Temporary structures/Sea Cans in Kelowna

[Kelowna_Born]

With storage lockers at a premium price and almost impossible to find I have been seeing alot of Temporary Structures and Sea-Cans being hauled into peoples yards. There are Bylaw Rules but very vague on time limits, and some sitting for years and years.

Seen this thing pop up the other day in Kelowna......

[Tankur]

Kelownas newest rentals

[BC Landlord]

With storage lockers at a premium price and almost impossible to find I have been seeing alot of Temporary Structures and Sea-Cans being hauled into peoples yards. There are Bylaw Rules but very vague on time limits, and some sitting for years and years.

What other people do with their money is none of anyone's business, as long as it's legal.

[dirtybiker]

Nice start on a shop/garage with solid and secure areas for the pricier articles.

methinks once it is complete one would be hard pressed to even know it started on cans.

[DarbyD]

Nice start on a shop/garage with solid and secure areas for the pricier articles.

methinks once it is complete one would be hard pressed to even know it started on cans.

I was thinking the same, you beat me to it/

[69cutlass]

Once it's all painted the same color it would looks really nice. Painting your sea cans to match your house goes a long way to helping disguise them on your property.

[normaM]

The City says you have to apply for a building permit to use steel containers as perm structures
I've seen photos of amazing homes made with sea cans

[pommiepainter]

I saw a great episode of Building Alaska. A couple used 2 Sea-Cans as the 'foundation' for their remote cabin. Built a two story cabin on top of the Sea-Can's, then used the Sea Can's to store their snowmobiles, quads, snow equipment, etc. Finished building looked great! But I suppose the building codes are a bit more lax in rural Alaska than Kelowna

[soupy]

The City says you have to apply for a building permit to use steel containers as perm structures
I've seen photos of amazing homes made with sea cans

Exactly. The structure in the pictures would 100% require a permit.
I'm a betting man. So I bet they have not applied for a permit, and the OP doesn't like this build occurring. So, just report it.

[TylerM4]

Pretty obvious that structure isn't permitted. National building code does not recognize seacans as a building structure/component. That means you'd need to get a structural engineer to review and approve the plans. IF an engineer is willing to sign off on that (they become liable if it fails) the cost of their work would easily cost more than the alternative which is to use a more traditional building method.

While this design has the potential to result in a great garage type building, this is pretty poor execution and I suspect there are numerous problems above what I can observe from the pictures:
- Didn't properly level the seacans.
- Didn't put the seacans on a proper base. Some spots are sitting on raw dirt/mud and will rust. Other spots are sitting on treated wood which is sitting on dirt. That treated wood won't last long enough and the chemicals in treated wood react with metal. Building code says you must use specially coated/rated fasteners and avoid contact between metal and treated wood for that reason. OK for a shed, not for something like this which would be considered a permanent structure.
- Roof is already starting to dip/sag in the sections that overhang. Will only get worse/fail when weight of roofing material and a decent snow load come into play.
- Untreated lumber sitting directly on metal seacans - condensation will result in rot.
- No saddle brackets securing support posts to structure/beams.

I like the design, but the execution has raised a few red flags for me.

[fluffy]

The City says you have to apply for a building permit to use steel containers as perm structures

Exactly. The structure in the pictures would 100% require a permit.

In my experience the determination of whether a structure is temporary or permanent rests with the type of foundation it sits. Pads or pylons do not constitute a permanent foundation so the structure may well be classified as temporary despite the fact that moving it may be a major undertaking.

[TylerM4]

In my experience the determination of whether a structure is temporary or permanent rests with the type of foundation it sits. Pads or pylons do not constitute a permanent foundation so the structure may well be classified as temporary despite the fact that moving it may be a major undertaking.

That's part of it for sure. Having said that - there are other rules surrounding temporary structure including size (maximim of 100sqft) and height. Long story short - anything bigger than a standard garden shed doesn't qualify as a temporary structure no matter what type of foundation is used.

[fluffy]

That's part of it for sure. Having said that - there are other rules surrounding temporary structure including size (maximim of 100sqft) and height. Long story short - anything bigger than a standard garden shed doesn't qualify as a temporary structure no matter what type of foundation is used.

Point taken. I’ve got a background in construction but have been out of the game for years. Are these regulations usually the realm of local government or are they provincial in nature, as in BC Building Code ?

[normaM]

Maybe some think easier to ask forgiveness than permission
If was to be reported I would guess they would apply for a variance

The City is pretty fickle what they will end up allowing.

[soupy]

That's part of it for sure. Having said that - there are other rules surrounding temporary structure including size (maximim of 100sqft) and height. Long story short - anything bigger than a standard garden shed doesn't qualify as a temporary structure no matter what type of foundation is used.

Point taken. I’ve got a background in construction but have been out of the game for years. Are these regulations usually the realm of local government or are they provincial in nature, as in BC Building Code ?

Lets just go right to the source here.
https://www.kelowna.ca/sites/files/1/do ... ilding.pdf