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.

Post WW11 type prefabs using modern materials.

Can be factory fabricated, good insulation/ventilation build in, electrics and plumbing can be pre- installed too...all ready to be bolted together onto a prepared pad.



Now for the awkward bit: where do you put them?

Wales

just a small correction - containers are welded not bolted together and (of course) are fitted out to be easily lifted with a forklift

i don't thing the space is so much of a problem insofar as there are (surely) plenty of suitable brownfield sites, and even if only relatively temporary, the building companies and others have large land banks, much with at least outline planning permission

Well you couldn't put them in Liverpool Chris they'd all be stolen before anyone moved in.

But they would blend in nicely with all the cars with no wheels :-)

:0)

C
By affordable housing, I assume you mean social housing as defined by the government. High rise flats should be an answer but are not except for those that are prepared to pay the cost of the continuing maintenance through condominium charges etc. The lesson from the 60's is that a minority of very unsociable families can make life hell for the rest, with grafitti, lifts damaged and common areas generally vandalised.
Steel boxes less than 8' wide are not the answer either. Hotel corridors are wider but are not used for accomodation. Normally anyhow.
I believe that social housing should be no more than 3 stories high, attractive to live in and well built so as to minimise running costs. Building costs can be reduced by reducing the construction time. A very large proportion of the cost is in labour, land purchase costs aside. So pre-construction in a workshop makes a lot of sense in order to reduce the cost of plumbers, electricians, carpenters etc. Dry walls reduce the need for plasterers.
In the USA, concrete forming techniques are now used in which walls, floor slabs and columns are poured as one unit. Prefabricated aluminium forms are used that can be assembled much faster than the traditional timber forms. Load bearing columns are roughly 30' apart, with interior non load bearing walls built later. The idea is to get the skeleton support structure up quickly, put the roof on, then finish off without worrying about weather delays or damage. As is the requirement today, insulation is a key part of the design to reduce energy costs. The apartment sizes can be varied to suit the demand.
Obviously people want to live close to jobs, schools and amenities so the land available, MOD land for example, is of no use if people don't want to live there. Retirement communities are one possible way to free up housing stock in towns.

a standard container is 20 x 8' x 8'6" but of course can easily be cut through and joined in modules, so that particular argument of yours is a nonsense

Have it your way. Let me know when you buy one and don't forget to buy a welding set to hang your pictures. :) May be useful for heating the place in winter also. Some have been used in Brighton I believe but the council provides free power over the winter months due to the exorbitant heating costs. No doubt they can be used in emergency, better than a tent, but for permanent homes? No thanks.

amazingly efficient is modern insulation both to keep heat in or out
how else would they be able to use them in m/e in the oifields?

I was at Container City at Trinity Buoy Wharf this morning for breakfast at a very good cafe made out of a container. There are several five story office and housing blocks there. Heating is no problem. They are well insulated. There is a massive unit made of containers which houses the first year of the Royal Drawing School.

quite brave stacking 5 high though they're certified to 6
in rotterdam i don't think they stack higher than 3 due to the potential for high winds
in saudi that is certainly the case

Just in (from Ireland)....

Rent:: £1470 per month (includes service charge and excludes VAT) per unit?


http://www.trinitybuoywharf.com/work-space/view/studio-28-clipper-house


For arty farty types only, with deep pockets (or council funding)


Toilets....nearby, so that's ok.

An interesting article:

The ‘just about managing’ won’t forgive May if she botches Brexit
Andrew Rawnsley

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/02/theresa-may-brexit-conservatives-economy

tits

Here you go Fred, something to cheer you up :-)




Brexit: Article 50 will be triggered by end of March 2017, Theresa May says
Joe Watts, Jon Stone |


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/article-50-theresa-may-march-2017-brexit-a7341236.html

Theresa May has ended weeks of speculation and revealed that she will launch formal Brexit talks with EU leaders before the end of March 2017.

The Prime Minister said she will trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, sparking the start of a two-year countdown within which time a withdrawal deal with the EU must be agreed.

Speaking to the BBC she said: “As you know, I’ve been saying that we wouldn’t trigger before the end of this year so that we can get some preparation in place.

“But yes, I will be saying in my speech today that we will trigger before the end of March next year.”

She went on: “It’s for the European Union – the remaining members of the EU – to decide what the process of the negotiation is.

“I hope, that I’ll be saying to them, now they know what the timings will be, that we’ll be able to have some preparatory work so that once the trigger comes we have a smoother process of negotiation.”

Brexit Secretary David Davis will also announce the Repeal Bill today, ending the EU's authority and bringing existing EU law into the UK's body of legislation.

Massive hurricane in the Caribbean.....going to hit hard...(Matthew)(too nice a name for such a monster...)....I'm not sure they have got the path right.....could be an unpredictable one....