El Ranch ISO

The truth about heat

I posted more pics on the other site- FYI

So, While there is likely no scientific evidence regarding this phenomena, I can prove that what I am about to tell you is true should there be doubters among you.

Being out in the heat on a regular basis sucks.  Rather than building a tolerance, I find that my tolerance is decreasing.  When I could put in 5 or 6 hours before I collapsed, I got a lot done. The other day Peyton, Marla and I went out to the ranch to deliver something and then went out to work on the container for a bit. We lasted exactly 2 hours and all felt like we were going to puke.

The project is getting close to becoming something that is at least identifiable as a structure.  It is close to being "dried in" but the last push toward that is a pisser.

As much as I hate to admit defeat, I think I will put the windows in and trim the metal and let the thing sit for a month or so. There are two reasons for that.... One, I don't want to die of heat stroke and Two, I have other, more compelling engagements between now and Labor day.

That is not to say that I won't pick at this thing when I am able, but there will be no more full court presses toward completion until it cools off at least into the low 90's.  I CAN'T TAKE IT ANY MORE>>>

I fully intend to work on the interior but not until the DAMN electric company comes out and installs my pole. I am now on week 3 of trying to get them out there but they are so far unavailable. Things work in mysterious ways with rural electric companies.  They have some secret set of prioritizing their work and apparently I am not meeting the mark for quick action. The guy is very nice and has been cooperative in the past but for now he is making excuses that I can't overcome.

The sheetrock is there and ready to go but I WANT some a/c in the thing. I NEED some a/c in the thing. The SIPs have made it quite tolerable but tolerable is no longer good enough for me.

Judging from the views per day statistics on Typepad, there are more than a few people watching my progress on this building.  For all of you--  I am keeping track of the actual amount of time spent on the project (and the $$ too) and will tally it as we near completion. I sosososo believed that it would be finished by now and in the big scheme of things, it could have been finished in 3-4 weeks had I chosen a more temperate time of the year to commence with all this foolishness. Never fear- I NEVER EVER quit and it will be completed but I need a freaking break. I need a break where I can keep some polish on my nails and keep my hands from feeling like alligator skin. In the words of Goldie Hawn as Judy Benjamin in the 1980 film Private Benjamin- I made a mistake... fine I'm sorry! I'll never do it again! I wanna wear my sandals...I want to shop.. I wanna go out to lunch. I wanna be NORMAL again! (Also I have a damn trial coming up and need to work to get these guys to settle so that I can have more free time)

So, keep checking the weather forecast for Texas and you'll know what's up.  The magic number (as bizarre as this sounds to some of you) is 94 degrees.  94 degrees would be like  Christmas in Aspen in comparison to this wretched hell.

Adios for now but check back soon.

RECAP- THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD

Here is a recap of the work on the container structure.  Things move along at a pretty good clip down here in hot old Texas so I thought it prudent to write down everything I can think of as my mind is not the steel trap it once was. Also, I am on deadline for a work project and this is a perfect diversion that will allow me to escape the thrilling world of patent litigation even if only for a moment.

It is hot outside and though I am grateful for the comfort of air conditioning and a corner office with a view, I will try to give a short recap from my vague recollections of the day before yesterday.

Step 1- purchased 2 20' orange used containers- total cost $3000 delivered

Step 2- got the things out to the site and dragged them around to their approximate positions

Step 3- Leveled and positioned and leveled and positioned

Step 4- Jacked the containers up onto some concrete pads. Cut door holes before jacking
           (Note: THIS SUCKED)

Step 5- Installed ledger boards for center deck

Step 6- Built center deck

Step 7- Bought 4 20x4" SIPs for roof and enough 4x8 SIPs to cover outside and back- Lifted SIPs on to  roof with Bobcat and fork attachment

Step 8- Installed roof joists over center porch deck and covered roof with plywood

Step 9- Cut window holes

Step 10- Installed outside SIPs with SIP screws long enough to go though into studs for interior sheetrock

Step 11- Covered outside SIPs with Galvalume

Step 12- Made sliding door for storage out of steel cut out from doors.

Step 13- Framed bathroom wall and installed door

Step 14- Called the damn electric company 66 times to get a drop with no luck yet.

