>>Your a god dam genius.

At least she has managed to grasp the concept of contractions.

Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment.

Since this is an engineering website, it would be ridiculous for us not to address this issue. It's not as though I came up with this conclusion on my own, I am reporting the facts for CR4 users. For engineers, I'd think this would rank high on a scale of importance and interest.

As far as buildings go, the Haitians are at a real disadvantage, since they have destroyed all their forests and don't have wood to build with.

While it is true that wood will burn, it does have some flexibility that piles of bricks, or mud and mortar do not.

Hardly half the nation can read, and voodoo is the main religion.

Even without the complications of this sort of terrible natural disaster its one sad nation.

In the past I've suggested it become a nuclear waste dump as a source of income, but its proved now not even suited for that.

Jared Diamond said in his book Collapse the Island of Hispanole, challenged his love of Democracy since without the influence of a corrupt and vicious semi dictator, the entire island would have been overrun by Haitians.

(Friend of mine told me a friend of his bought land there cheap, but can't go there since he'd be kidnapped for ransom.)

This event is likely to turn out as one of the best things to ever happen in that Godforsaken place that makes Somalia look like a better tourist destination.

To rebuild and help, just buy up rebar, and send it to Haiti.

Then lobby for getting half to two thirds of its population off the island, so as to let it heal from every assault on the environment ignorant man can cause.

This comment is really mean-spirited and unnecessary. And some of the points that you make show your ignorance more than anything else.

First of all what does their religion have to do with it? Is Voodoo any worse than believing in an immaculate conception?

The plight of the Haitian people goes back to the overthrow of the French by the enslaved Africans that had been brought over. When the French were overthrown the other European nations worried that the slaves in the territories that they owned would choose a similar path. So, the Europeans collectively placed an embargo on Haiti that kept it as an impoverished nation for decades. In the 1970's and 80's the US govt. supported the regime of Duvalier who is estimated to have massacred 30,000 Haitians. In 1986, the US arranged for his exile in France so that he would not have to pay for his crimes. The US is complicit in the abject poverty of Haiti and that is at least part of why the building standards are so low.

This earthquake was larger than the eartquake that caused all of the damage in Northridge in 1994. I don't suppose you were making disparaging remarks about America when that happened?

This comment is really mean-spirited and unnecessary

How completely out of touch, without cerebral stimulation one must be to contemplate such drivel...

what, I shot the messenger, thats cuz your didn't have on your running shoes.........I know your are you reporting the facts.

For engineers, I'd think this would rank high on a scale of importance and interest.

Involved in what way, donated expertise for rebuilding or to change building/zoning codes which would mean Engineers getting involved in politics not in government, but in foreign governments as well as economics, everbody has a cause, but this would sound like lifetime endeavor.

p911

After seeing some of the pictures, their cities look more like shanty towns with huts made out of sticks and mud. I'm surprised they stood up before the quake.

This incident is similar to the San Francisco earthquate of 1906.

Just reading about the devastation this earthquake has caused is very saddening. Them describing how the living were sleeping amongst the dead in the hospital made me feel so badly. I am not sure what an engineer could do to save any city from a 7.0-magnitude earthquake (I am not a building expert). There are precautions, yes... but 7.0 is such a high magnitude that would be hard to keep anything standing, it would seem. All it would take in a city like New York City is one building to fall onto another to make for damage and destruction. Devastating. Thank you for writing about this, it will likely pull the heartstrings of many.

This long sad history (indictment) is enough to make you weep, especially when, after reading it all, you get to this last sentence -

On January 12, 2010, Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake, with a death toll in the tens of thousands (some reports suggests it may be over 100,000). ^[32]

That toll will rise, the infrastructure in Haiti is poor at best.

Its good to see the governments active in sending aid, I hope it gets to the people in need, and not the people with greed.

Thanks Guest, I read the whole thing. Blot on France and the US politics and policies.

Sad as it is this disaster is ironically probably the best thing that could happen, since otherwise incremental day in and day out individual disasters went on, and were assured to go on.

