OPEN HOUSE

We finally got our act together and the day has nearly arrived for us show everyone what we have been building for the last 6 months. The Open House will take place Saturday, November 21st from 4-6 pm. If you are in the area and want to drop by, just let us know. Hope to see you there!

Back in Business

I'm sure everyone has been anxiously awaiting the next post on Cargo Modern...or not, but regardless here it is. So Cargo Modern is taking some interesting new turns and thus the delay in getting the container completed. Wes, the architect, has moved to Utah to take a job with an architecture firm there and Greg, the landscape designer, has taken a job in California. So what does this mean for the container business? It is alive and well and we hope to continue designing and building projects as interest and funds allow. In addition, we also are hopeful that these new markets will equal new opportunities.

As far as the current project goes we are down to painting the exterior. We primed and painted the base color and are ready to move on to the accent colors. It is basically windows, doors and the patio area. We are shooting for an Open House on Friday or Saturday the 20th or 21st of November. Anyone who is interested in attending and checking out the project can contact me via email at gsgorby@hotmail.com or ggorby@3branchstudio.com. Thanks for your interest and we should have a couple more posts before the project is completed.

We're Floored

Though it was a long time coming the floor and paneling are officially in and the floor is ready to be sealed. Though the work has been going on, we did not get the pics posted until now. The outside of the container is almost completely primed and will be ready to paint very soon. We are hoping to have our open house in the coming weeks.



On another note, we were recently contacted by an entrepreneur in India who would like us to do some design work and potentially helping in the construction of container projects in India. We are working out some of the details and will hopefully work out a contract in the coming weeks. We will keep you posted.

Paint-astic!

So if we were to make a list of our favorite things to do on a project such as this, painting wouldn't likely make the top 10. The paint looks great when it is done, but the process getting to that point is a bit taxing. Anyone who has done a fair amount of painting knows exactly what I mean. Anyway, the colors are looking pretty swanky and the feel of the space is changing dramatically. We also connected the puck lights for the niche shelves and need only to mount them. We've placed them on a dimmer switch to enable some flexibility for lighting the studio. They are a nice compliment to the custom fluorescent fixtures in the ceiling. Another coat of paint and some trim work, and then we are ready to install the flooring.

Keep it Rollin'

A couple of posts ago we spoke about the rolling door and what a cool feature it is. Here are some shots of the door in action and some detail shots as well. We finished sealing the plywood sheathing on the walls and ceiling and also sanded and primed the drywall. The custom lights are also finished and look pretty sweet. The finished interior is nearing rapidly. Many thanks again to JBut for spending some "free" time at the container and for the use of his equipment...He is a good guy to know and he is a master caulker to boot. Anyone who has ever caulked can appreciate this.

Cool Shadow Patterns

Cargo with Color

This week we spent some time working on our color scheme for the interior and exterior of the container. Below are the final colors for the project, which are pretty high on the scale of awesomeness. We will be sealing the plywood this weekend and working on finalizing the interior details. We will be using a no VOC paint on the interior to minimize the potentially harmful fumes resulting from off-gassing. We are also planning on using a ceramic additive manufactured by Insuladd on the exterior. This will reduce the heat gain on the steel exterior by as much as 40% and in turn lower the energy costs for cooling and heating the unit. These small decisions add up and help to make our project more sustainable. The finished product is around the corner...






A new rendering with the proposed color scheme. Just
threw this together a short while ago.

Plywood Anyone?

Another late night at the container produced 3/4 of our wooden box. The drywall is in, the wood sheathing is in, now we just need to do some caulking, priming, painting, sealing, and numerous other items and we are...OK, so there is still a bit to accomplish, but we'll get there. The plywood is a nice touch and should help to soften the space. Once we get a color palette picked out we are in good shape. The next post will include some shots of our sliding perforated door.

Sheetrock Rocks!

Last week was a rewarding yet taxing week on the container project. We finally started some of the interior sheathing, namely drywall and finished up our last electrical inspection. We spent many a late night at the container but the results are great. The project is moving at light speed these days. We have many other great pictures and further progress to post, so check back soon.

Wes, beat down after a night of sheetrock-ing out.

Greg fastening the drywall at approx.

1:30 am. The neighbors love us!

The container at night can be a bit sketchy. The other night at 1 am a woman came by and startled us. Wes thought she was a witch, but it turns out she just wanted a jump for her car.

Insulation Day

Today we had the spray insulation installed. Gale Insulation of Tucson installed Demilec foam insulation to the walls and roof cavity of the container. This type of insulation has the equivalent of an R-19 in a 3” cavity, being the perfect choice for our project. The installers taped off the doors and windows and opening and went to it.
After the foam set up, in about a minute, they shaved off the excess with large blades.

The ceiling looks like it’s been frosted like a cake.
Now the inside will be nice and comfortable to live and work in.

CargoModern creating some Buzz!

So, it looks like our project is generating some interest. A nice article was posted on Container Life: Thinking outside the box, Living in it.

We will be looking for other news about the project and what we are doing. We are very glad that interest in these types of projects are being seen and becoming more acceptable.

Container Life: Thinking outside the box, Living in it

Check out the post here.

This week's Progress: HOT!!

This week's progress was one word………HOT! The temps were up and the humidity was high. It was a scorcher.

We made progress with the landscape by the use of a small backhoe. Tom and his father came out and made short work of the electrical trench that needed to be dug from the house to the container. Then, with Greg pointing out the locations, boulders were placed on the site and arranged per the landscape design. There will be a nice gathering area where people can come together around a backyard fire pit and sit on the large boulders acting as seating. Tree holes were dug as well.

We framed out and hung the bike storage window. A little window cleaner and it will be pretty sharp.

We added some sheathing to the interior wall to separate the bike storage room from the studio. The finish in the bike room will be the exposed OSB. Tom got in on the action with the nail gun.

One last note this week, Greg and his wife welcomed a new addition to their family. A new baby boy. Congratulations to you both.

It's Electric!!

This week and last week the rough electrical has been worked on. Greg ran wire and placed the boxes last week and this week we built the light boxes for our ceiling lights and finished the rough electrical work. Tom, the owner, ordered an awesome exterior light that we drilled holes for the mounting location. The light reflects the industrial feel of the container and will look great out by the front porch. We are getting the main circuit box to mount on the container and the trench will be dug this week to connect the container electrical to the main house panel. After inspections and the hook up we will have power!! Then it’s on to insulation.

The project is moving forward nicely. We have been designing the interior look with materials and colors that we think will reflect the overall design intent.

Here is Greg pulling wire to a receptical box.

This is one of three light boxes we framed out.

Wes drilling holes for our exterior light at the door and porch. Again, the style and look of those lights are a favorite of ours.

This is Tom, the owner, giving us instruction on how he is planning on using the space. "The pool table will go right about here" he exclaims.