Step 15- Bought some garage door screens on Ebay that will fit on the front and the back of the center porch so the gnats that come out at 7am and 7pm will stop getting in my ears.

I forgot Step 1A-  Bought some solar panels and a boat battery and converter to install some ambient lighting since I have only 2 plugs on extension cords to run power tools. Works great!

That is all so far.

Left to do:
Finish Galvalume installation. Cover roof with Armor Roof. Build front porch. Build front porch roof.
Install sheetrock. Install new center porch floor since the tewmporary one got rained on and it not as perfect as I would like it to be.

Do more stuff like decide how I want to do the second story and the gun turrett. (Just kidding about the gun turrett and the second story will have to wait until it gets a LOT cooloer and I have some electricity) I want to do glass on the center porch too but the screens will work for a while as I am getting tired of this and have a month long trial coming up if the judge doesn't grant the motion I am supposed to be preparing right now instead of writing this.

That is all except this-

I am normally an excellent speller However, in my rush to post on these ridiculously compelling and big waste of time container sites, I am a careless typist which is likely caused by the trembling in my hands from working my fingers to the bone on this project.

NOTE TO TYPEPAD: Perhaps a little spell check would be nice for my $179.00 ????  And that batch photo upload for Mac?  You KNOW you suck.

A lot of HOT work

Well who would have guessed that building a container house in the middle of Texas in the middle of July in the middle of a heatwave would be such a pisser?

My best friend from the 8th grade forward, Bill- asked his friend Chris and Chris' brother Richard to come out to the ranch to help me get the SIPs and the roof on. I think they were lured by the recreational activities and neglected to consider the heat factor. They were great sports and I tried to feed them well and make the day easier by working from 6:30 to 11:30 and taking a break until 7. We also waterskied and wakeboarded and rode the Seadoos so I hope they had a decent time. I know I did since we made major progress and no one died.

We started with only the SIPs on the roof and the door holes cut and ended with a completed roof, all the SIPs installed and the Galvalume up. Whew.....

I have lots of new information for aspiring container converters but my ass is bushed and sweaty and my bush is sweaty and assed at the moment. After I take some muscle relaxers and some anti-inflammatories I might write it all down.

In the meantime, I posted some of the pictures on the photo site. If you don't know where that is, do not ask. Look around for the post that gives the answer to why the photos are not here. 

Note to Typepad- PLEASE GET BATCH PHOTO POSTING FOR MAC UP AND RUNNING PRETTY DAMN SOON OR I WILL REQUIRE A REFUND OF MY LARGE DONATION TO YOUR ENTERPRISE.

Roof SIP pics

The 20' x 4' SIPs were a breeze to lift onto the roof with the Bobcat and the fork attachment.  They were not really that heavy and now that they are up we can slide them around easily. We will not screw them down until the side SIPs are installed so we can get them in exactly the right position.

The temperature outside was about 100 degrees and it was previuosly a nasty thing to be inside one of the containers without a fan. Now it is almost pleasant. The temperature insude has dropped by at least 15 degrees if not more. I can't imagine how great it will be when the SIPs are on the sides too.  After much discussion, we are leaving the container exposed in the center porch but covering it on the ouside. The SIPs will have a skin of dark bronze Galvalume. The roof is going to be basically flat with only a slight pitch. The only reason it needs to drain is to protect the SIPs and the center porch. It almost NEVER rains enough at one time to create pooling water that will last long enough to do damage. We will do a test on the drainage prior to deciding exactly how much pitch is necessary while still maintaining a roof deck and flat surface for later expansion.  More about that later..

I have recruited 3 MEN MEN MEN to do a three day work trip. I expect that we can get most of it knocked out then.  I have actually installed most of the joists over the center porch but I forgot to take my camera. Expect to see major progress when I post the work from the week of July 17th.

Ok- bye- I am going to New York for 4 days to get away from the heat and the soggy t-shirts. Perhaps a little bit of civilized living will insipre me to finish this thing. Of course my mind is already twirling over the possibilities for the next project. I am consumed with building a container nation because it has been so easy and fast but perhaps that can wait until the winter.  Your suggestions for recreational activities to keep me busy in the fall are welcome provided they do not include sweating or being dirty.