What good is a building code if you can't read?

What good is a building code if the best materials to build with simply are not available?

Heard on the TV a Haitian diplomat say, when asked, if the money should be given to the Haitian government, and he said no, give it to an NGO.

Of course giving it to the UN is even suspect as any sort of realistic help, since they are incapable of managing much of the resources they have for more than their own pleasures these days, and come begging when their brave die smothered, or slaughtered.

Yes indeed a long and sad history that includes all the worst of colonial style behaviour. Having said that it has been a republic for many years now and cannot use colonial history as an excuse forever, but on a personal basis one has to feel for these poor people and to help where and how one can. (Guest #8)

IMHO, the best thing anyone can do for them is to pray deeply. Any funds or materials sent to them would be akin to pouring them down a rat hole. As sad as it sounds, between their obvious incompetence in construction and the level of autocracy and corruption (probably very generous descriptions) in their government, any of those contributions would be wasted badly. Aside from the loss of life and injuries, it's probably a blessing that this event was so devastating because, maybe now, some serious effort will be exerted toward rebuilding in a responsible manner, rather than trying to resurrect some partially-damaged buildings.

BTW, I am certainly not implying that they had this coming on account of any of the negative aspects of their culture there.

Americans have a hard time with holding back help to people in need. And when I say Americans, I don't necessarily mean the government.

Lots of comments. I'm not going to qualify any of them except to say that some were decent and some were terrible responses to a people in need.

I have just written a note to a discussion that had been on going entitled retired engineers, hoping that I could chase up some of these retired folks into volunteering to develop a Haitian Volunteer engineering and construction group. Perhaps it would start off with finding out how we could develop and put together what they need to their codes and construction practices, and maybe we could just do some good for a change instead of just talking about it.

Any volunteers want to join?

Tom

Without a critical thought towards these poor people this situation is an excellent opportunity for the UN to exercise it's humanitarian developmental protocols and put them in action, a trial by fire.

Oops! these people need help and I hope they'll except it an move on.

It is a welfare state in the making for 2-3 generations minimum during a time when education and building trades OJT will not lack for participants. We have have millions of empty shelters we can put our people to work dismantling them for shipment and re-erection there.

My problem with donating money through the Red Cross is that it won't necessarily be used for what they are collecting it for! I'm still mad at them over the 911 fiasco where they came out and said, "If you want to donate money for the 911 victims you can send it to them in care of us. We'll be the conduit to collect and funnel the money to the 911 victims fund since we have the collection infrastructure in place already." Millions of dollars poured in. The next thing you know they're keeping the money. They gave some of it to the 911 fund but not all of it. I was livid! The Red Cross won't get another dime out of me! I'll give through my church as I would recommend anyone else to do as well!

The loss of life is sad but I don't think REQUIRING them to meet building code standards is the answer. That's like telling a poor homeless person not to eat that slice of pizza out of the garbage, that to ensure their good health they should walk down the street and eat a quality T-Bone steak at a high end restaurant. Hello? Are you going to pay for the meal? And after that meal what about the next? People have to deal with their situations where they are. If they're poor they have to deal with it. I grew up poor in Michigan and did everything from hunt for golf balls in the corn field next to the golf course (Sold them for 25 cents apiece to the golfers at the #2 tee off) to making Maple Syrup in the spring. We heated with wood because it was the one fuel we could acquire for free off the property. For someone to have come in and told my parents that our house or heating methods were not up to code would have been rediculous. My parents couldn't have changed things even if they had wanted to. But I turned out O.K. as did all of my brothers and sisters. We have a true appreciation for the value of a dollar and we're all hard workers. Had our house burned down while we were growing up and we all died that would have been sad but I think I would rather have lived with that possibility than having the government protect us from ourselves by forcing us to meet some "standard". O.K. I've digressed and I'm probably not making much sense anymore. I'll pray for the Haitians and continue to send money through my church. God Bless.

My problem with donating money through the Red Cross is that it won't necessarily be used for what they are collecting it for!

I was steamed at the also.

I'll give through my church as I would recommend anyone else to do as well!

