Container Homes

Building a house was pretty much the same for centuries,

but now there's a hot new material

that's totally changing the game --

shipping containers.

They're cheap, abundant, and almost indestructible,

and they're revolutionizing

the way homes are being designed and built.

Oh, my God. This is part of my house.

Shipping-container building

is a movement that's taking the construction world by storm.

Dude, we got it! Whoo-hoo-hoo!

With a little creativity and vision,

you can create some truly stunning homes.

Oh, my gosh. I like this a lot.

In Mineral Point, Wisconsin,

executive Andy and civil engineer Jackie Spoor

recently relocated to the countryside

with their son, Blake.

We have a 2-year-old boy,

and we were living in a bigger city for 10 years,

and after we had him,

we just really looked into moving back home.

Oh, they're gonna get you!

Run, run, run, run, run, run, run.

We've got some land

that's been in my family for about 25 years.

It's just a really gorgeous spot,

and we had an opportunity to build on it.

We did it, Mom. We did it.

Good job.

We researched a lot of things,

and the container home really popped out at us.

We really like the industrial look of them.

We probably spent 50 hours playing with blocks

over the course of six months

just trying to figure out

how we were gonna actually build the house.

We wanted big, open spaces to have a family

and be able to entertain people and stuff like that.

It's our design. It's our idea.

It's what we really want and need out of a house.

Andy and Jackie's 3,500-square-foot house

features four 40-foot containers,

creating a large open-plan ground floor

with kitchen, pantry, living room,

bathroom, and bedroom.

We kind of meshed industrial, modern, and country.

The second floor contains

a master bedroom with en suite bathroom

and massive walk-in closet.

This floor also features a study and an outdoor deck.

Joining the two floors is a custom metal staircase.

On top of the roof,

making the most of the amazing views, is a large deck.

The home will feature high-tech heating solutions,

utilizing an intelligent thermostat,

as well as security cameras so they can monitor the property

and keep an eye on Blake.

We don't plan on moving. This is gonna be our home.

They're working with a container build company

to turn their designs into a reality,

and their home is being prepared in a factory in nearby Oshkosh.

We're headed to Oshkosh

to see our container home

for the first time in quite a while.

Yeah. We're just really excited to see it.

This your house right here.

Wow. I love the scale of it.

It's just big and awesome.

Epic. Oh, here we go.

It feels amazing,

being able to come and see our home.

Oh, my gosh. Look.

That's the closet. Yeah. It is.

That is huge.

It's not finished yet,

but we can walk through the rooms.

We can actually feel ourselves living there,

which is a really neat feeling.

Sweet. Let's go. It's so cool.

While the work continues in the factory,

near Austin, Texas, interior designer Patrice Rios

has some container construction plans of her own.

Right now, I live with my parents and my sister.

You know, we're definitely outgrowing the space

to where, you know, just an extra room for an office

just doesn't exist in the house.

And as a creative person,

I need a quiet place where I can design.

Those containers must be expensive.

Actually, they're not.

They're more cost-effective

than doing an addition to your home.

So, it will be an empty box,

and from that point on, it's your creativity.

Exactly. Yeah.

That's the beauty of this. It's a blank slate.

Patrice plans to use a 20-foot container

to create the ultimate backyard office for her growing business.

It's got to be modern, stylish, and cost-effective.

This contemporary space

will feature floor-to-ceiling windows,

handmade wood-tile floors,

custom shelving, and an outdoor deck.

She wants it to be a showcase

for her interior-design aesthetic.

The finish out

has to be really good, really high-end,

and that way, it's easy for me to be able to create in there.

At the end of the day, I'll probably be in, you know,

maybe $10,000 finishing out this space.

Call me crazy, but yes,

we do need the extra living space,

so get it done.

Okay. All right.

So, my plan to move in the container

is to actually use the delivery truck,

having it actually drive up the side yard,

and then use the dollies to put it into place.

The reason why we can't use the crane

is because we have power lines that are too close to the fence,

and they'll be too close

to where we're gonna be placing the crane.

Here it comes.

I'm so excited!

So, what's gonna happen is

this thing's gonna come off of the trailer,

he's gonna set it,

probably around this area right here.

And then we're gonna put these dollies underneath it,

and then we can position it just how you want it.

We can roll it easily on this slab.

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!

So, my plan to move in the container

is to actually use the delivery truck,

having it actually drive up the side yard,

and then use the dollies to put it into place.

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!

Whoa! Everyone okay?

Yeah, everyone's fine.

Oh, gosh. That was nerve-wracking.

The worry that one of my crew could get hurt --

that was the stressful part.

Perfect.

The guys did a great job.

With the container in place,

the doors and windows can be cut out.

The next steps are a primer coat of paint

and framing to allow for insulation and drywall

later in the build.

Everything's looking good.

We got the primer on.

Yeah. Primer's on.

Yeah. Windows are next.

Windows are next. The guys are here.

Can't wait to get those in.

Then we can actually get the real color on here.

I designed this container to have lots of light.

The big windows and the door is so important to me.

I need the natural light.

So, we're gonna do the long, linear planks in a herringbone,

and then we'll have the honeycomb-shaped tiles

start, like, in this corner back here

and then they'll trickle off, like into a corner.

Getting some different floors.

You know, it's not every day you can just go into a house

and you have mixed floors, you know?

So I'm really excited to see how it's all gonna turn out.

Back in Wisconsin,

the window openings are cut and reinforced at the factory,

while over at the build site,

the concrete foundations are taking shape.

Are there concrete trucks down there?

Yeah.

What do you think, bud?

They're finishing up the floor in the basement.

With the framing

of the windows and doors all finished,

the house is prepared for shipping 150 miles to the site.

Tomorrow morning at 6:00, we start loading.

Once we get them all loaded,

we're gonna ship them down to Mineral Point.

It's about a three-hour drive.

And then we'll start setting them one at a time.

The containers arrive on site,

and the Wisconsin weather is causing some challenges.

Well, weather in Wisconsin this time of year

is pretty unpredictable.

And crane operators,

they have area that they can lift in,

and if they don't feel comfortable,

they're not gonna lift them.

If we can't use the crane today,

we can't put the containers in place.

And that's an expensive problem. That's bad.

But Jackie,

who builds roads as a civil engineer,

is happy to jump in and try to cover the mud

so the crane can get back to work.

So, we had some setbacks,