Sturgeon and Allen’s home has a total of 21 tons of conditioning. Ranging from 9,000- to 22,000-Btu/h capacities, the duct-free units in the interior of the home feature a mirrored finish, quiet operation and energy-efficient inverter technology. Thanks to the ductless application, they allow Sturgeon and Allen to heat and cool individual spaces to their preferred comfort levels with natural airflow and auto operation modes.
Because of the number of units, the team from Webb Air Heating & Cooling, consisting of two lead technicians and a support member, began mapping the home system by system. Webb notes: “The overall project required insulated copper piping with almost all the pipes exposed, so the team worked on tucking them in and running them around corners. With this heat-pump system, you don’t have to worry about flu vents going through the roof, which gives you even more flexibility.”
“We didn’t really want the air conditioning to show or be discernible. The way the indoor units are mounted throughout the house is pretty discreet,” Sturgeon says. “Most people come through the house and don’t even think about air conditioning, they just know that the house is comfortable. I’m convinced we could have never received those results with traditional systems.”
Sturgeon points out working with containers for a major project, like this one, sounds more charming than it is, primarily because everyone is unfamiliar with containers. In addition to hurdles with the city and neighborhood (see “Challenges with Container Construction”, below), engineering costs were dramatic. Fortunately, Sturgeon has a network of subcontractors he uses on his properties or finding subs probably would have been another exorbitant cost. However, he and Allen would do it all again. “We’ve been in our home a little over a year and just about every night I tell Linda I just love our home,” Sturgeon says. “I love when I come home, the way it looks, it’s so different, it’s perfect.”
Challenges with Container Construction
Ron Sturgeon and Linda Allen’s home took about two years to complete and not because of the construction, which from studs to completion was only seven months. According to Garrett Davis, Sturgeon’s trusted construction superintendent and owner of Davis Commercial Services, the city of Fort Worth, Texas, had a lot of concerns with the containers, particularly with the structural aspect. “The answer was the steel superstructure in which the containers are slid into. The steel structure is really what supports the home,” Davis says. “The city also slowed the process by requiring a lot of inspections.”
“A lot of city hurdles are totally uncalled for, but it’s because they don’t understand containers,” Sturgeon adds.
In addition, the neighbors themselves were not thrilled with the idea of a container home. “Linda went to the homeowners’ association meeting and the president said she heard somebody wanted to build a home with containers and she wanted to let everybody know it was never going to happen,” Sturgeon recalls. He adds that putting a sign in their yard, showing the architect’s elevation of the container home, as construction began, eventually eased the neighbors’ concerns. Sturgeon admits there have been no other container homes built in the neighborhood since. “I guess I’m a rebel,” he laughs.
Retrofit Team
ARCHITECT: Schaumburg Architects, (817) 336-7077
BUILDER: Dan Thomas Homes Inc.
CONSTRUCTION SUPERINTENDENT: Davis Commercial Services
HVAC INSTALLER: Webb Air Heating & Cooling
SUPPLIER: AC Supply Co.
Materials
APPLIANCES: Signature Kitchen Suite from LG
VERTICAL AIR HANDLING UNIT, ART COOL MIRROR UNITS, MULTI F MULTI ZONE AND SMART INVERTER SINGLE ZONE: LG
WALL SHEATHING: ZIP System from Huber Engineered Woods
PHOTOS: LG unless otherwise noted