Yes give it to your own church (Money/Supplies), where they would set it up directly and send it directly to the ones in need, with people from its own congregations, and not the churches who has it headquarters centrally located for the money to pass through first.

p911

Ummm, as of today 1.14.10 - a 15,000LB load of relief supplies was looted just outside the airport....

Unrelated story, but...It's already started...http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1953379_1953494_1953819,00.html?cnn=yes&hpt=T2

This morning a friend sent along an article from Wired showing before and after pictures of the damage in Haiti. Heartbreaking.

Click here to go to the article.

Shipping containers are a great idea. They can be stacked and secured together into small apartment complexes. You could also use old enclosed semi trailers. They could be towed into place and dropped. No cranes needed to off load and position them. Around here lots of "river rats" use old school buses for campers. Very cheap in comparison to factory campers or travel trailers. Bonus is they have doors and windows for light and ventilation. They do not have to have motors that work. They are pre-wired with 12V lights on the interior. These are a very practical solution.

Of course, had the Katrina FEMA trailers not been gutted by the previous tenants they could have been loaned out.

At this juncture the Haitians would be grateful for gutted FEMA campers

Good idea. One thought I had to improve survivability for the hurricane season. Raise the containers at least 12 feet up on concrete piers to get them to a level where they would have a chance to overcome storm surge.

A low lying town I used to live in on the Chesapeake bay mandated this type of construction on new and rebuilt homes after Hurricane Isabel. The flooding during last fall's noreaster' did minimal damage to these raised structures.

Hooker

M. N. Mirando, LPE aka CaptainMoosie

Seems to me that the biggest issue here is the future building code for this island and that it isn't plausible in the near term future....so another solution needs to be implemented ASAP because lives are at stake......so enough of the bickering that I've seen in the Blog. Now is a time for immediate ACTION, so get off your horse's ass and do something other than flapping your lips swearing at the "others" here!!!!!!

Those people of which you are cursing at is also yourself. As I'll explain below.

Your idea of shipping container idea has merit. as long as they don't became death traps due to heat and unventilated. And now that you put that idea on the table.............now what.....

Fresh potable water, Sanitation issues and food probally are the biggest problems,

Added my $2.00 USD worth! Hope someone mentions my idea to the Prez of the USA, or the head of the UN, the Red Cross, or CARE, or who ever!!!!! OFF YOUR BUTTS ENGINEERS OF THE WORLD AND WRITE TO YOUR CONGRESSMAN OR THE PREZ!! YOU CAN EVEN USE MY NAME IN ANY CORRESPONDANCE or TELCONS TO ELECTED OFFICIALS!!! I KNOW I'M TAKING A CHANCE WITH IDENTITY THEFTS ETC HERE, BUT THIS IS TOO GOD DAMN IMPORTANT, SO I'M STICKING OUT MY NECK!!!!!

oh I see, you did your part, and now you just handed it off for someone else to actually get off their butt to actually do it..........feel better.

Symbolism and substance, your post is Symbolism.

p911

Dear P911:

I've already gotten off my proverbial ass and written emails to Prez Obama and the two NYS Senators........all before you commented negatively on my proposal in the Blog. Oppsss, I guess I didn't contact the several House of Representatives from New York yet, but hey, I had to go cross river for Outpatient Surgery on my foot @ 1000 hours.

So, did you do anything worthwhile today other than criticize others in here?

Granted, without any modifications to the shipping containers the would become death traps....my foo-pah for not mentioning it herein, but any young brainiac engineer out in the field will know enough to have the containers mod'ed before their occupation. A BIG DUH!!!!!

Just to let you know....the use of shipping containers is nothing new. In fact, our troops over in Iraq and Afghanistan use the very same containers, albeit with minor modifications, for living quarters and storage facilities. How's them apples?

Yes. providing proper and timely water and sanitation for the masses on Haiti is extremely important, and rank equally in my mind up there with providing proper shelter. This is where the US Army and Reserves can step in with all of their mobile water and wastewater treatment systems that are sitting in storage facilities across the nation (and the world).....they should be used and only deployed with our troops. No other nation on this planet can match these resources.

