From Concept to Construction ™

Shipping Container Homes: What You Need to Know Before Building One

June 12, 2020

A lot of people dream of having their own houses with a garage area and a spacious backyard. Who doesn’t want to live in their dream homes with their own family? In fact, owning a house is one of the tell-tale signs of a person’s financial capability. For one thing, buying a house and lot or an apartment unit usually does not come cheap. Maintaining your home, especially if you will live in it for many years, is another story. You might have to contact home remodeling architects for your future home improvement projects. Don’t worry, there are a lot of home addition companies that offer affordable home additions. Do you want to live in a shipping container? Seriously, shipping containers? Those rectangular corrugated boxes used for large shipments? These are important items in transporting goods both in land and in the sea. But over the years, there has been a surge of used shipping containers awaiting a second chance. It might seem like a huge problem as it can lead to a huge amount of trash. However, several creative individuals saw a silver lining with these seemingly useless containers. One of which includes building a house using these containers. Apparently, not only shipping containers are used for cargo but also for building homes. You might have a lot of questions in mind right now. Is it hot inside? Is it even possible to have a complete home in a box-shaped shipment container? Is it sustainable in the long run? For these questions, you can consult architects builders especially if they have experience building a shipping container home. What to expect in a shipping container home For one, a shipping container house is made from, obviously, a shipment container. Shipping containers are usually available in 20 ft. by 8 ft. and 40 ft. by 8 ft. The former can provide about 160 sq. ft. of liveable space, while the latter can give you 320 sq. ft. domestic space. Some homeowners hire a home additions builder to turn a shipping container into a liveable home. On the other hand, some owners fuse several containers to make into larger houses or office spaces. The corrugated walls would usually be removed to add more space and invite more natural light inside the structure. Home designers have the opportunity to exercise their creativity in building a shipping container home. Shipment containers are usually budget- and environment-friendly. However, it is better to check the condition of the container before converting it into a liveable space. As for building permits, you might have to check your local area’s building rules and regulations. But most likely you have to make sure that the container will fit the land area and that it should meet your local area’s zoning and building restrictions. Shipping container homes: Pros and cons On the one hand, shipping container homes are budget-friendly. Building a shipment container house is a lot faster than building a concrete or wooden house from scratch. On average, a used shipping container costs around $1,400 and above. The former can be built as fast as three weeks, while traditional […]

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