The global trend toward modular constructions has accelerated due to the pandemic we are dealing with in recent years. Metal buildings, Shipping container homes, which first gained popularity before the pandemic, quickly became the world’s fastest-growing real estate fad at the moment.
There are, of course, unfavorable criticisms concerning the utility of shipping container dwellings from various parties. We’ve seen this before in practically every industry that has become a trend.
Houses constructed from shipping containers have a distinct appeal. Even if you only look at the inside of a container house, it tends to impress you. Maybe we believe so because we love such houses very much—however, the responses to these homes on social media back this up.
It is extremely satisfying for people to desire to create their house and pay attention to every detail. On YouTube, there are hundreds of channels that live this event and share it with their viewers. Life Uncontained is among the most popular. The couple reveals all of the specifications about their container home. You can find the channel here if you wish to watch it.
Let’s get to the container house we’ll be showing you now; consider it a model house, to be more specific.
A 2×40 ft. shipping container is being used to construct this home. Dark paneling is used outside at the home roof & timber accents are used inside. The existence of protrusions on the roof provides an attractive appearance while also protecting the back wall from rain, snow, and excessive sunlight.
The house’s façade is extremely stunning!!! Without a second thought, it is one of the stunning single-story mansions I have recently seen.
Here are some Majestic Homes Made from Shipping Containers
PV14 House
One of the most excellent shipping container house designs globally is this 3,700 square foot design by architect Matt Mooney in Dallas, Texas. By integrating fourteen shipping containers with a mostly concrete ground floor, that house formed with 3 bedrooms, 3 and a half bathrooms, and an outdoor swimming pool.
Matt’s Response:
The process of ordering and shipping one-way containers from Shanghai’s Dolphin Containers was fascinating. We had to learn how to negotiate the second-hand container market in the region before choosing one-trip containers. I had a great time during the construction process.
Riverfront Container House
Rick’s two-story container home on two beautiful acres near Jupiter, Florida, just steps away from the Loxahatchee River’s excellent kayaking. The house’s three shipping containers are organized in a two-story cross form, with an upper unit and a roof deck adjacent. The container home ideas employed for this appealing design were compliant with local construction requirements with a bit of tweaking.
Rick’s Response:
The county administration initially rejected my proposal for a container home for a variety of debatable reasons. We eventually reached an agreement on several design elements and received our building permit.
Incorporating a more modern style, painting the exterior white, installing sliding doors to the ends of the containers, and using impact glass instead of storm shutters were just a few of the concessions we made.
Hamptons Container Beach Box
Nothing screams you’ve made; it’s quite like a home on the New York coast of the Hamptons. The Beach Box is a beautiful container home with spacious decks and a flip-flopped arrangement that places the living areas above the bedrooms. It’s well worth your time to read about this lovely home in our profile.
Andrew’s Response:
The more you tweak the boxes, the less cost-effective and less sustainable they become. There are also limits with container building that would have made completing what I need to sell prohibitive at that pricing point. If I were to build anything similar in the Beach Boxes pricing range again, I would consider using containers for such a project.
Modern Container Accommodation
If you look at the interior of Saffy and Dom’s shipping container house, you’d think it was a high-end, professional project. However, one innovative husband and wife duo from Adelaide, Australia, decided to create their own shipping container home, and they did!
This low-cost shipping container home design proves that 320 square feet don’t have to be dark, cramped, or uninspiring. It also demonstrates that being current and unique does not have to be expensive!
Saffy’s Response:
I believe that having large windows and making good use of the outside space was crucial for us. It gives the impression that the container is much larger than it is. Consider heating, cooling, and insulation carefully; it is, after all, a massive metal box, and in the Australian climate, this is a critical consideration.
Nomad Living Guesthouse
Arnold Aarssen of Studio Arte designed and built the Nomad Living Guesthouse in Vale da Vila, Portugal. Even though one 40-foot shipping container was used, the home’s 300 square feet felt considerably larger. The huge sliding glass doors lead to a shaded outside transitional zone that doesn’t require air conditioning.
Arnold’s Response:
I wish I had held a better understanding of how to insulate a cargo container. We ended up welding pieces to the walls before spraying them with fire-resistant foam insulation.
I also needed to know how to keep the sun off the roof, which we eventually accomplished by double ventilating it.
Finally, how might we make the container use passive solar energy? We accomplished this by positioning wide windows facing southwest in the container.
