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  • this week we're back in Auckland visiting Brenda Kelly who's managed to

  • transform a 20-foot shipping container into an incredible off-grid tiny home

  • hey hey hey Brenda how's it going okay this is absolutely spectacular thank you

  • beautiful place yeah I suddenly love it container homes are something I've been

  • passionate about since was a little girl actually I didn't realize how young it

  • started to us going through mold journals and back when I was even 13 I

  • was scribbling little diagrams of containers and how to make the most of

  • the space with different furniture and layout options and it's just gone from

  • passion to a hobby and I ventured aside of you know one I just do this so how

  • big is a shipping container shipping containers a 20-foot container so it's

  • roughly six meters long by about two and a half meters wide Wow and the interior

  • bit that I've got here is about four meters long so it comes to just under 10

  • square meters Wow okay that's incredible because I mean

  • when you think of somebody doing a 20-foot shipping container build the

  • last thing that you would expect is that they only use four meters Eric yes what

  • I wanted to do is keep it under 10 square meters cuz that's the council

  • requirement for not requiring building consent right great solution yeah

  • was it tough to build in that amount of space it wasn't actually and there's a

  • lot of planning that goes into it there I fed it absolutely everything I need

  • and I'm really stoked with the results so it's been great

  • okay let's have a look inside okay come on in oh my goodness oh this is

  • beautifully done thank you when I saw how big the space was from the outside I

  • would have never guessed it would be this spacious inside yeah I think using

  • white a lot helps certainly give it that feel and given I've got a mezzanine

  • floor as well it's some given it a bit more the high roof and especially the

  • window view we just come and you just hit with that beautiful view I think

  • really adds to it as well and I think what you've done by actually elevating

  • the living area I love the sleeping area as well as really clever because that's

  • just given it a whole place a real feeling of greater spaciousness yeah

  • kind of look up to it and in front of you it's slightly so it's a bit of oh do

  • I put the living area at the top which is traditionally what you're doing a

  • tiny house but I didn't want to sort of be hit with it

  • floor level of eye level I wanted to be able to come in and see the view and

  • have that feeling of spaciousness so you have put the bedroom down below sure and

  • unfortunately I'm young enough that getting on my knees is not an issue so

  • through it really well I'm really happy I did make that call and how high is it

  • in here in total it's a high Q container so it's roughly 2.9 and given off that

  • installation the ceiling down it's probably about 2.7 at the moment right

  • okay and when it divides up into those two separate compartments over there

  • what are we looking at there the bottom ones roughly one meter and high Tommy I

  • want to make sure I could still sit up in bed and read a book and things like

  • that so just the right amount of headroom and then this is roughly I

  • think one point six five so you won't be able to stand up I can't no but I'm but

  • when you think about it when you need a living room you're not really standing

  • anywhere yes ma'am so it hasn't been a problem at all we just got a home in

  • better not hit the first time and then you know you learn oh I've got a lovely

  • great big sofa space here as well I mean had to be lovely for lounging out all

  • this and it's great actually this some doubles as a beard as well gift so votes

  • also I am BB this comes up and then I've got my library and linen cupboard in the

  • faring there as well it pops up in this storage underneath

  • so everybody furniture and he has got sort of built-in storage of some Sun

  • Description to make the most of the space and the kitchen is gorgeous again

  • you've managed to pack a whole lot into a very small amount of space haven't you

  • yeah absolutely I think but the height still helps you can have sort of thought

  • height covers and you've also got storage up top

  • sure and but yes everything I need the fridge is just a perfect size for me

  • I've got my drawers my pantry my cut three everything's got at space and yeah

  • it's great and the office space here as well yes I went from home two days a

  • week so it was important I had my own sort of dedicated desk and this just

  • fits perfectly into the space and the only non 12-volt appliances I have I've

  • got a little can inverter that I use this 150 watts and you just plug it in

  • all these places pop around the face or all 12 volts so cigarette lighter or USB

  • right so I can add my cellphone run my printer for example or run off

  • this charging my camera batteries in my drawer battery about the only things on

  • e 240 volts for and the those fine so let's check out the the

  • lounge okay yeah see this is a really really lovely space isn't okay and what

  • an incredible view you have out here well lately yeah it's my favorite seat

  • in the house you've got right there just looking out over there Bush I can

  • imagine why and so the 12-volt TV up there as well

  • yes travel TV with built-in DVD player right and it's fun eh you've got a DVD

  • of of a fireplace so you know in winter would I have friends around come on and

  • I've got the fire off so system is quite good yeah but there's an aquarium up

  • there I know there's an Aquarian up there right now

  • yes cats favorite program I'm here so um let's check out the sleeping area okay

  • yeah come on in this base is so cozy yeah it's just the right height I can

  • sit up and be in and read a book and whatnot and not hit my head I can make

  • the bed quite comfortably yeah that's yeah it's perfect height really

  • absolutely and the lighting here as well yes we've got strip lighting along the

