A Missouri couple is building a new home, but not everyone in their city is happy with the material they are using for the construction.
Zach Smithey is building a house entirely out of shipping containers.
"When I was a little kid people would call me Zach the Lego maniac, and that's a throwback. But it was because I was even an artist and creator back then. And I loved LEGOS, so these are like adult LEGOS,” he told CNN.
The house is built of eight shipping containers from a yard in North St. Louis. Smithey and his wife built a two-story home: four bedrooms and two and a half baths.
According to buildingjournal.com, building estimates for the size home they want to build could cost more than $200,000 with traditional materials.
St. Louis is working on a new ordinance that would ban any more of these types of homes except in a mobile home park.
“Personally I think vinyl siding and asphalt shingles are ugly, but I don't think we should make an ordinance against them,” Smithey said. “I think it’s infringing on our rights to be creative and individuals and do what we want to do on our own property."
Shipping containers as homes – particularly 160-square foot so-called Cargo Cottages – in Seattle was a trend in 2013, according to KIRO Radio.
KIRO Radio reported the simple design, price and portability makes them perfect for affordable housing.
Cox Media Group
