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Post by Dan Dare on Oct 24, 2024 17:01:27 GMT
No, I'm not. Can you explain what it is? The electrons in a metal are mobile. Good job we don't travel around in vehicles and aircraft made of metal then. |
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Post by Baron von Lotsov on Oct 24, 2024 17:04:40 GMT
The electrons in a metal are mobile. Good job we don't travel around in vehicles and aircraft made of metal then. Have you tried living in the back of a van? |
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Post by Dan Dare on Oct 24, 2024 17:13:50 GMT
Not personally, but I know people who have. In the United States particularly it's a surprisingly popular lifestyle choice for retirees who don't want to be tied down to a particular location. We also have current neighbours, expat Brits, who spend months at a time living in their camper van while seeing the world. So it's not that exotic or odd. Doesn't our friend Montegriffo live in one in the UK? Why not ask him how he likes it.
BTW a 40-foot container has as much interior space as all but the very largest motor-homes (called class A in the US), the ones that go for over a half-million.
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Post by Baron von Lotsov on Oct 24, 2024 17:30:40 GMT
Not personally, but I know people who have. In the United States particularly it's a surprisingly popular lifestyle choice for retirees who don't want to be tied down to a particular location. We also have current neighbours, expat Brits, who spend months at a time living in their camper van while seeing the world. So it's not that exotic or odd. Doesn't our friend Montegriffo live in one in the UK? Why not ask him how he likes it.
BTW a 40-foot container has as much interior space as all but the very largest motor-homes (called class A in the US), the ones that go for over a half-million.
We took one down to Portugal and had it parked on some headland to a lovely beach. Our resident artist would sleep in the van, but he had to get out of it as soon as the sun started coming up. |
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Post by jonksy on Oct 24, 2024 18:16:21 GMT
It doesen't take long to convert a container into a home. The dude in your video looks like he would struggle just using a hammer... One container maybe, but the thing a lot of people do it use multiple ones like this Irishman. You have to start cutting the sides out, but the sides hold the roof up. This is when your fun begins. Its simple Baron you just lay 2 containers side by side and then weld them together before removing the sides that butt together... |
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Post by Baron von Lotsov on Oct 24, 2024 19:20:45 GMT
One container maybe, but the thing a lot of people do it use multiple ones like this Irishman. You have to start cutting the sides out, but the sides hold the roof up. This is when your fun begins. Its simple Baron you just lay 2 containers side by side and then weld them together before removing the sides that butt together... It's OK doing that for a single story, but as mentioned in the OP, people are going for multi-story constructions with cantilevers and all. You still have the problem of the British climate. Flat roofs are a trouble to start with. You get puddles on them and metal hates water, plus if it snows that isn't going to slide off. It will be an oven in the summer and a freezer in the winter with condensation running off all the walls creating mould which will destroy the decor and become a health hazard.
This is why houses have sloping roofs. You notice quite a few in this country do! As for bricks, what they do is not only function as excellent insulation and can be build into any shape you like, they also extract moisture. The humidity caused by your breath is going to condense on the cold surface, but brick is porous so the temperature difference between one side and the other draws the moisture out and it evaporates on the outside walls. Clever eh? Well the thing is we have been building homes for thousands of years, tried the mud huts and the tents etc, and seem to have settled on the traditional British house as the best option. Shame we can't build them anymore. |
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Post by jonksy on Oct 24, 2024 19:35:12 GMT
Its simple Baron you just lay 2 containers side by side and then weld them together before removing the sides that butt together... It's OK doing that for a single story, but as mentioned in the OP, people are going for multi-story constructions with cantilevers and all. You still have the problem of the British climate. Flat roofs are a trouble to start with. You get puddles on them and metal hates water, plus if it snows that isn't going to slide off. It will be an oven in the summer and a freezer in the winter with condensation running off all the walls creating mould which will destroy the decor and become a health hazard.
This is why houses have sloping roofs. You notice quite a few in this country do! As for bricks, what they do is not only function as excellent insulation and can be build into any shape you like, they also extract moisture. The humidity caused by your breath is going to condense on the cold surface, but brick is porous so the temperature difference between one side and the other draws the moisture out and it evaporates on the outside walls. Clever eh? Well the thing is we have been building homes for thousands of years, tried the mud huts and the tents etc, and seem to have settled on the traditional British house as the best option. Shame we can't build them anymore. Containers are built for that Baro, they sare stacked 20 or more high on ships and docks...And humidity isn't a problem with silica gell or dehumifiers...You are making a problem where there isn't one... |
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Post by Baron von Lotsov on Oct 24, 2024 20:22:44 GMT
It's OK doing that for a single story, but as mentioned in the OP, people are going for multi-story constructions with cantilevers and all. You still have the problem of the British climate. Flat roofs are a trouble to start with. You get puddles on them and metal hates water, plus if it snows that isn't going to slide off. It will be an oven in the summer and a freezer in the winter with condensation running off all the walls creating mould which will destroy the decor and become a health hazard.
