a sink, a camp stove, a wall-mounted propane heater, and a bathroom complete with composting toilet and full-sized shower. In the other is a large storage closet and a folding futon that converts into a couch. Each has one or two windows and conventional residential doors.
Shipping containers get discussed often in survival circles. These people are putting them to the test. But more than just wanting to live inexpensively, they’re hoping to teach others about sustainability and self-reliance. They’re prepper people:
Seip and Sansosti designed their living units to exist off the grid. They installed energy-efficient LED lights, which they power off batteries, and they collect and then filter their water from the nearby stream or from a rain barrel they have on the roof. They already own electricity-producing solar panels, but are waiting to have the containers mounted on frost-proof concrete posts but they install and connect them. They also hope to erect a residential wind turbine at some point.
Naturally, they’ve set up their own blog so people can follow the developments and learn with them as they go. Their blog is ArkHaus – go check it out.
What would you rather use as survival housing, a dugout shelter or a shipping container?
15 comments
I think a dugout, but the effort to build it would require more work (I think) than modifiying the container. Especially in waterproofing it in a wet environment. As well as moving it to another location. :^)
Hi Ranger Man,
Really enjoy your site – thanks for all the great information. Hoping you have time to give me your opinion.
I currently live in NH in the burbs and have been looking to move to Maine (former resident). I’ve been looking at the Unorganized Territory of Oxford on the edge of the White Mountains and have found some affordable isolated cabins. What do you think of that area? Any other areas with low population density that you would suggest (without going further north)?
Thanks!
As a hiker, I like the area for the mountains. I don’t know what’s available for work up in that area, though – or if that’s a concern for you.
Looks pretty cozy .
If it were me , I’d stack em to take advantage of rising heat …..I’d probably want the bottom crate buried too , so in a sense , an answer to your question is “BOTH” .
I’d probably go with a dug out shelter for my climate but if burying a shipping container makes enough sense in my design I might have both.
People around here experiment with all kinds of DIY storm shelters. I’ve seen school buses, vans, containers, and those small bunker/hangars buried.
I actually know someone who survived the 1974 tornado outbreak and buried an old 14×70 single wide trailer to build a monster storm shelter for their entire family. I’m not exactly sure how they reinforced the pit and modified the trailer to make that happen. But it’s still standing and appears to be structurally sound – just smells a little “earthy”.
A friend of mine wanted to build a shed and actually looked into getting one of these instead. However the cost is in the 2500-3000+ and getting it mocved is astronomical. but, l agree with these being very cool ways for shelter. As for buried or not buried? l would love to have anything buried somewhere to go to for whatever reasons.
Here in Florida though it’s a bit more difficult to bury anything more than about 10 feet because of the water table and the natural springs and aquafurs that run under us everywhere. You would almost have to put it on top and put dirt over it more so than dig out and bury.
I had a client years back who bought a 20 acre parcel that had a fairly new, 40’x60′ metal storage building on it. He and his wife converted into a really cool 2 bedroom house.
They installed solar, generator back-up, dug a well & put in their own septic. Lots of labor, but they lived completely off grid for years.
It might be an interesting article to write about how many are leaving the city life for simplicity. I’ll bet the trend is far greater than the MSM lets on about & also bet it will start growing even more in the next couple of years.
I think the time and effort involved would be worth building an earthship to live in. It’s more of a dugout design, but the shipping containers could also be used, so I guess chalk me up as another “both”.
http://earthship.org/education
I admire their sense of austerity, but man… I’d much prefer to have something with a bit more space, if I’m to live in it for the long-term.
Now as an ‘oh-sh!t’ shelter? Perfect. I’d happily dig a hole and drop one in. OTOH, I wouldn’t want to spend more than a week or two in one unless it were absolutely necessary.
as far as a home to live in, you can stick build a cabin the same size in less time/money and wiring/ insulation is much easier. i expect in maine insulation is a big concern? tthat being said , i wish i had one of those containers to bury for a shelter/ retreat. i’d just bury it halfway i think and berm the dirt up the sides to about shoulder level and put windows/ firing ports in. add a foot or so of dirt on top and u got a crackerjack defensive position.
in the BDN article it says they want to “teach”.
IMHO, self reliance is something best taught by example, and to ones own children/family. (this is more of an art, and several diverse “applied science” subjects. i wish them success, in their life together, and for their homestead)
“Big Changes” need to happen in “Education”. the industry is turning out an inferior product, at an enormous cost. personal “self-reliance” does not seem to be anywhere in the curriculum. (or the final product)
(at least they’re keeping the children out of the factories and coal mines)
Since I’m in Minnesota I’d pick a dug-out as it should be easier to heat come winter.
There are some good ideas in Mike Oehler’s book “the $50 Underground House” as far as house design and drainage.
http://www.undergroundhousing.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlo1jFxS6vg
I think Mike did the original work with a shovel and ax. I’d much rather bring in a skidloader or backhoe for the digging and some of the fill. Plus I prefer concrete, lol.
Steelheart
If it were me , I would drop one in the woods and butt it up against a rock formation . Then build a re-bar structure covered in steel lath over and around the container and the formation , the then get a small cement mixer and go to town making it identical to the existing formation . Plant a few bushes and natural debris on and near it . You wont be able to tell it was not always there . I do this for a living , making artificial habitats . You can hide anything in plain sight if you do it correctly . People wont know its fake if they are standing on it . The hollow cavities that are formed between the artificial rockwork and the container can be used for storage and accessed from inside the container .
I had seen people in Somalia living in shipping containers when we were there. It amazed many of us that families lived in them and people in California have been building multiple story homes with them and passing building codes.
I love this idea, and have spent countless he’s researching it, I actually cut out this article in the Bangor daily news as I live in Bangor, Maine. But I have been thinking of this far longer. I would love to have my house made of the containers. The inside of most of them do not even look like they are a container. I would keep mine looking industrial cause I like that look, but I also like the idea of building them in a square and keeping the inside of the square open for play, gardening, and other things. This way we would still feel safe if shtf and my kids can go outside with safety. I also love the idea of the safety of one, even though you put windows in you have the metal part you can close making it impossible to break into it for looters. I have also thought of having one out under ground, which in many scene Rios could be the difference of life or death..