Strong, Affordable Storm-Ready Housing Project
Building Affordable Homes from Shipping Containers VideoBob is in St. Petersburg, Florida, to tour a finished affordable home after completing projects in other parts of the country. The St. Petersburg container-built homes are part of a pilot project involving the use of idle steel shipping containers converted for use as housing units. The goal of the program is to create structurally sound homes that can withstand hurricane conditions. St. Petersburg contains an amazing variety of home styles that developed as people settled from all over the country during the early 20th century. The streets are lined with modest to medium-sized bungalows, Mediterranean-style homes, prarie-style cottages, two-story Dutch Colonials, and some Federal revivals to go with the true Florida bungalows. Along North Shore Park and Coffee Pot Bayou there are grander versions of the same styles. Most of these developments were built out during the 50s and 60s and the character of the housing has been well preserved. Bartlett Park, just south of downtown, was built as a working class retirement neighborhood in the 1920s. It has had a period of decline and problems with crime and poverty until a few years ago when the city and St. Petersburg Neighborhood Housing Services took action. With the Home Depot Foundation and the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, the houses were adopted as pilot homes to see if it is feasible to use this technology to build affordable and storm-ready housing. Bartlett Park was once a depressed neighborhood, but is now experiencing a dramatic revival. Affordable housing and support for first-time home buyers is creating the "pride of place" needed to keep a neighborhood healthy and sustainable. This house was trucked onto the site in four sections, or "intermodal steel building units." These ISBU's are modified to meet the needs of the plan. The ISBU's were craned onto the foundation and welded to steel plates installed in the concrete. The conventional truss roof system was bolted to the containers. Each truss is attached with special hardware to resist hurricane-force uplift. The space between the ISBU's has been filled in with conventional construction. Steel sheathing was put in place, windows were cut, and the edges of the steel were ground down. The exterior walls were primed before stucco with a super-insulating coating called SuperTherm. SuperTherm prevents the walls from conducting heat, keeping the building comfortable and energy-efficient. On the last visit here, Bob talked with the architect for the project to get a feel for the space.
 | Appliances
• Amana - 19 cu. ft. refrigerator with EasyFreezer pull-out drawer with EasyClose drawer track system
Carpentry, Construction & Materials
• Barrow Construction - home building and general contracting services
• Georgia-Pacific - DensArmor fiberglass-faced inorganic wallboard
• SG Blocks - a container based sustainable building system
• Simpson Strongties - building safer structures with bolts, clips, straps, plates, tie-downs, and fasteners
• Tampa Armature Works - converting steel shipping containers into building units
Painting & Wallpapering
• SuperTherm - insulating ceramic paints and coatings
Real Estate
• Home Depot Foundation - building affordable homes and strong communities through grants and partnership to non-profit organizations
• NeighborWorks - a non-profit network improving communities and creating opportunities for home ownership since 1978
• St. Petersburg Neighborhood Housing Services - home ownership services and education for low-income, first-time homebuyers
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Building Affordable Homes from Shipping Containers Bob is in St. Petersburg, Florida, to tour a finished affordable home after completing projects in other parts of the country. The St. Petersburg container-built homes are part of a ...
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| The front of the home is complete and looks like the exterior of any home in the American suburbs. Bob talks with Ray Price, the project manager for St. Petersburg ...
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| Bob talks with Buba Barrow, the general contractor for the project, about finishing touches being added to the home. On the front porch, a non-slip tile is being installed. Because ...
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| The finishing touches are being added to the interior of the home in St Petersburg. The appliances are being delivered and installed. The home features an open plan with a ...
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| Because this is an affordable house, most of the items in the kitchen were builder-supplied. The kitchen features oak cabinets and laminated countertops. With affordable homes, it's important to acquire ...
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| Bob talks with David Cross formerly of Tampa Armature Works, now of S G BLocks, the company that has taken these abandoned shipping containers and converted them into home-building units. ...
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