The KTainer is an on-going construction project by Kathy Tafel to build her shipping container cabin in a remote wooded area of California. It is a commendable undertaking for someone without an architecture, engineering or construction background. Very basic tools and materials are used in a low-tech construction, self-build spirit.
This "do-it-yourself" project has an ambitious budget of costing less than an RV. The typical RV price ranges from $37,500 to $71,000. Along with the low budget, she also wanted the project to be sustainable in its construction and respectful off the surrounding ecology. Her goal was also to create an off-the-grid cabin that could produce its own energy.
The careful site strategy of the design uses trees to shade the summer sun. The building also sits on a series of piers that leave the surrounding soil and landscape untouched avoiding erosion into the nearby salmon creek..
Tafel opts to use four 20 foot shipping containers. Two containers joined to create a 40' by 24' public space with kitchen, living room and dining room. The remaining two are stacked to create the private space of the cabin.
Tafel keeps a journalistic website about her ongoing project. Each step in the process in divided into two sections "Theory" and "Practice": http://www.geeksville.com/~kathy/ktainer.html
She describes her experience with many of the unforeseen dilemmas of construction including the loss of rigidity as the container walls are cut, wood framing against a metal surface, and waterproofing.
In conclusion, this project is commendable because of the massive scale of undertaking--most container homes being one or two containers and designer by a contractor or architect. The journalistic attitude about every detail and step in this project is beneficial to any volunteer group or self-builder who wants to undertake the same challenge. It is a low-tech project which helps those who cannot access high-powered tools. On the down side, the construction schedule seems to be on her schedule. Certain parts of the cabin are finished while basic considerations of insulation, plumbing and electricity are not.
