A gawk-inducing scene began on a narrow Toronto street last month when a flatbed truck bearing a 53-foot steel shipping container inched its way to a crane waiting at the edge of a small sliver of land.

The container was slowly, carefully hoisted into the air above a two-storey building and placed onto a newly-laid foundation. The manoeuvre was repeated as two more trucks brought shipping containers that were then stacked like oversized Lego blocks.

Glen Donaldson’s home had arrived.

The 1,200-square-foot, three-bedroom, three-storey house in the College and Lansdowne Sts. area is just 8.5 feet wide and sits on a lot 12.5 feet wide. It will serve as the Toronto pied a terre for Donaldson, 55, owner of GAD Design + Construction, who is relocating from Atlanta, Ga., to be close to his parents. Donaldson has built two side-by-side shipping container homes in Atlanta, where he lives in one and leases the other. He’s building another in Florida to serve as his winter getaway.

The containers for Donaldson’s Toronto house were sourced and fabricated by Storstac, www.storstac.com, an Etobicoke company founded in 2003 by Vincent Ruggiero, that repurposes corrugated metal containers for commercial, industrial and residential uses. In 2016, the company fabricated shipping containers for an upper addition to the Harlem Underground restaurant, on Queen St. W. They serve as living quarters for restaurant owner Carl Cassell and his family, and were the city’s first use of shipping containers as a residence.

And though Storstac is experienced in transporting containers to sites, Donaldson’s project was a challenge.

“It was one of the most nerve-wracking installations we’ve done, but it went well,” says Anthony Ruggiero, marketing development manager for Storstac. Usually 20- and 40-foot shipping containers are used for Storstac projects, says Ruggiero. However, Donaldson’s were specialized: 53-foot used containers that came from Chicago and were purchased for $6,800 each. (New ones would have been $24,000 each.) Because the containers were extra-long, permits had to be obtained from the Ministry of Transportation. The transport route followed major roads and avoided sharp turns.

“Glen’s street was another obstacle,” says Ruggiero. “It’s a one-way street, which limits the width. We had to close the entire street for the installation and get police officers in to control the traffic.

“We had to get Toronto Hydro to move four overhead wires, as the crane had to lift the containers off the truck and swing them over a two-storey building onto Glen’s foundation.” Donaldson’s neighbours were without power for several hours during the installation.

As well, wind gusts made the containers sway as the crane lifted them over a neighbour’s home.

Donaldson became fascinated by shipping container homes after he saw them in Europe. He built his first three-storey house in Atlanta from six, eight-by-40-foot containers in 2007, and the second unit next door a few years later.

“I have always wanted to live in a house made of steel. I thought it was a better building material than wood, and that’s been the attraction,” says Donaldson. “They are unique looking. I like a modern-looking box. And steel is such a durable material.”

He wanted his Toronto residence to be a detached house, rather than a condo, and wanted to be downtown. His real estate agent found the skinny lot, but it couldn’t be built on without a variance from the city.

“You are supposed to have six metres of frontage and this lot is little more than half of that,” says Donaldson. “On one side is a laneway and the other side is a house. Maybe years ago, someone took half of a lot to make a laneway and left half that nobody built on. It was vacant since the 1920s.”

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whole variance process took more than a year, as he had to pay for plans, schedule the variance hearing and have the plans reviewed by the city.

After a year in the variance process that included the plans, the hearing and a review by the city, his variance was granted. But Donaldson was required to step the top storey back, and angle the roofline so it was cohesive with the neighbours’ homes. The design change allowed for the creation of a rooftop patio.

Now that the house’s steel skeleton is on-site, the custom windows — needing precise measurements that could not be taken until the containers were installed — will soon be fitted.

After sewer and water lines are connected and plumbing is in, the home’s wiring, insulation and drywall will follow, and then installation of fixtures and finishes. Heating will be in-floor radiant heat and air conditioning will be provided by a mini-split system.

Although the rooms will be only about eight-feet wide, Donaldson says the space doesn’t seem confining. “When I stand inside, it seems pretty spacious, but it will be more telling once the drywall is up.”

Many people tend to think that shipping container building is less expensive than conventional building, but that’s not the case. Typically, this type of construction is as much or more than wood-frame construction. The shipping container builds require the same permits as any other house and must meet Ontario Building Code requirements. And the fabrication process requires the skills of specialized welders, as well as the usual trades, such as electricians, plumbers, drywallers and carpenters.

“Glen knew that building with containers is not a cheap way to go, but he and Carl Cassell (owner of Harlem Underground) are individuals who are fascinated with container building and they are willing to go the extra mile to get the job done,” says Ruggiero.