Container Home

---
name: container-home
description: Answer questions, assist with planning, and help with design decisions for Mick's off-grid shipping container lake home project. Trigger when the user mentions the container home, lake home, Stewart County, LBL, the expansion, solar system, septic permitting, or retirement property.
version: 1.0.0
---

# 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

1. Identify the exact task and available source material.
2. Apply the domain rules and output format in this skill.
3. State assumptions, uncertainty, and missing inputs clearly.
4. Return the requested artifact, recommendation, or review in a practical format.
5. 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.`