Shipping Container Homes

[Arwenn]

I bet those shipping containers would withstand hurricanes and earthquakes.

Yeah, maybe not sinkholes though! Seriously though, the pop-up mall is just gorgeous, they really did a remarkable job, considering how much devastation there was just a block away.

 

[trendsetter37]

Wow this is pretty cool! A month ago or so (synchronous for me as well) my wife and I were looking into small footprint houses. We really liked the idea! But these shipping containers really take that to the next level.

Think about shipping container communities and such. With a group effort and some elbow grease this seems like it could be a very worth while type of living community/development. And much cheaper.

Thirdly, importing countries like USA, which import more than export, are now having some hundreds of thousands of freight containers abandoned in ports and container yards. That’s because it’s not economical to send (re-position) them to other places for loading cargo. So building houses helps to solve the problem of container abandonment in those nations.

Especially when you keep the above in mind.

 

[monotonic]

Our family thought about this when we were hoping to buy a fairly large plot of land, but since then we've bought a new house and may have dumped an enormous amount of money into that land with no return.

If they're abandoned, I wonder if you can't just take them for free if you ask the right person?

If you can save money by using a shipping container, you could spend that money on a larger property and that may be a useful strategy for developing a community.

Of course unless it's very well insulated, you'd lose an enormous amount of money through heating bills, so that should be a priority. If the exterior was walled up and insulated, there would be less concern about rust.

Being conductive, these containers would probably work very well to shield from EMF, except perhaps at frequencies which resonated with the physical shape of the container (and unless construction violated certain rules about faraday cages). This could perhaps be fixed with EMF treatment.

With such a wide conductive surface area close the ground, the container would be well-grounded at RF. With insulation around the exterior of the container, electrical wiring could be placed behind the walls so that electrical conduit or metal-clad cable wouldn't be needed to shield from EMF. Of course appliances inside the container will still radiate freely and their radiation may be intensified if it falls on an undamped resonance of the container.

 

[Gary]

I bet those shipping containers would withstand hurricanes and earthquakes.

Yes, I would think they are more 'earth-change' proof than conventional forms of shelter.


It reminds me of a film, Take Shelter, where the main character buries a shipping container in his backyard, due to apocalyptic visions he has of an approaching huge storm.

http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,28469.msg354456.html#msg354456


As well as conventional shipping containers, anti-vandal cabins or site huts are already insulated and have windows, doors and are ready to connect to mains or generators and drainage systems.

http://www.allspace.ie/anti-vandal-cabins.html

 

[monotonic]

There is a concern about spilled liquids pooling at the bottom and not draining. Do shipping containers have drainage holes?

 

[Magpie]

Here are some pros and cons of shipping container housing:

Shipping container housing – pros and cons

You’re interested in the idea of shipping container housing? If that’s the case, you’re likely to consider pros and cons of the project. In this article I’ll tell you advantages as well as disadvantages of living in a shipping container.

Advantages

There’re many advantages in the bold and innovative thought of container housing. First of all, building with shipping containers save costs. A house built from used shipping containers cost significantly less than a conventional house with the same usage area and space.

Secondly, shipping container construction is eco-friendly. Reusing transport receptacles actually lessens the impact of the use of conventional construction materials like brick, cement, and wood. Building a “green” home also saves considerable energy which is otherwise needed to meld down metal containers when scrapping.

Thirdly, importing countries like USA, which import more than export, are now having some hundreds of thousands of freight containers abandoned in ports and container yards. That’s because it’s not economical to send (re-position) them to other places for loading cargo. So building houses helps to solve the problem of container abandonment in those nations.

Fourthly, container structure is designed to be exposed to heavy loads, harsh climatic conditions, and regular rough handling. Thus, their later use in construction ensures durable projects. Besides, shipping boxes comply with ISO standards, and are easily stacked with many layers (tiers) in transit and storage. That feature makes their use in building multi-storied houses easy and safe.

Fifthly, benefit of container houses also results from their structural strength: they are ideal for harsh conditions and on difficult sites. They can make perfect shipping container homes in areas with the high risk of hurricanes and earthquakes thanks to the fact that modular elements are welded together.

Lastly, you can build houses from modular and sturdy units in relative short time, in comparison with construction of regular dwellings.

Disadvantages

Along with above apparent advantages, shipping container housing also has potential pitfalls that should be overcome when building container houses.

First, shipping containers are made of metal (usually aluminum or Corten Steel), which conduct heat very well. That means the temperature inside containers can easily go too low in cold season, and conversely, rise quickly to unbearable levels in the hot season. Therefore, controlling temperature inside your steel container house is a major concern.

Secondly, those ISBUs (Intermodal Steel Building Units) actually are used shipping containers and most of them are old enough for scrapping. So rust may become an annoyance when use the recycled material. Theoretically, ISO containers are covered with weather resistant paints. During transport process, however, the protecting layer can be scratched and damaged somewhere and not sufficiently repaired. Those scratches present potential rusty places for later use in housing purpose.

