Want to Rent Container Homes across North America?

January 2019 – Containerly recently interviewed us to better understand the various types of people who rent our demonstration unit and the types of challenges we experienced during the Octopod build.

In our case, we do get a few parties from Airbnb however most folks find us in the media and wish to fulfill their aspirations of building their own container homes.

They often start by booking a 1 on 1 consultation, follow with a rental and then they put together a wish list of everything they would like to have in their own custom build. The Containerly folks are testing both the rental market and providing assistance with builds in exchange for access to the rental units. Definitely an out of the box approach! We wish them well in their grand endeavours and look forward to hearing about their adventures in the container world.

The Future of Cottaging – Cottage Life

February 2018 – Cottage Life in partnership with Mitsubishi dropped by the Octopod for a visit as they filmed a piece on how technology and innovation are changing the way we get to and live at the lake. How driverless cars and electric vehicles will one day be the standard, how does this impact our travel to the cottage? An interesting piece that we cameo in at the 3 minute mark…

CPA Magazine: Big growth in container homes

November 2017 – In a special Real Estate edition of the CPA Magazine, Home Free showcases Canadians who have opted for creative alternatives to the typical home and are now reaping a simpler life in the process.

Lisa van de Geyn highlights various alternative homes across the country from tiny homes, yurts and our Octopod shipping container cabin. How interesting that the article focuses on the challenges of building alternative homes. We’re not even talking about the build itself but how municipalities are slow to incorporate these new housing trends in their by-laws and how building codes make permitting extremely difficult to manoeuvre.

A very informative read on the challenges associated with untraditional builds.

CPA Magazine provides business insights to Canada’s Chartered Professional Accountants.

OSEA’s 7th Annual Powering Prosperity Awards

Green Energy Doors Open 2016February 2, 2017 (Toronto, ON) – Sea Container Cabin attended OSEA’s 7th Annual Powering Prosperity Awards held this evening in Toronto, ON. We are incredibly honoured to have been nominated for the Sustainable Project of the Year Award and we are thankful to be the recipient of the Special Recognition Award for most outstanding Green Energy Doors Open 2016 Host.

Thank you to everyone who attended our GEDO’16 event. We are encouraged by everyone’s interest in our project’s extreme electricity conservation while still having available to us many of our modern day luxuries and look forward to helping others design a reduced their carbon footprint in their new builds. Hope to see everyone at GEDO’17!

For more information on the other award winners, please read the full OSEA’s 7th Annual Powering Prosperity Awards press release.

Off-Grid Container Cabin fulfills L.A. man’s childhood dream

Written for Green Energy Doors Open

Andy and Mary Damiano traveled 4,300km to view his childhood dream in person.

Nestled in Kawartha Lakes lies an Off-Grid Sea Container Cabin made of 7 shipping containers. Designed by Jason Rioux, Vice President of NRStor and founder of Sea Container Cabin, the ‘Octopod’ features a unique Hub-and-Spoke design. The ‘Hub’ is a large centre octagon-shaped great room and each radiating container is a ‘Spoke’ that serves a different purpose – from a kitchen, dining, bathroom and bedroom to a workshop.

When we decided to debut our newly built ‘Octopod’ at GEDO’16, we really didn’t know what to expect. Located off the beaten path meant this event had to be a participant’s destination. With some luck, timely media and a GEDO podcast found its way to like-minded people who wanted to learn more about building sustainable homes using re-purposed shipping containers. Suddenly the inquiries poured in and people as far away as L.A. and Montreal began booking our tour.

Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed about building this exact home out of shipping containers. When I was notified of the GEDO’16 open house, I knew my partner Mary and I just had to see it in person. Next thing I know we’re on a plane to Canada and driving down the back roads in search of the Off-Grid Shipping Container Cabin. As I’m nearing retirement, and having learned so much from this project, I look forward to building my very own ‘A-pod’.”

– Andy Damiano, L.A. resident

The main features of the ‘Octopod’ include:

  • 1 KW solar power system for the entire cabin
  • Solar powered water pump and elevated water tower system
  • DC wiring for LED lighting and ultra efficient DC refrigeration, direct from battery banks
  • High efficiency DC air circulation fans
  • Cool roof system

Building a new home? It can cost you less – especially in the long run if you design energy smart systems and incorporate alternative construction materials.

