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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) Dumpster Rental and Service Residential & Commercial Dumpster Rental & Service R.R. #1 41403 Londesboro Road Londesboro, ON N0M 2H0 Jim Anderson 519-523-4894 Cell 519-440-6007 Jason Fleet: Cell 519-525-9473 TenPas Décor Carpet One Floor & Home “T enP as cel e b rat i ng 3 9 years” 122 Main Street East • Listowel, ON N4W 2B6 • 519.291.4440 You can’t pass on TenPas, where the welcome mat is always out for you! MM aa nn uu ff aa cc tt uu rr ee rr ’’ss RR ee bb aa tt ee oo nn TToo rr ll yy ss SS mm aa rr tt FF ll oo oo rr ss .. SS aa vv ee uu pp tt oo $$00 ..55 00 //ss qq ..ff tt .. OO nn uu nntt iill NN oo vv ee mm bb ee rr 22 22 //22 00 11 55 Continued from page 17 Continued on page 19 Sprayed on Urethane Foam Call for FREE ESTIMATES! 519-529-7571 CHARLES C. CULBERT BACKHOEING Phone 519-529-7571 R.R. #6 Goderich, ON N7A 3Y3 There’s no subsitute for experience! CULBERTINSULATION www.mcdonaldhomehardware.com 519-887-6277 Brussels 1-800-881-0030 FALL IS RENOVATION TIME! We’ve got everything you need to create the bathroom of your dreams Soaker tubs, sinks, vanities, fixtures, custom counter tops, tile, flooring and more! MCDONALD Home Hardware Building Centre