The Shipping Container Cabin in Perspective

Secured Shipping Container Cabin

This will probably be the most controversial post I make on this blog.  I’m actually going to make the case AGAINST building with shipping containers.  Over the past several years I have corresponded with a fair number of people wanting to build a home or cabin out of shipping containers and, believe it or not, many times I try to talk them out of it.  It’s not that I regret what I’ve done (I don’t), it’s just that I only see a limited number of reasons to build with shipping containers. Continue reading

It’s Finished

Finished Cabin

I’m not sure a cabin is ever truly finished, but this is as good a time as any to say it is.  It’s also a convenient time, because I recently had a photographer for Sustain Alaska Magazine come and take pictures for an upcoming article of theirs.  The photographer, Dan Meinhardt of Meinhardt Archival Photography, was also kind enough to lend me his photos for my blog. Continue reading

Ceiling Trim

Trimmed Ceiling

Those of you that have been following this blog for a while already know that I left the shipping container roof exposed on the inside and insulated it on the exterior instead.  There were a couple of reasons for this.  First, I wanted to preserve as much vertical space as possible in my cabin.  Second, I actually like the look of the corrugated ceiling.  There was one problem with this design choice however; how to trim a ceiling with corrugations. Continue reading

More Solar

Remote Solar Panel

The second phase of my power system was completed this past weekend.  It’s a 190 watt ET Solar panel on a DIY adjustable ground mount feeding into a Morningstar SunSaver MPPT charge controller.  This new panel increases my total solar capacity to 318 watts.  While it might not seem like much, I’m actually wondering how I’m going to use all that power. Continue reading

Solar Panels

Solar Panels

Up until two weeks ago I thought I had my solar panel mount plans finalized – a single pole mount to the east of the cabin.  That WAS the plan until I found out someone had gone through a lot of effort to steal from my property – more about that later.  I’ve now settled on two separate locations and mounting systems for my solar panels.  Phase one, last weekend, was installing a permanent roof mount for two panels where theft should not be a concern.  Phase two will be a ground mount with a quick attach/detach feature so the panel(s) can be stored in the cabin when I’m away. Continue reading