Thinking outside of the container

Local business man wants to make homes out of steel boxes

by Bob Tis

It was bound to happen. Some of those big shipping containers that have been sprouting up in back yards around St. John like mushrooms after a good rain, may soon be retrofitted into actual homes.

It's the way of the future, explained Hank Slodden of Storage on Sight. The average working guy needs to have affordable housing. Slodden recently attended a convention in Las Vegas where he learned the ins and outs of having containers shipped here to St. John that may be then converted easily into homes and offices.

Already St. John has seen these shipping vessels become the suburban equivalent of tool sheds and garages. While some have been painted creatively, lifted off the ground, and adorned with solar fans and windows for ventilation, the jury is still out on how comfortable they might be as an actual home. Slodden, however, is convinced and not deterred by suggestions that the containers might be less than aesthetically pleasing.
There is a real interest in this, according to Slodden, who says that the containers cost much less than traditional construction, are much safer and are, obviously, moveable. Most homes are nothing but squares and rectangles anyway.

Slodden says the containers can be easily insulated, modified with windows, will include all the technology of a normal home and can easily support a half million pounds on their roof. âThat is where the growth is for Storage on Site, says Slodden, who maintains that the Department of Parks and Natural Resources is generally favorable to the refits.

'When concrete is 250 dollars a yard, this is a no brainer,' he says. Another benefit is that the banks like them. Because the units generally come in at less than $70,000, it is easier to convince lenders to fork over the cash. If there is a problem, the container itself becomes a liquid asset. Insurance company paper pushers are also happy to sign off on the projects, Slodden says, because the units are fireproof and much safer and stronger than traditional construction.

'If I was the governor of Florida,' Slodden mused, 'There would be no trailers; these containers can withstand category 5 storms.'

Of course this idea isn't brand new. Plans and drawings for intricate container retrofits have graced the pages of Architectural Digest and Dwell magazines in recent years. The internet is full of ideas for converting existing containers into homes and offices. Still, Slodden suggests, no real foothold [has been made] yet, but it won't be long.

The entrepreneur who brought us the St. John telephone book and is famous for prodding himself along the 8 Tuff Miles course with his own whip, says he hopes to convince his skeptics soon when he develops a model container house.

People are doing this in Pebble Beach and Manhattan, this is green, this is recycling, says Slodden.