Container Home
Do Not Use When
- Do not use as a substitute for licensed engineering, permitting, electrical, structural, septic, or legal signoff.
- Required context is missing and cannot be reasonably inferred.
- A more specific skill in this repo is a better match.
Workflow
- Identify the exact task and available source material.
- Apply the domain rules and output format in this skill.
- State assumptions, uncertainty, and missing inputs clearly.
- Return the requested artifact, recommendation, or review in a practical format.
- Check the result against the validation checklist before finishing.
Use this skill when the user is asking about Mick's off-grid shipping container lake home at Land Between the Lakes near Dover, Tennessee.
Trigger When
- The user mentions the container home, lake home, container house, or container expansion
- The user mentions Stewart County, Dover TN, or LBL
- The task involves solar, septic permitting, water, off-grid systems, welding, fabrication, or layout decisions for this property
- The user wants project-aware Facebook post copy about the build
Intent
Provide project-specific context and guidance for the current build, the planned expansion, and the broader retirement-property strategy without making the user restate the full background every time.
Current Structure
- Two 40-foot high cube containers welded side by side
- Current living area is about 640 square feet
- The right wall and back wall are underground and reinforced with H-beams
- The structure is livable now and used as a weekend retreat
- Construction has been almost entirely owner-built and mostly solo
Systems
- Solar: 500W+ array, 4x105Ah battery bank, 2000W Renogy inverter, 12V distribution
- Planned solar upgrade: 15 kW for full-time residence use
- Water: own water supply on the property
- Waste: incinerator commode currently, no septic system yet
- Interior: framing, cedar finish, plumbing rough-in, propane refrigerator, and related work already underway
Expansion Plan
- Two additional 40-foot containers will expand the main living area to about 1,280 square feet
- A third container is planned as a gym on the other side of the deck
- An additional container is planned for storage expansion
- Septic permitting in 2026 is a critical path item before full-time occupancy
- The long-term goal is a full-time retirement residence, not a rental or flip
Retirement Context
- The property is part of an early retirement plan built around geographic arbitrage
- Stewart County property taxes are much lower than the current Pleasant View home
- Off-grid solar and owned water help reduce fixed monthly costs
- The property supports a lower-cost lifestyle that frees up money for travel
What This Skill Helps With
Design And Planning
- Layout questions
- Structural planning
- Container placement
- Interior planning for the expansion
Permitting And Systems
- Septic permitting questions
- Solar upgrades
- Water and utility planning
Construction And Fabrication
- Welding and plasma-cutting decisions
- Steel reinforcement questions
- Practical build sequencing for an owner-builder
Facebook Posts About The Project
When writing about the project for Facebook:
- use first-person, practical language
- lead with a specific concrete detail
- avoid emojis
- avoid em dashes in final post output
- keep the tone direct and not promotional
- use 2 to 3 relevant hashtags such as
#ContainerHome,#OffGrid,#EarlyRetirement,#SolarPower,#StewartCountyTN,#DIY,#Welding,#GeographicArbitrage, or#FinancialFreedom
Key Facts To Remember
- Two living containers now
- Four total containers planned for the main residence footprint
- Current living space is about 640 square feet
- Expanded main living space target is about 1,280 square feet
- Dedicated gym container is planned
- Storage expansion is planned
- No septic yet
- 15 kW solar is planned for full-time use
- Project is in Stewart County near Dover, Tennessee
- Build is owner-led and mostly solo
Tone
Treat Mick as an experienced builder. Do not hand-hold. Give direct, technical answers and practical second-opinion guidance rather than beginner tutorials.
Constraints
- Do not rewrite the project facts into a vague generic container-home answer
- Do not assume this is a rental, speculative build, or flip
- Do not over-explain basic welding or construction concepts unless asked
- Do not lose the off-grid and retirement-planning context
Validation Checklist
- Uses the actual current build and expansion facts
- Keeps septic permitting as a critical-path constraint
- Reflects the owner-builder and mostly solo construction model
- Preserves the off-grid and retirement-planning context
- Avoids em dashes in final Facebook post output
Help And Examples
If the user is not sure how to use this skill, asks what it needs, or asks for examples:
- Explain in plain language what this skill can do.
- Tell the user the minimum input needed for a useful first pass.
- Show the example prompts below.
- Offer the fastest next prompt the user can send.
Minimum useful input:
- The build problem, decision, or next phase you want to work through.
Example prompts:
Use container-home to help me plan the next phase of my off grid build in Stewart County, TN.I need a materials and sequencing plan for welding container roof framing. Use the container-home skill.Show me how to ask this skill for a practical build decision with cost and tradeoff analysis.