An $800 Portable House

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Case pottery studio (on the left) and the bargain dwelling's smaller living quarters (on the right).
Case pottery studio (on the left) and the bargain dwelling's smaller living quarters (on the right).
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Rock ballast (next to Bill's homemade stove) helps to
Rock ballast (next to Bill's homemade stove) helps to "anchor" the structure.
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Water-filled barrels set behind a large studio window provide thermal mass.
Water-filled barrels set behind a large studio window provide thermal mass.
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Cuts in the styrofoam wall serve as shelves for knickknacks.
Cuts in the styrofoam wall serve as shelves for knickknacks.
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An imaginative, free-form outhouse.
An imaginative, free-form outhouse.
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Diagram reveals layered composition of walls.
Diagram reveals layered composition of walls.
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 Removable bolts, such as this one, join the 8' x 8' prefabricated walls. Because they can be easily removed, the fasteners make the house portable.    
 Removable bolts, such as this one, join the 8' x 8' prefabricated walls. Because they can be easily removed, the fasteners make the house portable.    

When Bill Case told me that his combination house and pottery studio had cost him only $800 to construct, I was impressed. Then, when he pointed out it was a portable house as well, I was simply amazed!

“Well, I was broke at the time I built it,” Bill explained. “I came to New Mexico in 1974 with nothing but my truck and the clothes I was wearing. The only asset I had was a friend’s promise to let me use a piece of land he owned.”

For an innovator like Bill, that offer seems to have been enough. He went to his pal’s place at Canada de Los Alamos … leveled some of the land with a hand shovel … and–relying on his own ingenuity and an assortment of recycled materials–managed to pull a shelter up over himself.

“In order to earn a little pocket money, I arranged to haul trash from two motorcycle shops in Santa Fe,” Case explained. “But instead of dumping the discards at the local landfill, I kept the material to use when building my house.”

Crate Creativity

  • Published on Sep 1, 1980
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