A house is a reflection of the homeowner. So why not make a huge statement by building a house out of a material that people wouldn’t expect? A used shipping container has the potential to be the alternative, energy-efficient, and cost-effective housing solution you’re looking for. Here are major benefits to building a house from steel shipping containers, the idea you never knew you needed. We’ll also go over important considerations to keep in mind when tackling this project, as well as wonderful real-world examples of these tiny home marvels.
Affordability
The biggest incentive for a shipping container house is that they are quite inexpensive. You are able to buy used storage containers and the process of turning them into a home is far less expensive than real estate in the cheapest part of your city. If you don’t want to go refurbished, don’t worry. You can also pick from new storage containers for sale.
Ease of Use
Though it may seem daunting, having a home constructed of shipping containers is not as complicated as one would think. There are also a lot of storage container modifications available, so if you want to add windows or a staircase, contact a reliable company to do so. Whether it’s as an addition to a three-story home, to a sunroom, or to a poolside bungalow, the opportunities are endless!
Location Flexibility
Due to their ease of transport, shipping containers can come to you wherever you want them. All you need to do is clear out a minimum of 100 feet of moving space for the delivering truck to maneuver. The potential of portable homes entails placing them or moving them to a suitable location that works with your geographic conditions.
Environmentally Friendly
Besides the fact that you will have a completely unique home, you will be doing some good for the environment when you use shipping containers to build your home. Since you can buy new or used steel shipping containers, energy efficiency is a major result of the steel being recycled.
Important Considerations to Make Before Building Shipping Container Homes
There are about 17 million shipping containers in the world, with only 6 million of them actually in use. That means approximately 11 million storage containers are currently unused and could be converted into livable homes for people all around the globe.
When it comes to actually constructing homes made entirely of shipping containers, there are several things that you need to consider in order to ensure your home is structurally sound, sustainable, and visually appealing.
Here are some important things to keep in mind before deciding to build a shipping container home:
- Research building codes and restrictions — Certain areas around the country have various restrictions against building a home out of containers. Before you begin the process and start spending money on materials and containers, make sure you check your local and state building codes.
- Hire a complete contractor — Unless you’re extremely well-versed in modular housing and know how to perform various container modifications, you should work with a team of professional contractors. These workers can oversee the entire process and will help with everything from insulation and maintenance to design and functionality.
- Don’t forget about electricity and plumbing — When you’re designing your container home, make sure you are aware of where the plumbing and electrical lines will need to be placed. Ask your contractor to cut holes for electrical lines and plumbing before finishing the interior so you can avoid serious issues down the line.
If you’d rather just place an offer on already existing homes made out of shipping containers, check out some of the nicest units on the market.
Front Porch Living by Custom Container Living — Features: Covered front porch with glazed door, six windows, hard-wired smoke detector, 12,000 BTU air conditioner with 10,600 BTU heating combo unit, painted pine tongue-and-groove interiors. Starting at $56,400.
The HO4 by HONOMOBO — Features: Three-bedroom (or two-bedroom) with an ensuite including living room, dining room, and full kitchen; highly efficient air source heat pump for heating and cooling; option to add solar panels.
Grannis Road House by Ty Kelly — Features: One-bedroom, one-bath with handmade finishings, wooden stove, contemporary conveniences including dishwasher and dryer, natural wood cladding, and floor-to-ceiling windows. Starting at $125,000.
Real-World Examples of Shipping Container Houses
The world is filling up with unused shipping containers. As new and used shipping containers become more popular (they match perfectly with the industrial aesthetic that’s popular right now), builders are getting more creative with container homes. Because in addition to their sleek design, steel containers actually offer some advantages to builders.
These container houses are actually much more durable and long-lasting than some might think. In fact, if shipping containers are taken care of with regular maintenance, just like every home should be, they can last for at least 20 years. They can easily be stacked, welded together, and combined in a variety of creative ways.
So how are tiny home builders putting these after-market containers to use? Here are some of the coolest shipping container houses on the planet:
- Containers of Hope Residence — This container home consists of two 40-foot-long shipping containers and has about 1,000 square feet of beautiful open space. It’s in San Jose, Costa Rica, and only costs around $40,000.
- Six-unit home — This collection of six shipping containers can be found in Flagstaff, Arizona. The home has concrete floors, large glass windows, industrial finishes, red brick stairs, and even a rooftop terrace. The entire construction project took about two years to finish.
- Colorful Sao Paulo shipping container — Rather than building the house from containers, Marcio Kogan, the home’s architect, decided to integrate large, vibrantly colored containers by stacking them all throughout the living area.
- Mojave Desert container home — This is the first-ever shipping container home to be constructed in the Mojave Desert. The 2,300-square-foot house is right by Joshua Tree and is known as the Tim Palen Studio at Shadow Mountain. The home looks amazing, and though it’s large, it only contains one bedroom and 1.5 bathrooms.
- Colorado shipping container home — Studio H:T designed this shipping container home with a very creative approach. Rather than construct the home from storage containers, they decided to add two containers to the outside of a pre-existing structure. This hybrid home could be the inspiration for a new class of eco-friendly homes.
Shipping is such a large global business, constituting about 90% of the world’s trade, accounting for more GDP than restaurants, takeaway food, and civil engineering combined in the United Kingdom, and is projected to grow by five percent between 2014 and 2017. The plausibility of re-purposing steel shipping containers into a family-friendly home only grows as more people pursue this kind of project. If you want to learn more about how to construct your own shipping container houses or want to find some high-quality shipping containers for sale, contact Integrated Equipment Sales today. We’d be happy to walk you through how we can make modifications to a container of your choice so that it can be transformed into a housing solution.