Bless-

Off to shop at Barneys and Bergdorf's and dine at Kai and Atelier with my great friends Sandy and Keller.

Day 5 and 6

So, on the 5th (the 5th day of the month and also the 5th day of work but not really because of the hell day that was supposed to be the 5th day but was really the 4th and a half or the 5th part 1- see?) dy I did some little stuff and lifted the containers onto the roof.

I installed the sliding doors on the back side of the storage section using the two door cutouts, screwed around with the SIPs on the roof, changing the pitch and position, temporarily covered the roof SIPs with asphalt felt paper so that they would be protected in case of rain (it hasn't rained a drop but I nearly caught on fire myself in the heat on the roof) and just screwed around. I also hung some more joists in the center section, blah blah blah...

I have 3 young, strong men coming to put the hammer down on getting this thing close to completion on the 18th of July. We'll work for 4 days and install the SIPs on the side, the metal over the SIPs, get the roof in it's final position, finish hanging joists and build the front porch.  At least that's the plan.

You can see pictues of me lifting the roof SIPs and some other minor stuff HERE

Why a different site for photos?  Unfortunately, this blog is hosted by Typepad and Typepad has a really crappy interface for uploading photos from a Mac. It will not batch upload and it takes forever.  Therefore, I have chosen to use the alternate site to host the photos because it is a Mac site and easy to do.

That's all- This feels like homework..... I will try to do more if the urge overtakes me.

Stuck in the mud of hell

Ok, this sucked.  All of you that urge me to slw down can say "I told you so" and I am never letting you near my new Seadoo- THAT MEANS YOU MARTY!

Day 5- The Return, became Day 5- the hall of horrors.  With an impending visit from from friends coming up Friday evening, Thursday was supposed to be the day that major progress occurred and things would begin to take shape so that the "and this will be that and this will be this" tours would no longer be necessary because it would be obvious what things were supposed to be. Get it?

But then the rain came.  The rain did not come intime to dissuade me from driving out to the site. No, it came after I arrived.  I had asked to have the Bobcat delivered to the site so that I could lift the SIP panels onto the roof. When I arrived, the Bobcat was indeed there, but so were the rain clouds. I began unloading the trailer when it started to sprinkle. I finished and cranked up the Bobcat just as the lightening started. I decided that it might be a good idea to drive to the house and wait out the rain.

I had driven the trailer in front of the containers and since it was now raining really hard, I wanted to drive out and around them rather than backing up with the trailer since I could barely see through the downpour. In order to do that, I needed to move the old Range Rover out of the way.  I got out of the Hummer and opened the door of the Range Rover. Apparently, whoever left it there had set the alarm. I only had the spare valet key and not the remote key. Therefore, the Range Rover went into shutdown mode and could not be started.  So, I slid through the mud back to the Hummer and started to back up.  I am a relatively competent trailer backer-upper under normal circumstances and was able to back out and start toward the house.  After only a few feet, I noticed that the Hummer was acting funny. I assumed that the trailer was sticking in the mud so I decided to unhook it.

When I got out in the now DRIVING rain, I was so very pleasantly thrilled to see that the Hummer had a flat tire. If you have ever seen the tires on a Hummer, you will know that the possibility of changing one alone is not only a bad idea, it is potentially life-threatening.  I got BACK inot the Hummer and considered calling On Star just for a laugh but decided to call to see if Marla had arrived at the ranch. I had agreed to pick her up at the storage unit where we keep her Mercedes convertible when she comes to the ranch. She drives the Range Rover that was now out of comission. If she was on her way, she could drive AROUND the ranch to the house and get the Jeep to come get me.

Of course, she was still an hour away, making her 2 hours late. Of course.  Still, I didn't see any other options because she had the remote key to the Rover and on top of everything else, I had both Chihuahuas in the car with me. Daisy was clawing my face and flinging herself around the back seat because she is afraid of lightening. Max had crawled UNDER the seat and would not coe out because I was screaming about what a piece of shit the Hummer was . Also, it was not thundering like a mofo.