  • wall and we've also got little individual lights for reading by as well

  • fantastic and you've got your wardrobe all along the back wall there as well I

  • do yes I've got a couple of shelving units and with a rail in between for

  • hanging storage so okay did it go on it oh wow see this is actually a really

  • lovely space yeah awesome I do like to be able to have a shower and wash my

  • hair without putting my hands all gone for a 900 white shower and studio

  • traditional 7:50 right and it said as a good space is enough room to change and

  • things like that which is great absolutely and I really like what you've

  • done here with the the clear light roofing as well it's bright lights and

  • heats of natural light natural warmth it's great - you feel like you know

  • you're you're in the middle of the brush when you're showering a little

  • Kingfisher that sits on the clothesline and watches me yeah absolutely that real

  • outdoors bringing outdoors and that's um yeah I love it

  • this is a utilities cover as well as additional storage right and so

  • obviously we've got our hot water heating unit at the top it's got all my

  • camping gear and tools and stuff and right down the bottom here

  • a little draws we've got my two six volt batteries right along with my 12 volt

  • pump and accumulator tank under fear my fuses and things they're all tucked away

  • in this cupboard and so the solar control units here as well it is yes so

  • at the moment even though it's slightly overcast I can tell that we're drawing

  • in close to one in right and that one out going out at the moment

  • as well so I've got some lights on so overall I've drawn in 964 empowers and

  • used 8:05 so as you can see my little picture there there's a battery with a

  • smiley face as long as he's happy I'm happy

  • sounds good to me and you put it on concrete blocks I have yes this is a

  • like just a tire that's been filled with concrete that's great yes so given it's

  • just a temporary dwelling and in also the beauty of containers you actually

  • only need to support the four corners because they're designed obviously to to

  • have that structural integrity and support there so concrete blocks is all

  • I really needed and this this containers off grid as well isn't it it is so can

  • you tell me about some of the off-grid features that have been built into it I

  • shall carry yes I've got two 12-volt Metro to six volt batteries connected in

  • series to give me 12 volt everything is wired up twelve volt there aren't many

  • appliances these days that you can't get 12 volts so I've just done it that way

  • it means I can do all the wiring myself as well you don't need an electrician

  • sure I've got two one 35 watt solar panels on the roof right and they

  • basically just charged the batteries and yeah it's give me everything I need and

  • what about what about rainwater collection well if you want to come

  • around the other side I can show you what I do there let's go so at the

  • moment I'm just collecting rainwater from the roof of the shed which is only

  • about two square meters right and goes into the guttering as you can see notice

  • I've got a hedgehog data system and how that works is it basically this like a

  • cylinder inside the down pipe in the rainwater comes around the outside of

  • the down pipe fills up goes through this lovely 2p into the two tanks I have set

  • up right about to 220 liter tanks connected to each other

  • rain goes into the first one is water seeks its own level they both fall at

  • the same rate and once they fill up the water comes back up here comes make up

  • the drain flow and then comes down the inner tube and out through the storm

  • water which I'll connect up I haven't had to do that yet right so you've got

  • four hundred and forty liters of water to work with treat

  • how are you getting on with that it's been fine I mean I've been here three

  • weeks we have had a fair bit of rain but right I mean it's just showering washing

  • that you're really using water for sure damn I haven't come close to running out

  • so fantastic do you have a way of monitoring how much you've got inside

  • the task very very young high tech solution tech solution very effective

  • all right I like to always undo and pour more and

  • if I have to do so and if it hasn't come to that yet it's been fine so I've got

  • kind of an undercover entranceway right and it also has my utilities cupboard

  • which is storing my batteries and my water pump as well as a whole lot of my

  • tramping gear and things like that and but the plan is also that these

  • container doors they still open right the way up right so once the weather

  • gets better I do my landscaping I'll have a nice little patio out here and

  • then those doors can open the indoor outdoor flow and so tell me a little bit

  • about the the build process did you do a lot of the build yourself I did in the

  • India contracted out the sourcing and fitting out off the container and my

  • source the windows and the doors a lot of things he can hand to try and say

  • well costs but I gave it to professionals to install and yielding a

  • welder isn't one of my strong points and that yeah I saw some of the materials

  • myself and then when it came to doing the painting and the installation and

  • assembly and everything in between me and my dad we've there yeah I managed to

  • cut it out and so the big question what was the budget the budget was around 30

  • grand yeah and I've come in I haven't added up

  • the final tally but I think I probably around 30 35 grand I think for what you

  • have accomplished here that's a really really good price yeah yeah I'm

  • definitely happy with it I mean a lot of labor obviously didn't go in today so

  • that costing was it they don't have being another 20 grand

  • vadym now it's been a labor of love and I've loved every minute of legend yeah

  • really happy with the result well thank you so much for showing us around you're

  • here with a full house it's been a real pleasure and I think you've created

  • something here that you can really be proud of thank you really appreciate it

  • thank you Cheers creating a comfortable living space and

  • 10 square metres as an incredibly big design challenge and I think Brenda has

  • done a fantastic job and really making it into a reality it's really obvious

  • how much thought and design has gone into each and every aspect of the house

  • and that means she's managed to create something that's going to be a

  • comfortable home for me he is to come

this week we're back in Auckland visiting Brenda Kelly who's managed to

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