While up north friends there have been busy constructing a small container home for themselves. They used 2 x 20' containers with around a 5m or so space between them which they enclosed.
They used refrigeration containers which come with their own insulated walls.
Back at my own place I made a start on the back deck.
First I tek screwed the ledger (or back bearer) to the bottom steel "C" beam of the containers:
Then I drilled and chem-set threaded rods into the concrete piers to screw the front bearer down:
As a precaution I sprayed the joist hangers with a cold galvanising paint for extra protection:
After which I proceeded to hand nail each of the 58 hangers with 25 nails each to the joists and the bearers!
The near end needed a little specialised fixing as the container corner block was in the way. I ended with a double joist for extra strength.
The end of the final joist was fixed through the hole in the corner block using a nut and bolt with a washer larger than the hole set inside the corner block. The front bearer has been left longer until I can determine how much the external insulation and cladding will extend out from the container and another joist might still need to be added.
Finally I added the noggins which will help solidify the joists and stop them from twisting.
Next I can start laying the decking timbers and adding the verandah posts ready for the roof.
As the internal floor will be around 40 - 50mm higher than the external deck I might need to add a layer of battens on top of the deck joists before the decking timbers so there is no step down onto the deck from inside .
If I do this then I can lay the decking timbers perpendicular to the containers and not parallel which is more traditional:
After quite a successful first harvest, once the 38 pumpkins had been picked I ripped up the vines and composted and turned the soil and put a few things in for winter - bok choy, broccoli, garlic. radishes and some more spinach.
The bok choy has grown enough already that I have been picking them for my stir fry's for the past week. The capsicums and beetroots have just finished and have also gone. But the rhubarb, spinach, radishes, mint, and basil are still providing.
Bok choy (top) and young broccoli (bottom):
