HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-10-29, Page 18PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2015.
of do-it-yourself kind of home. Or,
I could build a higher end, envi-
ronmentally friendly home,”
explains Hillier.
He chose the latter, hoping it will
showcase what can be done with
the containers.
The shipping containers are
perched four on four, in a can-
tilevered design. They were insu-
lated and covered with a heavy
zinc primer, although he is certain
lead paint isn’t a worry. The home
is just under 4,000 feet and has
three floors.
The roof and inside of each con-
tainer was cut out, a time-consum-
ing job that was done on-site.
The main floor contains the bed-
rooms and main bathrooms, while
the upper floor, with its wall of
windows facing into the bush, fea-
tures the living room and kitchen.
“It definitely doesn’t look like a
subdivision home but it does blend
with the area,” believes Hillier.
Inside, there is very little evi-
dence this is a container home. The
walls are dry-walled and almost
none of the corrugated metal look
that dominates the exterior is evi-
dent in the interior.
As part of his environmentally
conscious approach, the steps
going up to the main level are
made from the ash trees cut down
on the site. All the lights are LEDs
and the house is designed for pas-
sive solar energy.
The house is so strong, it could
hold four to five loaded tractor
trailers on its roof, says Hillier.
The disadvantage of using ship-
ping containers as the building
material are engineering issues,
according to Hillier. Local engi-
neers don’t have a lot of experi-
ence using shipping containers as a
building frame so there were mis-
understandings about the kind of
materials that needed to be used,
Specifically, the heavy-duty posts
holding up the levels.
“I think they were over cautious
and that costs me money when
they called for $1,000 posts that
could hold 127,000 pounds of
weight. Another engineer recalcu-
lated that the posts only needed to
hold 6,700 pounds and they cost
$20 a piece,” explains Hillier.
The foundation for the home was
poured in October of 2014 so con-
struction has taken a while. But
Hillier is pleased with how it has
turned out.
“It’s an amazing house,” he says.
“The upstairs has a real New York
loft feel.”
It certainly generates a lot of
curiousity so he made plans to hold
Hillier opts for environmentally-friendly option
A new look
An innovative approach to the home-building process has resulted in this unique structure in
Bayfield, courtesy of Brent Hillier and his stab at thinking outside of the box of normal house-
building. (File photo)
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