By JESSE GRAHAM
TWO MEN have taken up a challenge to build a house together in Healesville, with one distinct quirk – the house will be built from shipping containers.
Engineer Craig Artemiou and MFB fire-fighter James Harris began constructing the home on Chum Creek Road, in July, using eight shipping containers for the main structure.
Craig said the pair had gone to university together and that their goal was to build a large family home that would be fire resistant and more cost-effective than traditional building.
“A big factor is the cost of housing,” he said.
“We’re both qualified engineers, and with that knowledge, we’ve been able to use our network of suppliers to get started,” he said.
The total budget for the house is between $250,000 and $300,000, and Craig said the pair was aiming to complete the five-bedroom house at the lower end of that spectrum.
Craig said he and James had never built a house before and that the construction would be something challenging for them.
He said the shipping containers were being used for the exterior of the house and that the group working on the house, which includes a carpenter, is at the stage of cutting out the initial frame to build internal rooms.
A carpenter has been employed to put timber framing in.
Once the house is plastered, insulated and finished off, Craig said the house wouldn’t look as if shipping containers were used at all.
“It won’t have that appearance – it will look more like a standard construction home,” he said.
He said the house had to conform to a Bushfire Attack Level of 29, which was a stringent level of requirement for the construction and meant steel and non-combustible timbers had to be used. Craig said he’s hoping that the house will be finished just before Christmas next year.
A website has been set up with regular updates on the construction of the house.
For more information, visit www.odpod.com.au