I only brought up the shelter idea this morning. If I had had the time this morning I would have wrote some suggestions regarding water and wastewater facilities....those disciplines are, after all, what I partially do for a living.......

Being cynical has it's uses, but doesn't solve sh*t as far as I'm concerned. We can stand here throwing barbs back and for that each other, but that too doesn't solve anything....a big ZIP. And as far as me signing my name to the posting, I guess I did so to prove a point, plus I'm proud on my suggestion while was aimed squarely at solving things and not sitting back like an Armchair General bitching about Building Codes. That franking is a dead issue right now and a lot of water under the bridge, and no amount of bitching at this stage is going to solve things. It's also my own freaking business too signing my name. I don't see anyone else providing theirs, but that is a personal issue and well as a security issue.

don't rain on my day, okay? I call it the way I see it, nothing less.......Please have a great sunny day!

Feel better now

Good idea CaptMoosie, Here some links that prove the points on container housing.

Shipping Container Housing Guide.

Shipping container subway shop.

Clemson faculty explores shipping containers into emergency shelters

Shipping container houses

ISBU shipping container architecture

ISBU House plans and deaign \

ISBU Bob Vila

ContainerBay

ISBU is the place that shows ISBU's can and do exceeds most if not all building codes. With the GreenCube Approval report.

This is a quick technology that can be put work as quick or quicker than rebuilding the way it was. Most if not all shipping containers are made from Cor-Ten Steel it is a "weathering steel" once the rust film forms the rate of rusting from then on is very slow.

This is just the start of info on the web about Inter-Modal Building Units, or Container housing, or shipping container homes....

Charles

GA for MetalSmiths!

Wowsers, that's a lot if links to mull through........glad my idea was liked by a few peeps in here!!!! .............all that has to be done to the damn things other than tie-downs and anchorage is cut open the roof in a few places and install some solar PV-powered attic exhaust fans. Possibly some of the USA-based manufacturer's of those attic exhaust fans would like to donate a couple thousand units????? You could always install light colored tarps over the containers to reduce the sun's effect, but somehow I don't think that those tarps would hold up to Hurricane or tropical storm force winds, so it's back to installation of Solar Attic exhaust fans on the roofs, eh???!!!

Also, need to cut-out a few window openings and install Mosquito netting....ditto at the doors. I've never been to Haiti, although I've been to the Island of Grenada back in '83 during "Operation Urgent Fury" where prior to the invasion we received a whole host if immunizations and daily-daily pills, so based on very similar eco conditions and climate, etc. I would suspect that the rampant spread of malaria and other water-borne diseases has got to be a huge medical & health consideration very soon, especially as we enter into the spring-time monsoon season there.

Don't put too many holes in them or they could be a hazard to navigation after the next big blow

I know how cynical this sounds, but...

Building codes won't mean a hill of beans in a country where basic governmental ethics don't exist. The codes will provide nothing but another means for the rulers to skim graft for letting "developers" bypass the rules and put people at risk.

The scenario plays over and over and over all around the world. I've seen it time and again. I wish more Americans were exposed to the real world conditions outside this country.

Hooker

Moosie, you nailed it; good idea!

Also, are there some extra trailers sitting in a big storage lot down south which were meant for the homeless from Katrina??

hooker,

Very good insight, and GA to you

Yes, you have to look at the big picture, the problem is not the disaster hell that obvious which everyone has an answers for and offer symbolisms that someone should do this or someone should do that. like most of the posts people think they can fix by rhetoric on what should happen. (that someone else should do of course)

You have to not fix the infrastructure, you actual have to create one first.

p911

Thank you Phoenix. I'm generally labeled as the local neighborhood cynic, but I think of it as real world (defined as most anywhere outside the US) behaviour.

I get so frustrated at us spending oodles of money helping other countries then being blasted as imperialists when we demand that the money not be swallowed up by local greed and corruption; which, by the way, is business as usual in those places.

