Woman spends only $4000 to build her house from scratch, here's how she did it

Before shipping container houses became all the rage, the woman used one to give her family shelter and cut costs. Her story was covered in 2010 and has been seen by over 13 million people.

This woman built her house from scratch and spent only $4000, here's how she did it
© Monica Silvestre/UNSPLASH
This woman built her house from scratch and spent only $4000, here's how she did it

The latest architectural trend of taking old shipping containers and turning them into dream houses has taken the world by storm. However, this is not a new and emerging technique.

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Lulu, an Argentinian woman, who lives in the United States, decided to take an old and free shipping container, to make it a quaint little home for herself and her daughter.

Her ingenuity caught the eyes of Kirsten Dirsken from faircompanies.com. Dirksen was given a tour of Lulu's home and the video was put up on YouTube for millions to see - and boy did the views rack up.

Over 10 years later, over 13 million people have viewed Lulu's home. Let's dive into her story!

Making a home out of a shipping container

A simple container?No, a home!

Lulu spent a month working on designing and creating her new home.And the result is incredible. With no prior experience in building, Lulu did her own insulation, installed the windows and put in the kitchen. All of this for just $4,000. A living room, kitchen, two bedrooms, a bathroom… it has it all! And what’s more, the view is spectacular!

Lulu spoke to Fair Companiesin an interview, admitting that at first she was a little worried about the move:

I think I’m a little claustrophobic, so the storage container was a little daunting, but I got the container for free.

Lulu's decision to leave her 'conventional home'

Dirksen revealed that the reason why Lulu decided to build herself a shipping container home had a lot to do with her situation as a single mother.

Lulu had just gone back to school and paying rent was not something she wanted to concern herself with. Dirsken wrote on her YouTube channel:

Lulu is a single mom who'd gone back to school and didn't have the time or interest in working full-time to pay for rent. So when she had to move out of her more conventional home, she decided to move herself and her daughter into a shipping container.

While we do not know Lulu's current situation, or if she still lives in the same container home, people have been commenting on the video since it was first published, admiring Lulu's creativity and strength.

One user commented saying:

Its been many many years, she keeps on inspiring me. Wherever you are Lulu, I wish you and you beautiful child the very best!

Another said:

This is great thank you Lulu for sharing your home with us and inspiring me to make something simple straightforward and make the most of this time ,,,so impressed that you sorted this out yourself ...I think I would be thinking about this for years before actually doing anything !

Many users are also wondering what happened with Lulu and we hope that we can hear from her soon!

Check our her full house tour in the video below.

Read more:

Teenage boy raises money to build tiny house in parent’s backyard

This iconic ultra-thin house less than a metre wide sold for $260k

Sources used:

YouTube

Fair Companies

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