The chirping of cicadas was drowned out by the grind of an electric saw in the depths of a wooded 1.9-acre property off Sam Hicks Road. Nestled among the oaks and palms of the forest, construction on Robert and Cathy Byrd’s new home was underway. But, it isn’t necessarily the couple’s dream home.
It’s their green home.
Since February, the Byrds have been building an eco-friendly dwelling made out of two steel shipping containers. They will be importing their South Tampa lives to the Plant City-based units this week.
“It’s time to go into our golden years stress-free,” Cathy says. “It will have everything in it that we need.”
CITY FOLK
For 35 years, Cathy has worked in historic restorations. She owns her own company, Innovative Restorations, where she has transformed and saved homes in Hyde Park, Seminole Heights and Tampa Heights. She completed recently a project in Historic Downtown Plant City and fell in love with the town.
“When we decided to buy a piece of land to retire, I wanted to go to Plant City,” Cathy says. “There’s a heartbeat out here that you either get or you don’t.”
So, the couple made the decision to build a permanent residence on their recently acquired property. But, they didn’t want to wait to move. Their solution: Build an inexpensive green home, while they wait to start construction on their retirement residence.
With their background as contractors, they were ready to forge ahead. Cathy conducted extensive research before starting construction plans. She talked with other peers in the industry and visited RV trade shows to see how they were laid out inside.
But, even her newfound knowledge and experience couldn’t prepare her for what she was about to experience.
“When you have steel framing, steel walls, steel ceilings, it just doesn’t build like concrete blocks of wood framing,” Cathy says. “It was really a construction education, which was a lot of fun, because it’s so different from what we’re used to.”
The two containers arrived at the beginning of February, and construction started in the same month. The 8-feet-by-40-feet rectangles are situated into a T-shape pattern with 8-foot-tall ceilings. The first container will be a workshop garage, two home offices and a laundry room/pantry. The second is where the couple will live, complete with a bedroom, closet, bathroom, kitchen and living room.
Instead of using dry wall, the couple opted for a beadboard, because it would mold easier into the existing dents of the crate. They did a lot of work themselves but also had help from Perry Electric & Maintenance, Our Dream Kitchens and neighbor, welder Dennis Jackson. Jackson has his own unused container and was fascinated by the conversion project.
THE PROJECT
The Byrds had several goals when designing their new pad. The first was to make it cost effective. The projected cost — not counting the well and septic tank — is $15,000.
To help with the costs, the Byrds are reusing as many materials as possible. Cathy reached out to contacts in her industry to see if they had any throw away or unused materials, such as the front doors to the office and the living area. She scavenged for sliding-glass doors, which would also serve as windows, decreasing electric dependency.
They also are using pieces of the containers themselves. The steel scraps left over from cutting out spaces for the sliding glass doors will double as canopies and hurricane shutters that can collapse down over the windows. Under the canopies, the Byrds will be adding screened patios, which will add livable space.
Another goal was to have fewer than five bags of trash during construction. So far, they only have had two-and-one-half bags, largely because of their recycling of materials.
Inside, Cathy has designed shelving units that will extend from the walls and ceiling for additional storage space. Instead of having a dresser, the Byrds will store their clothes in drawers underneath their elevated bed. They are using both bay doors as features of the home, rather than trash them. One set will serve as the workshop garage doors; the other as a patio area.
Cathy has planned carefully the interior of her home, combing over every detail. The walls will be a natural gray, to keep the space feeling open. The ceiling will be a pop of blue.
But, it’s the outside that she hasn’t quite worked out — yet.
“I don’t want to hide the fact that it’s a shipping container, because I think that’s kind of cool,” Cathy says. “But, I don’t want it to look like a banged up container.”
Still, it is coming together and should be finished in about six weeks. They plan to have a can-opening party instead of a house-warming party for all their curious friends.
“What I would tell anyone who is planning this is to think about it, think about it, think about it,” Cathy says. “Talk to people who have done it. And if you don’t know anyone, Google it.”
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
BY THE NUMBERS
5: The maximum amount of trash bags the Byrds want to have at the end of construction
3: The number of windows in the container
3: The number of sliding glass doors in the container
$15,000: The budget for the home
620: The square footage of the home
3: The number of cats that also will call the green dwelling their home