They want OUR cake and be able to eat it, too. Nobody has been able to clean up Haiti and I doubt it ever will be short of invasion and outright take over.

Not withstanding the plight of "innocent" disaster victims, I'm becoming more and more isolationist as I get older, as least in terms of meddling in social and political affairs of foreign countries. I'm with those who prefer that NGO's handle this stuff. Keep the Fed's away.

Hooker

I thats were some people get confused, when you call it as it is, they would label you as insensitive, cynic, unprofessional, not a team player.

When in fact, as a engineer......... an engineer should tell tell it like it is (a good engineer anways), not only is it professional. its the truth that has substance. And with that you can actually find a solution because you are dealing with the problems directly and "as is" and at "face value".

I have no patience for "yes men/women", or "someone should do it" type of people

my respect to you,

p911

Personally I cannot think of another nation other than the US that has been so quick to respond to international catastrophes. I was vacationing in Turkey in the 02 earthquake and it was US helicoptors that were first on the scene.

My advice is not to listen to the expedience of political posturings.....ask those ordinary people who owe their lives to those men and women who selflessly helped out. I think you'll hear the heartfelt version.

This is saying a lot considering my own government has been nothing less than a dithering blot when it comes to getting anything done while scoring political brownie points.

GA Duckinthepond.

I am a Canadian and can only say THANKS to the Americans for being a first responder to many situations. You are a generous lot a DESERVE more PRAISE. A lot of your response and generosity is being taken for granted. I am also proud of Canada's response to the Haitian disaster. Alas we are not as well equipped as our good neighbor to the south. I think if we can focus the efforts of well off countries onto a few poor countries we could as an international group provide better long term help to countries like Haiti. Improving the lot of the Haitians would be a good example to the world as a method of permanently getting rid of third world poverty.

Kudos to the Americans

Thanks Kevin......I might be wrong but I think this is the first time our feds have been quick to react wihout convening a fact finding committee or calling parliament to task or appointing a judicial overseer ad infinitum nauseum and generally wasting valuable time.

Darn, I forgot, we've prorogued parliament again. Does this actually mean that our government can function without parliament? Now that is illuminating!

I do not consider what you say Hooker to be cynical. To me it is simply realistic.

Earlier in this discussion I was called mean spirited for pointing out that it is known that sans hi tech hydraulic vibration dampening foundational systems, stick wood buildings have inherent flexibility making them more likely to stay standing in the event of an earthquake. -and the Haitians have denuded their nation of wood.

Awhile back former US Senator John Edwards founded some organization based at UNCH to study the causes of Poverty, as if it is some big mystery.

War and Corruption cause poverty.

Often it seems as if many in positions of power, when told the truth, simply say: It shouldn't be that way, and function and act as if what should be, is.

I don't think you Hooker, are in that category.

Others are.

Day in and Day out in the US the reasons for the current Economic Collapse are discussed, as if it was not caused by corrupt business practices, and war.

(I will allow that sometimes ignorance and stupidity contribute to compound disasters as some of what was done by the Corps of Engineers in relation to realities of New Orleans was nearly nothing but willfully stupid.)

In the case of New Orleans and its devastation, many individuals were simply moved to Houston.

I myself see no reason that in the case of Haiti a similar event is part of a realistic solution, in light of the actual situation there.

I am reasonably certain San Francisco could help with building codes

But remember, the poor in Haiti cannot afford San Francisco pricing

P E Bobimm

Building codes or lack of are always cited as major factors in any disaster. Building codes are different everywhere on the globe. What applies in San Francisco may not apply in New York. Building codes are very expensive to implement and in a poor-as-dirt country like Haiti, it is not possible to put a code in place; not without a lot of outside help. Even if there was a building code, who would enforce it? A building that previously cost a few hundred dollars to build all of a sudden costs 50K dollars to construct. Who will pay for this? Governments of such poor countries regard life as cheap and are not willing to spend the money. They would rather channel the monetary aid into their pockets. The situation sucks, but there is really nothing that can or will be done. If you think about it, living in a tent is probably more safe than living in a concrete or brick structure. People in developed countries have lived in tents for thousands of years and some even to this day. In a country like Haiti with a tropical climate, tents may make a lot of sense.

