Thanks for letting us share!

Thank you for taking the tour of our home. It began as an idea over five years ago, and has amazingly followed with the current revisions of many to downsize, recycle and conserve. We financed via a signature loan, and thus, have avoided problems with nationwide mortgage crisis. Our costs of maintenance remain low in dollars, with substantial investments of hard work. Ours is a labor of love. The house is easy to clean, pleasant to retreat to, and ever evolving into a home/sanctuary. We added a 500 gallon water tank outside and will be installing gutters to catch the rain for replenishment of "off the grid" water supplies in times of emergencies. I'm planning an outdoor kitchen. In the event of typhoon and/or power disruption, the house opens up for adequate ventilation. The dead air space from the pitched roof and placement upon pillars allows air to circulate above and below the house. Extra insulation added to the container walls, the inside walls and the treated wood walls outside keep the temperature inside adequate in all situations. We're planning more farming and planting to have an independent food source.

House plans can be made available for anyone interested. Please contact me via my email address for details. As for me, I'm going back out to tend to my chickens and banana trees!

Joe.

bathroom

Plans are for the house to be one bedroom, two baths. So far, we've finished all the interior work, except the second bathroom, which will be within the bedroom area. It will have a shower stall instead of a bath tub. The completed bathroom has a full tub. I chose a pedestal sink to continue conservation of space. The medicine cabinet was hand made, to fit our needs more precisely. The shower head is the "sunflower" type, providing a soothing rain of hot water for each shower. The flooring in the bathroom is a pebbled type ceramic tile, to ensure non-slippage while keeping with the natural theme of the house. The ceramic tiles on the walls are surfaced with a natural stone (as if a cave wall) finish with flecks of gold. The overall feeling is harmonious, calming and natural. The window has a bamboo shade with an adjacent cascade of orange silk boganvilla flowers. A large oval mirror is attached to the inside of the door, allowing the combination of the two mirrors to provide views of the back of one's head ... a non-negotiable from my wife! The hardware used for the towel bars, etc. are all combinations of high quality silver and brass.

Closet project

We decided on an unconventional closet. The doors are heavy carved wood panels, purchased as four unit screens from a local Chinese discount store ($98. per four panels). I dismantled the screens and built the closet supports to fit seven panels into an "L" shaped closet. The storage space above the closet is covered by panels made of hobby tag boards, (the kind with foam between two sheets of tag board) cut to fit, then covered with silk fabric in a sea foam green Asian pattern. These were hot glued, with camel colored felt panels on the backside. Cup hooks were secured to the top of the frame, then curtain rings were used to clip the panels, and hang them onto the cup holders. The resulting panels are light, allow air circulation and easy access to the storage space while providing a stunning accent to the closet space. Typhoon and emergency supplies are stored neatly and out of sight, while remaining readily available for any situation.

Bedroom

Half the container space is taken up with the bedroom, closet and future second bathroom. The bedroom has full size French sliding glass doors, leading out to the porch. We have a king size bed positioned so that as we wake up and sit up, we are facing the outdoors. There is ample room for a dresser and tall stand, as well as a bookcase. Instead of a headboard, we've hung an 8 foot wide bamboo screen, placed planter hangers through the top of the screen, and suspended a Japanese silk screen. The single split air condition and ceiling fan provide ample cool air for a comfortable sleep.

Dining area

A small table and two revolving garden stools (wrought iron) are placed adjacent to a window, to allow leisurely dining while watching dragonflies and butterlies scatter over the lush jungle greenery. The table was resurfaced with tiles that matched the tiling on the base of the window cut out between the kitchen space and dining area. A louvered door provides privacy to the bedroom, while maintaining the air circulation necessary in a tropical climate. Windows are covered with bamboo shades. The ceiling fans also have the tropical look of bamboo blades.

Kitchen

The kitchen is all self constructed. The cabinets were hand made, and stained with natural colors to continue the basic theme of harmony with nature used throughout the home. The counter was built to accomodate my wife's short stature, and so are slightly lower than the standard counters. Dee (my wife) tiled the counter top and found fancy backsplash tiles at a surplus tile store for a fraction of the original cost. The stove is a small apartment size unit, ample to cook a whole turkey while conserving space. The refrigerator is a side by side, again, for conservation of space. The sink is double. The window allows a view of the back garden, red and peach colored hybiscus plants. The inner wall had a window cut into it, increasing circulation and opening up the narrow space to provide a sense of open area. We also installed a tankless water heater (change from original plan) which takes up about 1 square foot of wall space. It provides constant hot water while reducing power costs.

Laundry and pantry area

A washing machine and dryer are located just behind the louvered doors. One split air conditioner is located above the washer and dryer, and although only 8,000 BTU's, provides continual cool air. It is run only during the day time and sufficiently cools the house. A second split unit in the bedroom runs only at night. In spite of the high temperatures on Guam, we always sleep in very cool comfort and have quite low power bills.

Next to the washer and dryer, also hidden by the louvered doors, is the pantry shelves. This makes dry goods readily availabe, as well as keeps the trash can hidden, and provides space for miscellaneous items such as a step ladder, broom and dustpan, and other awkward sized household needs.

Living Area

The house is constructed of two 40 foot by 8 foot containers (aluminum, high tops) placed ontop of 20 pillars sunk 4 feet into the ground. Central walls were cut out, with rounded corners creating an "arch" between the two containers. The space is narrow and compact but has proven to be very comfortable for our purposes. As you come through the front door, you are in the living area. The entertainment center at the far end consists of six pieces of rosewood desks and side tables purchased from a hotel salvage company. The wood is very high quality and cost $35. each (recycled!). They are narrow pieces that stack nicely to provide a bookcase that reaches the ceiling and two desks, stacked to provide a computer center and placement for a large flat screen television. Two recliners provide a comfortable place to rest, watching the television or just gazing out the windows at the lush greenery outside.

Tour of the house

Welcome to our Bungalow in the Jungle-o!
As you drive up the rough road, into the jungle, you arrive at the isolated property we call home. I built a 40' x 8' wooden deck onto the front of the container home. The pitched roof included an 8' overhang to accomodate the planned porch. We enclosed it with lattice and included space for hanging plants, plants on the railing and plants on the outside of the fenced area. We have a great deal of rain and with the high humidity, most plants grow as if in a perpetual greenhouse! Orchids are easy, as are ferns, gardenias, hybiscus, and even fig trees. The lattice work keeps the poodles enclosed and safe, and the overhang ensures shade, even on the hottest days.

Planning an Eco-Friendly Container Home

Facing retirement years in a world full of turmoil, social issues and environmental concerns, we spent many hours researching how to build our ideal retirement home. Living on Guam, we must deal with high heat, high humidity, termites, earthquakes and typhoons. After much research, dreams, conversations and revisions, we decided on building a container home.



Most homes on Guam are constructed of concrete to withstand the typhoon winds. These homes, although strong, tend to have cracks and structural problems after a quake. Years ago, Guam was hit with an 8.1 quake. We've also had supertyphoons with direct eye passage. Guam has always been resilient, and rebounded after these calamities.



On this blog, we will describe the process of designing and building our ideal home. It has taken several years. We basically did self construct with sub contractors, and much of the interior finishing done on our own.



As it turns out, our home is extremely energy efficient, very comfortable and attractive. We've been living in it for nearly three years, doing finishing work while residing in the home. It has become our dream home!