In order to get away from the Chihuahuas, I got out and ran 1/4 mile through the rain to get back to the containers and wait for Marla.  I decided to try the Rover again and THANK GOD it started.  I picked up the rats and slid out just in time because the road was getting to that horrible point where you pray as you slide all the while knowing that the tracks you are digging will take an entire day on the maintainer to repair.

After I got out, Marla was conveniently close to the storage unit on Highway 16. I picked her up and we all (she had ANOTHER dog with her) piled into the Rover and drove to the house. I called the ranch manager and told him I needed help with the tire but that we could wait until the morning.

At 6 am, he called to say that he had gone out there with his son and changed the tire. Thank God.  It still looked like rain so I went back to sleep.  At 10am, we got up and found that it had POURED again between the time Billy clled and the time I got back up.  I started toward the Hummer in the Rover but the mud was so horrible near the house that I could imagine how bad it would be at the lake and changed plans AGAIN.

Because we were having guests and still had not gone to get groceries, I wanted to do that while things dried out. Unfortunately, the Rover has dead tags since it never leaves the ranch so driving it the 60 mile round trip to the grocery store was yet another bad idea.

At that moment, I realized that the new Seadoo was at the marina getting the oil changed and it was ready to be picked up.  So, I drove around the ranch again (45 minutes)  and headed to the marina. I picked up the Seadoo, left the Rover at the marina and rode the Seadoo over to the lake site. I got off the Seadoo and walked through the mud to the Hummer. Then I drove the Hummer to the grocery store.

The our friends came and I did exactly zero work on the containers. The Irish girl was not a strong swimmer and so we had fun teaching her and dragging her on a tube at 5 mph with the boat until they left.

After they left I went back out to work on the container and it was very hot and sunny so NO PROBLEMS, right?

Then I was on the ladder and a wasp was buzzing my head so when I swatted it I fell off the ladder and knocked myself out.

Then I came home.

That's all that hapened on the container in Day 5- The Return.....

Now I am home and planning to lie around in my clean and dry backyard and float in my clean and wet pool for the entire 4th of July weekend.

That was a simple, huh?

More later- I'm going back on the 5th.

Do It Yourself Architecture

Hmmm.....  I wonder what would happen if I posted a list of reasons why the idea of a DIY container conversion project is sexier and faster and a lot less hassle than than dealing with a prick architect who apparently never leaves his chair and who has obviously never experienced the joy of hammering a nail into a board and creating something where there once was nothing.  Who knew that an internet discussion board was a kingdom that needed defending?

Maybe I could discuss how completely plausible it would be for someone like me to actually create a "pleasing and meaningful space" in addition to engineering the thing out of thin air. What could be more meaningful than the knowledge that I Did It Myself?

On second thought, YOU figure it out. I am busy right now.

As many of you are aware, I am blessed to live in a lovely 4000 sq ft home on 2.5 acres complete with a 1500 sq ft carriage house that was designed by an architect who I have come to adore. He is now my friend and I value his opinion because he is nice and he is smart and he knows how to talk to people. Also, he worked at one of the nation's most successful architectural firms in Austin Texas- an award-winning firm full of nice people who are real geniuses. See their work here: When I told him about my container project, he was delighted and supportive. Why? Because he is secure and is not threatened by the idea that architecture can be accesible to the masses. Also, he is quite successful and has no time to sit on the computer postulating about design, spreading misinformation and boring people who just want to share ideas.

The 6000 sq ft house at the ranch and the accompanying 4 bedroom bunkhouse complete with sauna and 3 fireplaces were designed by an amateur (family member) with the help of an architect who is also very successful and was willing to make the ideas of the amatuer designer a reality. Talk about a meaningful space!

So, I guess all of that experience means nothing when some guy in New Jersey who has never set foot on a Texas ranch can decide that I do not have the ability to create a "pleasing and meaningful space" and that I am endangering the entire culture of potential container conversion experts by possibly making a mistake in my less than meaningful space. Dammit! I wish I had known!

p.s. Don't let the words "Texas ranch" conjur any images of unsavory public figures. Some of us do have brains and do believe that this country used to mean something.

SIP'S? WHY?