Go ahead--establish a building code. If it is unaffordable, then

1) No housing will get built,

2) The code will be rampantly violated, or

3) A bribery economy will arise. (Not too much different from (2))

It might be better to disseminate good building information in an advisory manner, rather than legalistically.

But do-gooders, meddlers, and bureaucracies are only too happy to tell other people what they must do.

Hey stop raining on peoples flag waving parades, what are you some kind of cynic......or do you have a spark of common sense that actually has an understand what its actually like.

ga.........I am giving you that because your presentation was better than mine.

I am glad the 82nd Airborne are helping, unfortunately the outer lying smaller towns have receive no support (0) so far.

And looting is becoming rampet.....can't blame them, Just hold it together a little longer.

p911

If you want to bring fundamental change to people's lives and behavior, a change that will persist and influence others, you need to create a community around them where those new beliefs could be practiced, expressed and nurtured.

— Malcolm Gladwell, summarizing the beliefs of John Wesley.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 2002)

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100119/Clemson-University-researchers-explore-ways-to-solve-housing-crisis-in-Haiti.aspx

Clemson University researchers explore ways to solve housing crisis in Haiti

19. January 2010 05:52

Resources to solve the housing crisis in Haiti may already be on hand.

Some Clemson University researchers have been experimenting with ways to convert shipping containers into emergency housing in the hurricane-prone Caribbean, where a surplus of the sturdy boxes often sits in port yards.

Pernille Christensen, a research associate in the Richard H. Pennell Center for Real Estate and Ph.D. student in planning, design and the built environment; associate professor Doug Hecker; and assistant professor Martha Skinner of Clemson's School of Architecture, collaborated on the SEED Project, working to develop a method to convert the shipping containers into homes.

The original idea was inspired by housing crises that have followed large hurricanes in the Caribbean and United States. However, Hecker said shipping containers would meet those needs in an earthquake zone, too.

"Because of the shipping container's 'unibody' construction they are also very good in seismic zones and exceed structural code in the United States and any country in the world," Hecker said. "They have also been used in other countries as emergency shelters in the case of earthquakes. As the SEED Project develops this will certainly be an area that we incorporate. With a few simple cuts at the port, a storage container can be turned into something that is livable and opens to the site."

Faculty and students sought a way to put displaced people in emergency housing that could be sturdy and safe on a permanent site. Putting families back on their own land quickly is key to the idea. Families displaced by disaster often do not return to their permanent homes for years, if ever, but the Clemson researchers are looking for strategies to implement the SEED Project as quickly as possible, ideally having a modified container on site within three weeks.

"You get people back in their communities and it strengthens those communities," Christensen said. "They work on their home, not a temporary shelter, and then they work with their neighbors to rebuild the neighborhood. It leads to a healthier and safer community. And these are places often in dire need of better housing."

Many Caribbean countries import more containers than they export, which leads to the surplus of containers in those nations.

"The project has a double mission: to address the local need of providing adequate housing for people in need while solving a global problem of recycling - giving purpose to empty containers that would otherwise be discarded," Skinner said.

As part of this research, the group is studying the cycles of natural disasters by looking at the larger picture through mapping and logistics to understand how containers move, available surpluses and ultimately coordinating the cycles of natural disasters with the ebb and flow of container supplies worldwide.

The SEED Project also includes plans for using another surplus item, 55-gallon steel drums, as a way to create a starter garden - from seed - on the roof of the container homes as a way to get food crops started when the ground may be contaminated by stormwater. Water also would be filtered through the drums before being used in a water pod comprised of shower, sink and composting toilet.

A prototype emergency container home is under way on the Clemson campus, and the project has been awarded an Environmental Protection Agency P3 (People, Prosperity and the Planet) grant to make the container part of the 2010 National Sustainable Design Expo on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in April. The research team plans to build a prototype in the Caribbean in the next year.

