Will Chicago Zoning Allow For Shipping Container Homes? (Charleston, Clinton: lawyers, modular homes)

[doodlemagic]

I'd like to buy a vacant lot in Pilsen and put in a shipping container home. I read some stuff saying Chicago zoning won't allow it but found an article about the first shipping container home comming to Chicago so wonder if they do allow it.

It doesn't appear that Chicago specifically bans them but I guess probably hard to get them to meet code since there's not really any universal standards.

Curious if anyone knows about shipping container homes in Chicago.

Chicago's First Prefab Modular House - Bob Vila

[chet everett]

doodle, you are kidding yourself.

Lets do a little math:
"he original prototype first had to be scaled down to fit the lot size. Then Sommers and the Caisleys tweaked the 2,039 square-foot interior.cSommers is now able to offer customizable green homes priced at $150 – $250 per square foot."

2039 * 150
= 305850

250 * 2039
= 509750

http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/163.../home/39598451 $105,000

Basically cheaper to get a "regular" developer built place -- http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/172.../home/28519016

Even if the $303850 +$105000 were to include all the costs of transportation &setup (you did read that this was NOT a "shipping container house" but was a "prefab" built offsite and then hoisted into place after having things like expensive STREET CLOSURES and MASSIVE CRANES rented (which I sorta doubt) the bottom line is you STILL need to "site prep" done and utility connections and all the other stuff that will require MASSSIVE amounts of HASSLE when the permits & inspection are so far outside the norm.

I mean I can sorta see somebody living out in some "wide open spaces" type frontier off the grid living in a shipping container but there are sound reasons that Chicago does NOT want to see these things. Think about it -- even if you super insulated the thing to isolate yourself from the cold and made the thing secure against all the other climate factors this is going to HURT all the tradespeople that are big part of the regional economy and help some yahoos in rural Indiana that typically build "mobile homes".

In the biggest picture I gotta tell you that years ago my family had a situation where we inherited some land way up in the WI northwoods and we did decide to have a "vacation home" put on the site from a "manufactured housing" firm and we did OK selling it, but the alternative up there was to have guys basically "camp out" with bears for a whole summer or get the thing built "in town" and then hauled up in the space of a month. Totally different situation than trying to mess with what is ESSENTIALLY ALREADY a "factory model" of various tradespeople building a house in a developed area...

[richb]

Building conventional houses in the city is a big enough hassle. If you want to try something outside the norm, the city of Chicago isn't the place for it. Just too much red tape and bureaucracy. Low cost new construction is basically banned for the most part by city code.

[Vlajos]

Why do you want to live in a container?

[Ace Rothstein]

I hope not.

[Dport7674]

With all the rules and regulations that need to be met, there won't be any cost savings for the people buying them. But I can see those squared off, modern looking prefab homes catching on over the next 10-15 yrs.

[Not_liking_FL]

Chicago's climate is way too harsh for this type of building system. You would lose a lot of precious interior space adding insulation.

[doodlemagic]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Why do you want to live in a container?

I love the design of shipping container homes. Granted you could build boxy houses without using shippingcontainers but they are meant to hold lots of weight and be stacked, can't find a more structurally sound building material or shape than shipping containers. Also, I kinda like the minimalist micro housing movement going on right now. If shipping container isn't in the cards for me considering living on a boat down in Charleston SC or possibly even living out a van and traveling for a while

If Chicago wasn't such a pain in the ass to deal with it would actually be a very affordable way to build a home, $1500 or so per container so wind up with about 1200sq feet for about 4K and then obviously gotta hookup electric, plumbing, etc. Chicago may not allow it but ideally if you built one of these in ohter areas you could do solar and composting toilets and be off the grid so to speak.

I actually have a buddy who used to build prefab houses though he would do a bit of customizing and do bay windows and stuff. He knows how to do pretty much everything building from scratch and I thought he'd make a great guy for this project, also he normally works for me for pretty cheap.

I think you guys are right even though this could potentially be a very cheap way to build a home after bribing alderman and code inspectors and hiring lawyers and of course architects and engineers to prove it's structurally sound even though you really couldn't find a more structurally sound material it would be costly. I'd really prefer not to be out in the sticks but in Illinois I imaigne maybe thats the only way to do this.

In some cities that aren't such a mess they actually encourage shipping container homes as a green and cheap alternative to typical consturction, cities like Portland, Seattle, Vancouver etc love this type of stuff and probably can actually get some subsidies but in Chicago I think you guys are righ probably not doable unless you wanna spend more than it would cost to just build a house.

[doodlemagic]

Originally Posted by Not_liking_FL

Chicago's climate is way too harsh for this type of building system. You would lose a lot of precious interior space adding insulation.

Your right that when you add insulation to walls, floor and roof as well as flooring you are losing a few inches her and there which when your working iwth a small space to begin with is rough but I believe the shipping containers are ribbed anyway so that space is pretty much lost with or without insulation.

Also, your not restricted to just a container, many people use containers as a base and also frame out from the container. Also you could cut a hole in the top and put a loft. Your not really restricted to strictly living wtihin the container. Because of how they can be positioned and shaped I'd probably do something where I had a courtyard type deal between containers and during the few decent months we have here would really utilize the outdoor space for living as well

[steeps]

If Tokyo ain't doing it.... why should a VIBRANT... WITH GREAT HOUSING ... City like Chicago have container neighborhoods? May as well do trailer courts?

When developers can start buying up areas in bad neighborhoods, where maybe over half the housing is gone?? Start some new development of decently affordable housing? Modular homes could work? I felt many moons ago .... When President Reagan wanted to do tax free investment zones in depressed areas... I thought is could have kicked stared things way back then? Though gentrification is still revitalizing .... it raises pricing... But still cities need it.