Thirdly, producers of cargo containers never intended them to be used for long-term living, so they may have used harmful paints and solvents during their manufacturing. Breathing the vapors of those substances is harmful to human health.

Besides, shipping boxes in transit carry many types of goods, including dangerous cargoes, even toxic or radioactive materials. Spillage of those cargoes may leave contaminants that are not easily detected. That will be a risk if you don’t carefully and thoroughly strip and clean used boxes before using them for housing.

Fourthly, in many residential areas, there are rules (e.g. zoning rules) which restrict the types of homes that can be constructed. Steel homes, particularly those created from shipping containers, are not commonly built in these neighborhoods. This can cause problems when applying for a building permit within residential zoning. Thus, you will need to consult with local authorities to make sure your new container home meets all local building codes.

Lastly, there must be enough free space available for handling during construction, because modular containers (with needed necessary modifications of appearance, structure, etc…) need moving and placing in the right place.

A) Goodness tiny houses are such a rabbit hole. I almost forgot that I had work to do this morning. Thank goodness my office has a door that shuts so that no one can see my computer screen. Lol.

B) In my rabbit hole journey through container houses, tiny footprint houses, etc.. one of the most striking elements that came back to me over and over again is: Stuff. You can't have it and be in these spaces. Everything is designed to have specific purpose and function and your storage is limited. It really makes me step back and take a long hard look at how society is driven to be Consumers of Stuff. Nom Nom Nom just give me Stuff. It's like watching people pig out at fast food places; they buy junk from stores like they're ordering from the dollar menu. And then-when I read Gabor Mate's book-When The Body Says No--and I get to the passage about how the concept of family has changed, and the support system for children has been thinned out to one day care worker for 15-25 kids-I realize that I do not want any of the time I can spend with my family taken up by maintaining Stuff I don't need. Reading that book and perusing all these tiny houses has been So very liberating. There's a lot of pressure to own stuff. And if you don't own it---there is something wrong with you.

C) Lastly, the following are just some interesting points I uncovered along my romp through tiny footprint, eco, green, container house land: based on some of the videos that were shared in an earlier post-the cost of physically transporting the container to your land can be higher than the $2,000 mentioned. Apparently if you live in a port city-they're around $1900 but if you are up in the hills and far away-the cost can go up/over $4,000 per container.
I think that if you can acknowledge that these are a neat building block it is worth looking into but there are some major concerns (as mentioned above). Energy costs wouldn't be my biggest concern because there are lots of ways to lower those, but I am definitely eyeing the concern about what exactly was shipped in the container. In one of the videos, the homeowner gushed about how neat it was to think that their home had been all over the world..and all I could think of was: with what?! Lol.
From the video concerning the little one they put together in Salt Lake City, they talked about how they designed it to specifically overcome some of those HOA objections. It was very informative.
Also-someone else mentioned the roof top garden example as well-did anyone else notice all the round windows on that one as well?? Talk about cozy hobbit hole! Or nautical. But I'm going with Hobbit Cozy!

 

[monotonic]

I wonder how much it would cost to have the container chemically stripped, de-rusted, and coated with an applicable safe surface? And you may want to have a pass with a geiger counter, just to be sure. For all we know, ALL shipping containers may be radioactive to some extent. I wonder if anyone has tested this?

 

[rs]

I bet those shipping containers would withstand hurricanes and earthquakes.

Well, maybe.

Unfortunately the users of these containers have a habit of cutting holes in the side and replacing steel with glass. While this is perfectly understandable (I would not prefer to live inside a closed steel box), any retrofit of the container will almost certainly compromise the inherent protection factor.

One thing that is almost certainly true, these containers will be very stiff to shear forces. Stacking them at right angles will significantly add to the stiffness. Still, those windows...

 

[monotonic]

There was a guys that made a dome home that survived a hurricane. There was a news crew there with him. I don't remember where that video went, but here is a news story on it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxsSBHTFk3w

I think the right windows could be very durable.

 

[davey72]

This a great idea. We have a sea can, and it was just under twenty five hundred. It wouldnt take much to strip the floor. I think you could put windows i such a way that it wouldnt reduce the structural integrity. They do get unbearably hot in the sun. Good insulation, and a wood stove and you would be set. Osit

 

[A Jay]

This a great idea. We have a sea can, and it was just under twenty five hundred. It wouldnt take much to strip the floor. I think you could put windows i such a way that it wouldnt reduce the structural integrity. They do get unbearably hot in the sun. Good insulation, and a wood stove and you would be set. Osit

Perhaps the roof gardens are dual purpose, to help insulate the container while also growing food and flowers?

 

[Magpie]

This is a neat roofing co in SC that developed a whole line of "living" roofs. You could easily put some herbs and flowers (for bee friends) in the containers as well. I heard an interview with the founder and it is a neat concept.
greenroofoutfitters.com/benefits