After looking at these forums for a LONG time and seeing the questions many people ask, I will take this opportunity to answer some of them. How do I know the answers to these questions?? Because over the past two days I have actually done everything I am going to tell you about. HA!
So here it is folks- I will add photos to my blog
http://kbighair.typepad.com/el_ranch_iso/ next week when I get home and back to a faster internet connection.
Q. What is the best way to cut holes in my container for doors and windows? Do I need a plasma torch or special tools?
A. Hell no. Get yourself a reciprocating saw and a bunch of metal blades. The blades are rated on the package. Get the ones that say "for metal over 1/4inch and go to town. You might have to use a grinder on the bottom of the cut (the floor of the container) to smooth it out but it is fast and easy. Drill a hole to get you started and then rip away- it's almost like butter.
DO NOT, and I repeat, do not use a circular saw and metal blades unless you want to double your time, effort and expense. The blades are more expensive, it can bend the metal and it makes too damn much noise because your cut is wider.
Q. Must I have access to a large crane or lifting device to elevate my container?
A. NO! (bear in mind that I lifted 2 20' containers and not a 40' but I doubt it is much different) Get your self a couple of 20 ton bottle jacks at Tractor Supply or Northern Tool. Get a shorty and a regular one. They are about $30-40 bucks each or less. Then, get a bunch of wood- 6x6 posts are great. You should also have on hand something to use as a lever. We used a piece of 1/4 wall steel square tubing about 3 feet long. Why? Because in order to get started lifting, you can stick the metal in the forklift holes and then put your bottle jack away from the container. Dig it in the dirt a little if you need to. Then, jack away until you have lifted the container about 2 inches off the ground. Then stick something under it- a piece of concrete or even a 2x6 will work. Then, let the jack down and repeat the process about a bazillion time until you get one side of the container up off the ground about 4-6inches. Then, move to the other side. This is a simple process of lift,block,reposition etc over and over. It didn't take THAT long- maybe 4 hours with breaks for beer for my helper- and that was for both containers.. Also, the temperature outside was 100+ degrees so we were moving slow.
The thing about containers is once you start lifting, you will find that they are so rigid they are predictable and will lift predictably. One major warning though... Do not ever (and I mean ever) jack up the short side unless you have 2 jacks on either side, close to the feet. Why? because the damn things will move on you and you DON'T want that. My dipboor assistant brawn but no brain bent the hell out of a 10 to tractor jack because he didn't think about torque and tried to do it from the center. Ding Dong....
Should your design require a porch, deck or other whatever that will have beams and joists, remember that you have to get the things at least 12" off the ground but probably more like 16". That's not a problem but if you start with the front of the container (with the doors) on a slope and it is lower that the other end, you will be jacking that end until your ears bleed.
Even a little slope downward means a LOT of jacking over a 20' span.
16" x 4" concrete blocks work great for resting the feet of the container or making your simple foundation. They are also awesome if you intend to pour piers with concrete but you don't want to spend a bazillion dollars measuring and leveling and blah blah blah and then wait for 2 weeks for the things to cure before you do anything else. Which brings us to the next question and answer from the impatient department:
Q. Must I have access to an expensive crane or lifting device to set my container (s) on the foundations? Must I hire a concrete truck to bring my concrete?
A. Hell no! (squared) Jack up the containers. Then when you get them high enough, rest them on some aforementioned 16" x 4" blocks. Put them all over the place except where you want your piers to be (under the container feet)
Then, dig your hole, stick in your Sonotube or Bigfoot or whatever you are using and pour the concrete in there. Rent a small mixer and drag it to your site and it will be a lot easier than mixing in smaller batches. You might have to weasel it in with a funnel-ish kind of thing but by definition, part of the round Sonotube will be away from the foot anyway so there is a little room. After the concrete cures, you can jack the container down onto the footings and VOILA! No need for a crane. HA! (Be sure to make the Sonotube only about 1/2 inch lower then the foot when it is on the pads.) That way you can go about your business while it dries.
Q. Is it hard to move a container?
A. No, if you have a truck or a winch or preferably both. Just put a tow strap through the holes in the feet, hook it over your trailer hitch and drag away. Because we chose a jackass design that required that both containers be exactly evenly spaced and square in all directions, we had a much harder time then most will have. We had the containers off the ground when we realized that one was about 6 inches forward of the other. Rather than lowering an hour of work, we put a piece of wood on top of the pads and just winched that sucker where it needed to be. We had to stop and re-position the pads once or twice but by this point we were expert "jackers" No sweat.
Well kids, there are many more answers to many more questions forthcoming. However, I will save them for later because I have to get up at dawn to work so that I won't burn my hands touching the container. I should have done this in March. Oh well.
Stay tuned, all will be revealed at some point. I took a ton of photos and as soon as I get back to a cable modem, you can see every step. I only had time to write this because we knocked off early tonight so that my helper could ride his 4-wheeler and chase some wild turkeys. Wait, maybe he was going to drink Wild Trukey while riding his four wheeler. Who knows?
Buenos Noches from Tejas.
(Did I mention I am a 40 year old woman?)
(Bow to the Goddess)
