About Taddeo Electrical Contractors, Inc.
Taddeo Electric has served homes and businesses from Spring Hill to Hudson since 2010. We focus on safety, quality, and professionalism with every project.
Location
- 18739 Sakera Rd, Hudson, FL 34667, United States
- West Central Florida
- (352) 556-5276
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Mon – Fri: 8 AM – 4 PM
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West Central Florida
Building a Container Home in Florida: Learn How to Navigate Electrical Challenges and Opportunities
The Taddeo Electric team recently had the privilege of installing electrical wiring for a container home on the Weeki Wachee River in Hernando County. This was our most demanding residential project to date. Our team was excited to rise to the challenge and exercise our creativity and skill in a new way.
Container homes are popular for their versatility and cost-effectiveness, which made them a great choice for this local homeowner.
Container homes are increasingly popular in Florida right now. As the name suggests, they are constructed primarily using shipping containers and therefore are often quicker and cheaper to construct than traditional housing. Because the containers can be grouped together in a myriad of ways, container home designs can be as creative and unique as the homeowner desires.
Building a container home in Florida offers many advantages, especially in today’s housing market.
These advantages include…
- Affordability. Container homes tend to require fewer building materials than traditional homes. The containers form the walls, floors, and ceilings of the home, so there is not as much need for timber and other supplies.
- Versatility. Shipping containers can be stacked in a variety of ways. This offers the homeowner a blank canvas to customize the living space to fit their lifestyle, the landscape, and the climate.
- Quicker construction. Container homes can generally be built more quickly than conventional houses. This is because most of the structure is already in place. Supply issues can slow down any construction project, but with container homes, there are usually fewer supplies to wait on.
- Durability. Shipping containers are built to transport goods all over the world. This means they are designed to withstand harsh weather conditions, extreme temperatures, and high winds. Container homes present a sturdy, weather-resistant option in a state that experiences record-high temperatures and humidity and frequent lightning storms and hurricanes.
This particular container home project showed us that there are some modifications that can be made when building a container home in Florida’s climate.
Floridians are no strangers to the dangers of flood waters. To mitigate the risk of flooding, this home was built on a raised foundation. This will keep the living space safe and dry even during heavy rains or storm surges.
The homeowner also requested a clerestory design to combat Florida’s heat. As he explained it:
“A clerestory functions as almost like a chimney or vortex. It pulls hot air out from the living area. In the early days before AC, this was very prominent in Florida to try and keep the living area cooler.”
Besides honoring a bit of Florida’s architectural history, the clerestory design of this container home serves several purposes:
1. To allow as much natural light into the home as possible
2. To improve ventilation in the home and keep down cooling costs
3. To provide space for a staircase to the roof patio
The clerestory is not the only special modification made to this container home. Installing electrical, HVAC, and plumbing systems requires unconventional methods when working with a shipping container’s structural limitations.
Building a container home in Florida presented some electrical hurdles that required skill and innovation to overcome.
Wiring a container home presents unique difficulties because the walls are made of metal, and all electrical wiring is mounted on the surface.
When every part of the electrical installation can be seen, there is no room for “good enough.”
As our team mapped out the home’s electrical system, we had to keep a few things in mind, such as…
1. Where did we absolutely need to drill holes? It is more complicated to drill through steel than through drywall or wood.
2. How would we configure the pipes for the wires? The end result needed to be safe and effective while still being aesthetically pleasing.
3. How could we make the best use of limited space? While container homes allow for creativity, there is still a fixed amount of space to work with—and no one wants their home taken up by electrical wires.
Creating an electrical installation plan for this container home required even more meticulous care than a traditionally built home. As always, we wanted the end result to be a space that the homeowner felt safe and comfortable spending time in. We incorporated skills we had learned from both residential and commercial electrical wiring practices to complete this project safely and efficiently.
There is one major advantage to having a visible electrical installation in a container home: ease of access.
Any future repairs or modifications should be simpler since anything an electrician needs to access is out in the open.
One unique challenge we faced while wiring this home was installing electrical wiring in the Wet Room.
A Wet Room is different from a standard bathroom in that the shower is not separated from the rest of the room by a wall or a curtain. This means that everything in the room could get extremely wet.
For the Taddeo Electric team, that meant being absolutely sure that all electrical components were safe from water exposure or damage. We used specialized waterproof fixtures to keep the home’s occupants safe and ensure the longevity of the electrical system.
Wiring this Florida container home was an invaluable experience our team hopes to repeat.
Container homes offer a unique solution for those looking for a customizable and economical living space.
For electrical contractors, container homes offer a chance to approach standard installations in a new way. Wiring a container home demands meticulous planning, specialized techniques from both residential and commercial electrical practices, and adaptability to overcome unique structural obstacles.
The Taddeo Electric team was happy to rise to the challenge and fulfill our mission of keeping our client safe and comfortable in his new home.
Our company is grateful for the chance to be part of this forward-thinking project. We look forward to future opportunities to be a part of building container homes in Florida.
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