Grand Designs NZ: Container house build on Waiheke beggars belief

Oct 06, 2023

REVIEW: Container houses attract attention because we love ingenuity and the Kiwi "No 8 fencing wire mentality" that says you can make something out of anything and save pots of money in the process.

Most of us built huts as kids – I remember creating a two-storey "house" with wooden car crate boxes piled on top of each other.

The car crates of the 1960s have long since been replaced by shipping containers, which of course are much bigger and, well, liveable at a pinch. But converting containers into a home is a major undertaking, and it comes at considerable cost.

We have already seen a container house built on Grand Designs NZ. Back in 2016, a Christchurch couple built a sprawling family home in West Melton – they kept adding containers to make it bigger, and it wasn't exactly pretty.

READ MORE: * Grand Designs NZ: Shipping container house proves ambitious * Shipping containers can make great swimming pools * Tiny container house becomes first to achieve 8 Homestar rating

But this week, we get to see Aucklander Tony Hodge, who hails from England, build a much smaller container house on Waiheke Island. Hodge already runs a business cladding new builds, so he's working in the industry, which has to be a plus.

He has a very steep bush section at Rocky Bay, with potential sea views – his daughter Chelsea and her partner have also bought one, next door. Hodge says he's building a container house because he wants to do "something different". Saving money does not appear to be a reason, which is just as well.

Presenter Tom Webster says of course there's a risk, and he uses a visual analogy of ordering up something different on a restaurant menu – he is served up a swollen purple-suckered poached cuttlefish on a plate. Nice.

But back to Hodge's project. It's a complex build – for starters, there's a huge, expensive retaining wall. And it's an elevated, cliffhanging house, with the containers on the upper level offset at angles. The covered area between forms part of the house. Altogether, there are five 20ft containers and two 10ft ones.

The idea is smart – with a mix of cedar cladding and exposed steel (which will also feature inside), it will retain a semi-industrial look.

"Most people thought I was crazy trying to build a house out of containers," Hodge admits. "With the steepness of the section, you can imagine the challenge will be getting the things down here."

Hodge has "no idea" what the build will cost. "We’ve bandied around ballpark figures and I don't think any of them will be right." So that's risky. Webster takes a punt and thinks they might do it for $650,000. Hodge says maybe, maybe not.

The container home project is a first for architect Chris McCarthny and the builder as well, so there's a steep learning curve ahead. McCarthny says there's no manual about how to do this. "It's not a shortcut for anything."

A crane comes out to the island, as do the trucks with the first three containers, and it's a very difficult operation swinging them into place on the deep wooden piles. "I never thought it would be this hard," says Hodge. "It's costing a fortune for this today."

But then he climbs up on top of the first container, and he's thrilled with the view. The neighbours are intrigued. "You don't know what the end story is going to be like," one says.

The containers are sliced into and opened up, which plays havoc with their structural rigidity, but that's what you pay architects and engineers for – isn't it? Webster asks, since the containers are changed so much, why would you bother using them in the first place?

He takes us through the renowned Ōwhiro Bay container house built by Ross Stevens several years ago. This is a very cool house and very much all about stackable containers, with narrow rooms. As Webster says, "the compromises are dealt with very skilfully". And he is right in saying that "authenticity" may be missing in Hodge's build.

The build progresses, and the builders continue to have huge problems with "flexing" and the loss of structural integrity (doors can't be opened). Why is this a surprise? This is a well-documented problem when you cut pieces out of containers (Google it).

Todd Flashman, the managing director of building company Tomik Architectural Builders, has an explanation: "We’re learning, and now understanding, that every aspect of each container is different, so that can't be designed with architecture; it can't be forethought with structural engineering; it just has to be adapted to with construction and carpentry on site."

Then he says: "She's a bit of a learning curve. Next time, we’ll be fine." Which rather contradicts his explanation. Other people have "learned", and do this for a living. Can't the design professionals learn from them? Engineers are constantly working on novel projects that push the boundaries – it's what they do.

An engineer arrives on site and requests structural changes before the top concrete slab is poured. Hodge has to pay for all the extra work and materials, and the site is effectively closed down till it's done – he is less than impressed. Which is hardly surprising. It seems unbelievable this is happening.

"It's an overspend I didn't anticipate and didn't want," Hodge says. Fair enough.

And it's fiddly, slow work, ensuring steel containers are insulated. By now, Hodge could have been expected to have second thoughts about the whole thing, but he doesn't.

Then of course, Auckland's extended lockdown causes everything to come to a halt for months.

Eventually, the house is finished. It looks fine from above – and different, as Hodge wanted. It does not look like a container house, because the containers have been altered so much. The black steel and cedar exterior and dark roof blend in well with the bush, and the setting is magnificent.

Inside you can see more of the containers. For structural reasons, there are unexpected bits of containers left in place, like in a corner of a ceiling. And there's an odd black steel "goalpost" cutting right across the middle of the living room to stop the walls collapsing inwards. But Hodge likes the quirkiness, and you can still "read" the containers, if you look carefully.

There's a strong geometric feel to the interior, which spreads open to embrace the view. And the house is flooded with natural light. It is only 110m² but looks bigger, thanks to the deck and "green roof" on the lower level.

The black and white aesthetic works with the industrial materials, and the exposed "container" ceiling in the kitchen helps. There's a light green wall in the stairwell, again emphasising the bits that are actual containers. It's the perfect colour.

Hodge has every reason to feel pleased with the result. You could say it was a vanity project, but he got his house, and he wakes up to that view.

"It's more than just a house to me. It's more like an art form."

And the all-up cost? About $800,000, which is not cheap for a small container house, but then he didn't really expect otherwise.