Attaching an awning to a shipping container tiny home

Jul 3, 2023

We spoke to Blake Riley, founder and owner of Solitary Shack, about his experience using Domino Clamps to attach an awning to his shipping container tiny home - the first of its kind in Jackson County . Blake wanted to attach the awning without having to use concrete piers next to the container as a foundation for the awning to make it more aesthetically pleasing and leave as much space on the deck as possible.

The Idea: Building a shipping container tiny home to use as a Airbnb

The idea for Solitary Shack was born when Blake was browsing YouTube in 2020 and saw people building tiny homes and renting them out on Airbnb. He asked himself, “Why couldn’t I do that?” After buying and slowly prepping the land in his spare time, then building the tiny home without any prior experience of working with shipping containers and only basic DIY skills, he finally launched Solitary Shack with their first container holiday home, affectionately named ‘The Cowee Crate’ in 2022.

He wanted to create a unique Airbnb which stood out from the other local rentals in Cashiers, NC. For this Blake chose to use a 20ft high cube shipping container, which made for a more comfortable living space thanks to the internal height, which is greater than that of a normal 20’ container.

The Problem: Attaching an awning without damaging the container

The conversion he had in mind incorporated both an outdoor deck, covered with a wooden lean-to awning, and a viewing platform on top. However, when Blake began the project he was having to modify the container by drilling into it which he felt wasn’t really best practice, and also damaged the integrity of the container. Blake said drilling into the container would have been an irreversible decision, Domino Clamps allowed him to be worry-free during this process.

The Solution: Attaching the awning to the Domino Clamps

Once Blake found Domino Clamps he discovered that not only did the awning look better without the concrete piers next to the container but by using the Domino Clamps the awning was attached directly to the container, removing what would’ve been a gap between the container and the awning that water could potentially fall through.
Opting to use Domino Clamps allowed him to have more flexibility and freedom to create the awning they wanted while knowing they could change it at a later date if necessary. They also offered the peace of mind of knowing that the fixing was strong enough for his needs.

Blake found Domino Clamps on YouTube, he said I follow a lot of shipping container fabricators and they utilise your products effectively.

The Method:

Blake began his awning construction using a 20ft length of 6x4” lumber, bolted directly to two Domino Clamps in the two upper corner castings of his hi-cube container. From this horizontal support running along the top edge of this container, he was able to attach the gently sloping rafters which would support the roofing material and allow rainwater to run off the awning, away from the tiny home.

Next, Blake plans to use Domino Clamps and our shipping container roof brackets to attach a similar awning to his new Solitary Shack; The Honey Hole, in Florida. Along with utilising our Starlink kit to ensure his guests have access to internet and cell phone signal if required, whilst enjoying all the benefits of a vacation off grid.

When we asked Blake to describe Domino Clamps in three words he said Saved The Day!

Great to hear from you Blake, thanks for your feedback!