Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

Fred it must be time for your medication

I think that the governor of the BoE has been excellent. He has been very careful about the words he has used and not kept changing his mind. His comment are only to be taken as guidance. Most of his comments have been on the line of interest rates are unlikely or likely to rise. Unlike previous governors, he has no over reacted either too soon or too late. Just a steady hand.

will10

I know Sask pretty well from Regina to Prince Albert and North Battlefield.

Sorry all . Back at you. No I'm not Fred. I happen to be in the office today so can comment. Actually most of our housing projects are in the inner city. Last job. Residential Victorian church conversion to new flats. Church empty for 6 years now housing 18 families. Previous scheme railway side redevelopment with specialised foundations. Massive housing shortage, opportunities all over the place. Previously ice structures design engineer in the frozen north. No opportunities for such in south England so doing what is needed. Canadians are thick skinned. No one locally to take BoE job so call in a Canadian.

will - a serious question ....... dry-freight containers are regularly used for temporary office and on-site accommodation ..... there is even a uk company that has tried to use this concept for pop-up hotels for events like the olympics

why has this concept not be expanded to provide pretty robust and cheap housing, just as pre-fabs were just after the last war?

Cynic. Containers hopeless to convert to housing. Massive condensation problems, very expensive to insulate. Can't beat blockwork and bricks. Fast and efficient.

so how do they work so well for temporary office accommodation?
insulation can't be that expensive, for otherwise it would be uneconomic to ship bananas and other similar produce

Hilary always good to hear your views. You do have a bad attitude to your fellow human beings. You ought to have that checked out. More like you and the world will be a delight to live in.

Cynic. With moisture from kitchens /bathrooms etc moisture will condense on any cold steel surface. Insulated food containers are expensive. Block work/brick breathes and can absorb and expel the peaks and troughs of the daily moisture profile. Where they have tried stacked container housing damp and mild growth couldn't be controlled steel started rusting.
Container housing will not work in UK not easy to raise a mortgage. Other methods much better and massively cheaper. Temporary office works mainly because containers easy to move around.

insulated food containers - aka reefers - are not that expensive to build

must also have a chat with a company i know that makes such accommodation, including for m/e where conditions are probably tougher than for uk

Jimb how do you get mass immigration out of the EU/UK should step up and get off there lardy arse . I said the UK could take in 100k refugees no problem. Who said anything about mass immigration. Come on. You know we should do the right thing. We who have everything can give a little to people in a hopeless situation. Step up man where is your good will man.

Cynic. An insulated container after you have fitted windows, plasterboarded the walls etc will be about twice the price of a rendered insulated masonry structure the same size. You will not get a mortgage and the container looks like shite

just as a quick guide, taken off the net ......

Insulated or Thermal Containers
These containers are not refrigerated, instead they have insulated walls suitable for the transport of chilled or frozen goods and other temperature-sensitive products.

Shipping companies offer modifications and conversions of standard containers. Some insulated containers have, in fact, been converted from ordinary containers by modifying their interior walls.

Used insulated container price: £1,100.00

will - 2/3 months back, there was a fascinating prog about a guy who built the most fantastic home from standard 40' boxes, and at a fraction of the cost of a standard house of similar size

I like the way they build houses in Canada. They use wooden frames and panels, with a sort of tarred paper as a liner. I asked someone at a sort of county show who had a stand advertising housebuilding what happened to these tarred paper houses in a fire. He replied, "Oh, they burn real good".

try typing in "dream home built from 40' containers" and you'll (clearly) be amazed

Cynic. Block work cavity wall with door/windows openings will cost about £900 for a container sized structure. You still have to cut out windows/doors and your container is second hand . Your depreciation has to be factored in. Traditional structure will appreciate every year. In 10 years you will have a rusty hulk. I'll have a des res.

Cynic. That the house in Northern Ireland? He had to insert structural steel frame to stop the containers buckling when the openings were cut out. If the same house it could have been built much cheaper as wooden frame. Rest assured if container housing worked we would have them all over. There is a good reason masonry still rules on the UK.

will - i wouldn't want to try to teach you your profession, but even so, it sounds that you speak very much from prejudice and perhaps a shut mind rather than from true knowledge

hmm!
there is a dire shortage of cheap housing, and i would certainly question your costings
even assuming you can find the skilled tradesmen to do the work
surely container housing would be far quicker to construct etc etc .... and they would last an awful lot longer than 10 years

do you also pooh-pooh straw houses? ....... and yes i do know they require a larger footprint