This is why houses have sloping roofs. You notice quite a few in this country do! As for bricks, what they do is not only function as excellent insulation and can be build into any shape you like, they also extract moisture. The humidity caused by your breath is going to condense on the cold surface, but brick is porous so the temperature difference between one side and the other draws the moisture out and it evaporates on the outside walls. Clever eh? Well the thing is we have been building homes for thousands of years, tried the mud huts and the tents etc, and seem to have settled on the traditional British house as the best option. Shame we can't build them anymore. Containers are built for that Baro, they sare stacked 20 or more high on ships and docks...And humidity isn't a problem with silica gell or dehumifiers...You are making a problem where there isn't one... Yes but once you hack holes in the side you change the strength. The containers will be thrown out precisely because they are no longer fit for the job. It's a bit of a gamble. I know that if you are smart you would get it going eventually, but all the trouble just isn't worth it and your dehumidifiers are burning expensive leccy all the time. I did a little research into this a while back since i was having a humidity problem. I had a damp problem in my bathroom. The view I have with this kind of thing is unless you got it all 100% then often one fault causes another. |
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Post by Dan Dare on Oct 24, 2024 20:31:32 GMT
We took one down to Portugal and had it parked on some headland to a lovely beach. Our resident artist would sleep in the van, but he had to get out of it as soon as the sun started coming up. I think most people who own such vehicles will be aware that if you are taking them to sunnier climes that air-conditioning is a requirement. |
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Post by Baron von Lotsov on Oct 24, 2024 20:39:10 GMT
We took one down to Portugal and had it parked on some headland to a lovely beach. Our resident artist would sleep in the van, but he had to get out of it as soon as the sun started coming up. I think most people who own such vehicles will be aware that if you are taking them to sunnier climes that air-conditioning is a requirement. A hot day here is 30C outside, 37C in the loft and 25C in the rooms below that.
Even if you stick your head down a humble toilet, the engineering that has gone into that is mind blowing. It just looks like a pipe to some, but it took many decades, even centuries to get the toilet to work as they do today. This is what most don't appreciate. Legacy tech using hundreds of years of trial and error is often as good as it can possibly be. I mean clay is hardly an rare earth material!
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Post by Dan Dare on Oct 24, 2024 20:46:01 GMT
Actually flushing toilets and brick houses are relatively recent innovations, certainly not hundreds of years old.
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Post by Baron von Lotsov on Oct 24, 2024 20:59:27 GMT
Actually flushing toilets and brick houses are relatively recent innovations, certainly not hundreds of years old. The toilet goes through a few different forms, but the modern one we used today is the result of a long period of experimentation. I happen to know one of the oldest still in existence is in the House of Lords. They were extremely expensive when they first came out.
Regarding bricks, well we have a few old buildings. I believe we have one about 500 years old made of brick. We have an 11c church but that is made of stone. Anyway, there is a fair bit to learn about this material science.
These container buildings though are not intended for our luxury living. They are conditioning the Brits to regress and downsize, as in move backwards along the evolutionary path. I've seen this develop especially in the last 20 years. My golden rule of thumb here is nothing that is trendy and promoted by the establishment is random. It always serves a purpose. Whether that be rap music, street art, or container homes. You might have a bit of a problem with your mobile as well.
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Post by Pacifico on Oct 24, 2024 21:05:45 GMT
All 4 season vehicles have air conditioning and heating - just like a house. It's not exactly anything new..
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Post by Baron von Lotsov on Oct 24, 2024 21:22:40 GMT
All 4 season vehicles have air conditioning and heating - just like a house. It's not exactly anything new.. The important number is total surface area. Energy is very expensive in Blighty, and may well get even more expensive when the engineers can't even tie their shoelaces. Air conditioning really canes the leccy bill. Bricks will do most of that work for free regarding humidity extraction. |
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Post by Pacifico on Oct 24, 2024 21:27:13 GMT
Well running cost might be a bit higher but construction costs are a lot lower and you have the benefit of more comfort.
A totally reasonable alternative.
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