Ok. Not going to go into a long explanation about Structural Insulated Panels and their value and possible uses. You can read about that here:

I AM going to tell you why I chose to use SIP's in ADDITION to the containers when logic would say this is overkill. Here's why:

It is the same reason I used containers.  No muss, no fuss.  Ready to use- right out of the box.  Yes, I could struggle with insulation and take forever insulating the containers from the 100+ degree heat. Yes, I could do something cheaper. Yes, I could use roof trusses for the middle section. Yes, there are a whole hell of a lot of things I COULD do, but I don't feel like it.

I intend to slap the SIp's up on the roof, screw them down on some wood supports to give a slight pitch, add some metal roof panels and have a deck up there- VOILA!. I intend to screw them to the outside of the containers to give me some nice insulation and a great surface for my siding idea. Quick, easy and quick and easy.

Yes I paid a little bit more but in the end, it was a beautiful extension of the "finished at every stage" concept and it will be well worth it in the end. So there. Plus, the people at Chapman SIP's were really nice and even put the SIPs on a truck for Fort Worth so I could pick them up at their foam supplier. AND, they stenciled my name on them and I LOVE people who stencil my name.

Also, if I change my mind, I can UN-screw them and use them for something else. HA!

Stay tuned if you feel like it.

Two container design issues

Now that we have actually begun to wrestle with building per our carefully rendered design (not),
we see that a two container design that requires both containers to be perfectly level, plumb at the top and bottom and generally perfectly spaced, we find we have bought ourselves a lot of extra work.

In retrospect, it might have been a better idea to change the design to allow more time to experiment with possibilities rather than sweat it out trying to get the things EXACTLY spaced.

Oh well. It's done but we could have likely been finished now if we hadn't been so enamored with the design of a house we saw in Canada and that we have already given up on attempting to recreate. Again, whatever.  The design is a moving target. One part romance and one part compromise designed to get out of the blistering heat. The phrase "that's good enough for me" translates as "I am so damn hot I cannot screw with this for another second."

Hopefully we will maintain enough of our formerly high standards to keep us out of trouble. We should have started in February or March but two things happened. First, we let ourselves get psyched out with the unknowns. Second, it rained like an SOB and we couldn't get through the mud to work on the thing.  Nevertheless, game on and we will march toward completion, dehydration and sunstroke be damned.

Positives and negatives of this design:

P- We like the way it's going to look
P- the 2x6 ledger boards fit into the bottom edge of the container perfectly- therefore, we can bolt the ledger boards onto the container sides which means we can level and connect the joists BEFORE installing the beams. We are raising the beams to the joists instead of the other way around and that is elegantly perfect.
P- It looks pretty cool
N- we had to reduce the size of the space in the middle to 16'. Longer beams are more difficult to transport to the site and are significantly more expensive. However, the 8+16+8 satisfies our sense of symmetry and is decent sized space for our needs.  We feel certain that this is only stage one of this project and that it will expand and transform later. I already wish I had three and could lift one on top of the other two. Maybe next year.
N- One 40' container is almost half as much money as two 20'. However, we were unable to be certain that we could transport a 40' container to the site. That was stupid since two 20' containers came on one trailer so duh.... ding ding....
N and P- We REALLY want to use glass garage doors, one in front and one in back. This is supposed to be a see-through structure with the center hall/living room exposed from the front and the back. The negative is that garage doors of this type are expensive and difficult to install. We have already faced the issue of outside contractors complaining about the lack of roads and the difficulty of scheduling visits to such a remote location. Also, the weight of the doors requires additional effort and a higher ceiling to allow for headroom clearance. The positive is that we can put them in later if we feel like it. For now, we're going with screen and a ceiling fan.

There are others but I need to return phone calls. My point is that one should think carefully about the ramifications of this kind of design.
So there.

Hole and gaskets

I posted out of order and this blog thing is taking too much time. There is a side note coming about the saga of cutting the hole and making the gaskets. There are also many more photos and more progress but I am more interested in working on the thing than I am in sitting at this computer.

So, wait until I get bored again and I'll fill in the rest of the story.

DEAR SUE- NOW YOU SEE I AM REALLY DOING SOMETHING AND I DIDN'T COME TO YOUR BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR A REASON. I WILL MAKE IT UP TO YOU I PROMISE.