Source: Clemson University

CUTiger, Check out my post metalSmiths up the list It is all about the containers housing options along with links including yours but from a different site.

I also included the link to the ISBU organization and the report/guide on the containers in reference to building codes. Also the guide gives info to which grade of containers to use and avoid for housing.

All in all one ship full of containers with materials and building supplies and tools to convert the containers to housing along with equipment to move and set them up.

Though once rescue/recovery is complete, heavy equipment comes in an preps the sites for the new homes to be setup. Though the containers could be setup in a holding areas and modified to live in to get people into shelter with public restrooms and showers central to grouping of containers. Then as sites are prep the containers/homes could be moved in and finished to make the homes complete.

Charles

Sorry to have missed your including this release earlier metalSmiths, I was just happy to hear that my Uni was working on some solutions...Your input was valuable too about the prep & requirements...

Heck, I've even thought that if they can find a way to site-prep and get 'em to where they need to be set - for the short-term once in proximity - cut the mothers in half & go X2 for families to stay in.....just would have to pre-fab a wall with with door to affix to each half and at least get some shelters started with higher yield/use

than later start to right-size the living quarters as you go forward

Been to this island in the past, and it's like a lot of other equatorial islands....lots of hills & such, so site-prep for these boxes is a big headache to overcome....you don't want to terrace the entire island...big rains will cause most to slide ....loamy soil doesn't help either...

When I was first getting started in life, I lived in a house trailer in a trailer park. There were a couple of people that made there own double wides using 2 trailers. They simply parked them side x side and put in a short hallway using existing doors. The same could be done with the containers. Cut out door openings in each, slide them together, and frame the openings into a hallway. This would allow the boxes to be separated later and moved without the need for bracing to replace a wall that had been completely removed.

I do have to say that it was just me and my wife in the beginning. We had a 12 x 50 and there was plenty of room. Two bedrooms, bath, kitchen. It all fit just fine. I even put in a stack washer/dryer in the bathroom so we did not have to go to the laundromat.

Tigger, I suggest that the containers NOT be cut in half.....they lose quite a bunch of strength if that is done.

Structurally, once the steel shipping containers are cut in half, they will not be able to resist the stresses and strains caused by Hurricane force winds and gusts.

YOU do know that the containers come in standard modular lengths of 20', 30' and 40', don't you?

FYI and adding my 2 unusable US Cents for good measure and just for the heck of it.......*LOL*

Good Morning Everyone!

I happened across the following article in MSN Real Estate section this morning as I was gulping down my first mug of Joe that you will all find very relevant to the current blog discussion as it relates to using steel shipping containers for emergency housing plus a great other uses!

Enjoy!!!

http://realestate.msn.com/blogs/listedblogpost.aspx?post=1573463&_blg=1,1578982

Have a great sunny day!!!!

PS: BTW, there is another blog in CR4 Forum that I want to make all of your good folk aware of that is currently running parallel to this blog regarding shipping containers for use in Haiti as emergency housing shelters entitled "Shipping Container Housing".....blog has some 160 + entries and makes for some good reading and is very thought provoking...many members have tossed out some fantastic ideas and we've bantered back and forth about what is an appropriate use of emergency effort and ultimately, humanitarian relief funds =money. Some members have made initial contact with the UN Mission and the Haitian Government ( I myself have even emailed President Obama and the 2 siting Senators in Congress representing New York) making them aware of our wonderful worldwide engineer's effort in the forum to come up with fitting emergency responses, mainly about the proposed uses of these containers in Haiti for shelter.

Please visit that blog and read through it, and after you're done please write to the President, Congressional Representatives, and the UN Mission). Tell them what you think and equally important is make them aware of these two CR4 Forum blogs! Thank you for your time, and God Bless.

What the Haitian earthquake has brought to the place isn't a thing that you just need to have payday loans to patch up the damage. Haitian earthquake relief is something that is kind of vital. I'm betting that this is going to be a bit on the cheesy side but I'm looking forward to when they debut the We Are the World 2010 song. It can be for a good cause.