Most of our GEDO’16 event participants were interested in how to design lower carbon footprint homes, how to reduce the construction cost per square foot by using alternative construction materials such as re-purposed shipping containers and how to take control of their growing hydro bills by incorporating a renewable energy system.

We truly hope our open house has influenced the next generation of home builds in an environmentally positive way – even if ever so slightly. Thanks everyone for your contribution to a wildly successful turnout at GEDO’16.

As we gear up for GEDO ’17, we will share some interesting stories of people who attended our event and why they ventured down a little dirt road to find the Off-Grid Shipping Container Cabin. If you’re planning to build a new home and wish to permit your very own shipping container home, contact us. We’re happy to help.

 

 

MoneySense: To Hell with this Housing Market

MoneySense_logo

Romana King, MoneySense Senior Editor talks about how you may wish to consider the path less traveled when it comes down to buying a home in today’s Canadian housing market.

Being creative is a great way to break into today’s housing market without having a Crushing Mortgage or Participating in a Bidding War. You can always Consider Alternative Building Materials – just like us! Here’s what King has to say about the ‘Octopod’.

When you think ‘out of the box’, more affordable options may present themselves.

These are the 5 Solutions King suggests:

  1. Skip the land value costs
  2. Buy a cottage instead
  3. Get dirty and go off-grid (we’re off-grid too!)
  4. Consider Alternative Building Materials
  5. Or just go nomad

If you don’t want to fight the masses to purchase a home, it’s a great idea to think ‘out of the box’ and see where it takes you. Maybe it’ll take you to an Off-Grid Shipping Container Cabin…

CBC Radio’s Ontario Morning host Wei Chen talks about the Octopod

Ever wanted to build something carpenter ants won’t eat? How about an off-grid container house?!? Wei Chen, CBC Radio’s host of Ontario Morning interviews Jason Rioux live on air (7mins – starts at 34:12).

CBC Radio Ontario Morning Wei Chen Jason Rioux Octopod Shipping Container Cabin

 

Green Energy Doors Open Podcast

Steven Hobé, the host of Green Energy Doors Open Podcasts is joined in-studio by Jason Rioux where they discuss Sea Container Cabin and how it became what it is today.

Listen to it here

Green Energy Doors Open 2016 Sea Container Cabin Podcast

Octopod featured in Toronto Star cover story

Photo: Tracy Hanes, Toronto Star

Jason Rioux watches his daughter Renee play in her jumper. Photo: Tracy Hanes, Toronto Star

Earlier this summer, Tracy Hanes of the Toronto Star spent some time at the Octopod to better understand what Jason had in mind when he designed his new cabin. Having lived for many years in the old wooden cabin that had much to be desired, Jason had a good sense of the aspects he wanted to improve. Some constant battles included keeping out mother nature – and burglars! And winter brought running water to a standstill while summer meant it could get hot indoors. Tracy also takes a closer look at the energy-efficient features in the space and here’s what she found interesting…

The ‘Octopod’ is featured on the cover of Toronto Star’s New in Homes section for July 16, 2016.

We’re hosting Green Energy Doors Open ’16

Green Energy Doors Open 2016Green Energy Doors Open is a province-wide event that showcases individual, community, and commercially sustainable energy projects. It is held every September and we’re so excited to be participating in this year’s event!!

The Ontario Sustainable Energy Association organizes the annual Green Energy Doors Open event and aims to showcase advancements in the sector, demonstrating that Ontario is already on the path to building a 100% clean, sustainable energy system. And the best part is the event is free of charge to attend.

Shining the Spotlight on Sustainable Energy in Ontario

Sea Container Cabin is looking forward to hosting a Green Energy Doors Open ’16 event. Come out to learn more about building sustainable homes using re-purposed shipping containers.

Features include:

  • 1 KW solar power system for the entire cabin
  • Solar powered water pump and elevated water tower system
  • DC wiring for LED lighting and ultra efficient DC refrigeration, direct from battery banks
  • High efficiency DC air circulation fans
  • Cool roof system
We will be providing tours and highlighting all the various Green Energy systems that have been installed in our OCTOPOD demonstration unit.

JOIN US!

When: September 10 and 11, 2016 between 9am-2pm
Green Energy Doors Open blogged this event.
Green Energy Doors Open podcast for this event.

We look forward to seeing you!