Recycled Shipping Crate Home "Y"

I recently had a bunch of 8' by 5' by 6.5' shipping crates fall into my lap. so I decided to make an abode out of them. First I put them up on old soda crates and leveled them out. Actually very easy to do with a nice long lever.


I then bolted two of them together and cut a half-door in the front door. Who wouldn't want a half door? I pulled a third crate apart for parts at this point. You can see my nice patio was actually the floor of this third crate.


I cut one panel out between them to gain access to the second crate. You can see the small doorway in the right side of the main doorway. I laid tile on the floor temporarily and lined a few of the walls with 1/2" foam insulation. For central Texas, I have been surprised. It has been comfortable at night with a fan on low, holding at about 73 degrees. Keeping the door tightly closed in the daytime makes a large difference. It stayed below 85 like this, while shooting up to 95 with the door open all day. I sleep in the right crate and use the left as my living room. They are very small (two crates is 160 square feet), but I love it that way. Cozy, efficient and a tiny footprint!

First good set of rainstorms had water coming in the doorways, so I used the parts from the scrap crate to build a quick roof, only two hours! My next step is to cover the roof, but I have not been inspired as of yet to do this step! Sorry the picture is so dark, but I finished after sunset.

Soon the power for the crates will be off the grid as well once I get the solar panels installed. I will post more as it happens!