As with any project, especially one that is done almost entirely by one person, there will be mistakes. Fortunately nothing has been catastrophic. But there have definitely been some inconveniences and time sucks for redo work.
One of the biggest mistakes I made was painting the currently uninsulated ceiling during the wrong weather conditions. I sprayed it all during the course of a day but it started getting colder as nightfall approached. I was heating the inside, so I didn’t think much of it. Once I was finished, I recognized that it was taking longer to dry than normal, but since some areas were turning out, I brushed it off. When I came back the following weekend, I realized what had happened. The paint going on some areas creates condensation. Not only did it not dry quickly, it actually dripped – a lot.
It was pretty disappointing to have spent so much time carefully painting the ceiling and walls only to discover that large portions dripped over some furniture and the floor. MOST, but not all, of it cleaned up. It just took a long time, extra effort, and required repainting. Fortunately round two was quicker.
This debacle proves one thing about shipping container construction: if you don’t do it correctly, including insulating it properly, you will get condensation on walls or ceilings. If this occurs behind the insulation, then you are setting yourself up for mold and corrosion problems…happening from the inside. This is easily solved with either polystyrene specifically made for this purpose or closed cell spray foam. My ceiling will eventually be insulated in those problem areas, but it will be from the outside when I work on the roof deck.
Another mistake I made was easily fixable, I just had to track it down. I kept noticing a not so pleasant smell when I would return each weekend. I didn’t think much of it, aired out the place a few times, and bought some scented candles. When none of that solved it, I had to do a deeper dive to find the root of the problem. Come to find out, I had done a plumbing P trap incorrectly. It was in the laundry closet that hadn’t gotten much attention with the focus on the first floor completion. But once I discovered it, the fix was pretty simple. Obviously I’m not a pro plumber so I don’t have all of the testing tools. I thought my work was adequate but I did miss that. It wasn’t a safety issue, just another inconvenience. Double checking work is always a good idea.
Something else that could have been more serious was an electrical wiring problem. Again, not being a pro electrician, these things take me much longer to complete. I don’t often make mistakes, but just with the shear volume of electrical work to be done, there was bound to be one or two issues. The first was when I tested the cooktop. I used metal boxes and armored cable for the whole house, so it’s more like a commercial job. But all of the wiring and breakers are sized correctly for the originally specified items. The cooktop had a large enough breaker and large enough wire, but the larger gauge makes use of different wire nuts that can be a little tougher to manage in a box. A wire did come loose in the box and arced when I turned on the breaker. That’s the reason for having breakers and it was another easy fix, but it was an avoidable mistake. No harm though.
The other wiring issue was a wire size issue. Even though I said I sized everything correctly, I originally wired the HVAC unit in the living area with the correct gauge and breaker for just that. But when I later decided to add a baseboard heater, I recalculated the breaker size but didn’t consider the wire gauge. Everything worked fine for a few weeks and I don’t leave it running while I’m not there. But I did discover that the wire was overheating. I replaced the outlet, ran an additional line just for the heater, and problem solved. I don’t plan on adding anything more to any of the existing circuits and I have availability in the panel for more circuits, so no more worries on electrical. There are no inspections here during construction in this municipality, so plumbing and electrical are two things I would strongly recommend getting inspected if you are purchasing a home in an area like this. I have “smart” breakers where I can kill power to all appliances and the water heater in an automated fashion, which makes it much safer while I’m away. But most homes don’t have features like that.
McGowen Container House (and more) 