Coming Home

My dad is 83 years old. Until a few weeks ago he still walked a couple of miles every day where he lived down in Orange County. He'd visit the senior center where he told me old men go to lie to each other. Then he'd head down to sample the free cheeses at Whole Foods. He values his independence. A few weeks ago he had a moderate stroke. He wasn't badly effected physically but he has a little aphasia and he needs somebody to keep an eye on him. My wife and I live in a small but very beautiful home in Portland. When we brought him home from the hospital we fixed our living room up for him to sleep in. It's bright and airy and right next to the bathroom. A few days into this he got up early and decided to take a shower before we woke up. It was bad, he tore the paper thin skin on his arm and bumped his head. As I write this I'm sitting next to him in the hospital. He's doing ok but we're sending him to a stoke therapy rehab for a few weeks to regain his balance and get him walking properly again. Plainly the living room isn't going to work when he comes home. As frail has he is now he hasn't lost his independence but I can't let this happen again. I came up with a plan.

I don't have time to build my own container based solution but I came up with a good alternative. Mobile Mini rents ground based security offices. They are built out of Mobile Mini's custom modular container design. It's a lighter weight version of standard shipping container design but includes HVAC, windows and a man door. The interiors are built out with linoleum floors and a drywall finish over an r19 insulated frame. We're going to carpet it, furnish it and add drapes. I'll adapt a composting or chemical toilet behind a partition wall and we will have a spare bedroom! It will fit in my driveway next to the house and I can connect it to the 220v in my garage. The man door will face the side door of our house. It's three steps up into the house but it's also the only stairway I can put enough grab bars in to make it really safe for him when he wants to come in. And best of all I can monitor him with both an intercom and a door bell. I lived very comfortably in the 20 footer I built in New Orleans and now its going to be working for my dad.

The most amazing thing about this is that Mobile Mini only charges about $275 a month for the 8x20 unit that I just described, and they are legal habitable spaces that do not require permits. Each unit has a little aluminum plate rivited to it on which is engraved a permit number issued by the state architects office, each state issues its own. That plate acts as a warranty that all building codes have been followed in its construction and serves as its own building permit. I've known about this for a couple of years. I had plans to start a business doing residential container conversions on this model. I know exactly what it costs to build these and in the short run its just cheaper to rent one, it's getting dropped off on the first of the month.

I'll add photos as we bring it online.

Edit:

My dad continues to improve because he's in a stroke rehab unit thats giving him intensive physical and speech therapy. He seems to enjoy this environment, being around people and having a dining room to go to. We're thinking that the best long term plan is to get him into a local assisted living facility. That way when he wants to spend a few days with us he can but then he can go home too. As a result I canceled my Mobile Mini order. But it's still available as an extra bedroom housing solution should we need it. I'm sure if your reading my blog the idea of a simple addition is high on your list. Now you have a way to try the whole container thing without having to invest heavily in the process, just rent.