Bob talks about the vast number of steel shipping containers abandoned in America's ports. Because America is no longer an exporting nation, only an importing nation, it is too expensive to return the 700,000 containers clogging American ports. Tampa Armature Works (TAW) converts these containers to intermodal steel building units (ISBU's) for use by the military and as durable, affordable installations throughout the world. David Cross of TAW explains how they have developed a skeletal frame system that brings the container down to its most elemental structural elements from which anything can be built. Cross shows Bob "the world's largest toolbox," which is an ISBU converted into a series of bins, cargo holds, and roll doors that can organize, store, and protect all kinds of tools, gear, and equipment in a military setting. Once modified, these containers are perfect as storm-ready housing units, or "container homes", with corrugated sides, a bottom steel channel and flat-bar toprail functioning together like a steel I-beam. Inside, 1 1/8-inch marine-grade Apitone flooring is a huge and standard benefit in every ISBU. TAW can cut the openings for doors and windows, finish the exterior with heavy gauge steel, wrap it in a sheet-metal skin, spray it with SuperTherm insulative ceramic coating, and deliver it for $40 to $45 per square foot. The foundation and roof are then supplied on site by the contractor. With 17 million of these containers in circulation world-wide, this is a salvage, recycling, and green business initiative that can create heavy-gauge steel, hurricane-resistant housing fast and for about the same dollars as a light-gauge steel home. Cross and TAW are just looking for consumers willing to jump on board with the technology and opportunities ISBU's present.

Bob is in St. Petersburg, Florida, to tour a finished affordable home after completing projects in other parts of the country. The St. Petersburg container-built homes are part of a pilot project involving the use of idle steel shipping containers converted for use as housing units. The goal of the program is to create structurally sound homes that can withstand hurricane conditions. St. Petersburg contains an amazing variety of home styles that developed as people settled from all over the country during the early 20th century. The streets are lined with modest to medium-sized bungalows, Mediterranean-style homes, prarie-style cottages, two-story Dutch Colonials, and some Federal revivals to go with the true Florida bungalows. Along North Shore Park and Coffee Pot Bayou there are grander versions of the same styles. Most of these developments were built out during the 50s and 60s and the character of the housing has been well preserved. Bartlett Park, just south of downtown, was built as a working class retirement neighborhood in the 1920s. It has had a period of decline and problems with crime and poverty until a few years ago when the city and St. Petersburg Neighborhood Housing Services took action. With the Home Depot Foundation and the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, the houses were adopted as pilot homes to see if it is feasible to use this technology to build affordable and storm-ready housing. Bartlett Park was once a depressed neighborhood, but is now experiencing a dramatic revival. Affordable housing and support for first-time home buyers is creating the "pride of place" needed to keep a neighborhood healthy and sustainable. This house was trucked onto the site in four sections, or "intermodal steel building units." These ISBU's are modified to meet the needs of the plan. The ISBU's were craned onto the foundation and welded to steel plates installed in the concrete. The conventional truss roof system was bolted to the containers. Each truss is attached with special hardware to resist hurricane-force uplift. The space between the ISBU's has been filled in with conventional construction. Steel sheathing was put in place, windows were cut, and the edges of the steel were ground down. The exterior walls were primed before stucco with a super-insulating coating called SuperTherm. SuperTherm prevents the walls from conducting heat, keeping the building comfortable and energy-efficient. On the last visit here, Bob talked with the architect for the project to get a feel for the space.

Bob talks with David Cross formerly of Tampa Armature Works, now of S G BLocks, the company that has taken these abandoned shipping containers and converted them into home-building units. This building technology has a bright future. Since the units first aired on the show, Cross has received well over 500 inquiries about building with ISBU's. There are two more orders in production for military systems in the Caribbean islands, the Redondo Beach house in California, and a possible 600 unit development in southern California. These units are all intended to be affordable. The construction being planned is intended for multi-family and stand-alone housing.

Bob talks to Steve Armstrong, the project architect and engineer, about converting old shipping containers into houses. Armstrong recounts how he was approached by Tampa Armature Works to get approvals from the city for the project. When completed, it will be a four-bedroom, two- bath home occupying around 1,600 square feet. The interior is very open, allowing for a high ceiling and lots of flexibility in layout. Bob reviews which sections of the home are part of the original steel containers and which are new steel partitions. The roof is a traditional truss system. The floor is a steel joist construction with traditional plywood decking. The challenge of building a home like this is marrying new methods of construction with traditional methods to create a conventional-looking family home. Armstrong reviews how the steel containers' corner posts form the backbone of the home, holding it all together. Bob and Armstrong review the future interior layout of the home. Armstrong emphasizes that this solves the problem of extra shipping containers while creating much-needed affordable, storm-ready housing.

…home, an affordable, storm-ready, innovative house…
…construct an affordable, storm-ready home as part of an…
…in this project by the Home Depot Foundation, NeighborWorks…
…as the framework for storm-ready, affordable homes…

…Neighborhood Housing Services, the Home Depot Foundation, and the Federal…
…container story and how Tampa Armature Works has adapted these abandoned…
…and a truss roof to create a storm-ready, four-bedroom home that…
…Cross, formerly of Tampa Armature Works and now with SG Blocks…

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