Atlanta Rental Shipping Container Homes
Adele and her boyfriend created an indoor/outdoor living area oasis in the heart of Atlanta, Georgia, by constructing two 160 square foot shipping container houses behind their main house. A book showcasing homes built using shipping containers inspired them to develop these eco-friendly guest cottages. They promptly connected with a professional contractor to make their dream a reality.
Adele’s Response:
During the project, we only ran into two problems. The first was water leaks from above the windows and doors after a rainstorm. Welding on tiny roof overhangs was used to fix this.
The second problem was that the units were too airtight, which we solved by installing adjustable vents beneath the floating beds. As a result, we haven’t experienced any heating or cooling loss – the containers are pretty well insulated.
North Branch Container Cottage
Robyn Volker’s hillside container home in upstate New York is one of the few that is both modest and iconic. This 800 square foot house, designed by Tim Steele, makes use of three converted shipping containers. It displays a basic but successful method for stacking shipping containers and working with, rather than against, the construction site. The main level is made up of two shipping containers that are supported by a 20-foot shipping container that is utilized for storage.
Robyn’s Response:
My house was constructed in 2009, so there was a lot unknown at the time. I wish I had known that constructing a home out of shipping containers costs the same as building a stick-built home.
Riverside Hideout Container Cabin
As Ryann did, if you have access to a lovely piece of land, a shipping container as a home can be an amazing alternative to a cottage or lake house that is out of your financial range. Her 320-square-foot Ohio home was built by her family, with relatives all pitching in to help and learn about this unusual building material.
Ryann’s Response:
We started with fiberglass batt insulation, which we later discovered can contribute to condensation issues in cold climates like ours. Condensation did indeed cause water damage in the bathroom and kitchen.
I had to remove the MDF beadboard ceiling in the bathroom, remove the old insulation, replace it with closed-cell spray polyurethane foam, and then finish the ceiling with acrylic beadboard. To aid ventilation, we also added a second, high-powered exhaust fan.
Manifesto House
The Manifesto House in Curacao, Chile, is a one-of-a-kind shipping container home designed by architects James & Mau and coated in wood. The wide openings on both sides of the ground floor living area, built with two 20 ft and two 40 ft ISO storage boxes, give excellent cross ventilation.
James & Mau’s Response:
We wish we had understood that in cold climes, good insulation is essential for preventing condensation.
We had good achievements with the Manifesto House in Chile. There is neither a cold nor a hot climate there. To manage the sun and add insulation, we only needed to place some pallets on the exterior walls.
California Container House on a Canyon
Mike and his wife built this shipping container home just outside of San Diego on their own. They created their hybrid container house with a combination of surplus shipping containers and traditional construction. This storage container house, perched on the edge of a canyon, features interior and deck sections that fluidly link to indoor/outdoor living room areas with postcard-like views.
Mike’s Response:
I wish we had found out about the finance issues earlier in the construction process because I would have changed the plan to incorporate another bedroom and a garage unit. But I’m going to keep moving forward!
To finish the house, we used a combination of savings and credit cards, followed by a short-term personal loan to pay off the higher-interest credit cards. While not having a mortgage is convenient, we had intended to have one. We were finally unable to do so because mortgage appraisers could not correctly evaluate our home because they could not find any comparables (comps) for it.
Bamboo Grove Container Homes
Shanti used her resourcefulness and can-do spirit to build two shipping container houses on her Floridian property. Her small house designs incorporate insulated refrigerated containers and a variety of repurposed and recycled commercial metal building materials. It’s worth noting that the deck is made of bamboo rather than wood.
Shanti’s Response:
Because we get a lot of harsh weather here, I’ve made a few changes to account for it. I had an electrician install grounding straps from the containers to a grounding rod pushed into the ground in case of lightning. I also chose to put hurricane straps on the containers, which are looped around them and attached to the ground.
Conclusion
All the fantastic input from the owners and builders of the shipping container homes we’ve shown is greatly appreciated. It always adds value when you learn from others who have already constructed shipping container constructions.
It’s essential to keep in mind that shipping container homes aren’t for everyone. However, if you decide they are suitable for you, you owe it to yourself to learn everything you can about them. We hope you found these viewpoints helpful on shipping container construction useful, and you won’t make the same mistakes.
Troy is an editor, book coach, author of over 32 novels and several works of non-fiction, and the education lead for Plottr. He lives, works, and plays in Boise, Idaho.
Passionate about writing dark psychological thrillers, he is an avid cyclist, skier, hiker, all-around outdoorsman, and a terrible beginning golfer.
