Unbelievable home built out of two shipping containers (38 Photos)

Thanx for sharing. That was totally amazing. It makes me cringe that I'm not smart enough to do something that creative and cheap. Also loved the the thread on the Hobbit home.

great post ! here is another one that i think is awesome, perfect and cheap ! ty op for this thread

I used to have an alternative home building book and it went into great detail of some of the shipping container homes people have built. Some were 3 and 4 stories tall and were made up of sometimes 10 or more containers. It is supposedly a very effecient building technique.

Originally posted by Nucleardiver
I used to have an alternative home building book and it went into great detail of some of the shipping container homes people have built. Some were 3 and 4 stories tall and were made up of sometimes 10 or more containers. It is supposedly a very effecient building technique.

hey ND , would you happen to know where i could get a book like that , thanks much

Brother Shamil

reply to post by ShamilAbdullah


If you send me an U2U so I can remember to get back to you I'll find it sometime this weekend and give you the name of it. It's packed up somewhere in storage shed right now but I'm gonna be going through stuff in there this weekend and I'm sure I'll find it.

I prefer the container designs that use the containers in their basic form with little modification, they make useful getaways and remain cheap so long as you avoid foundations and concrete slabs. Problem is in this form they don't comply with most building codes.

I've been in and around a number of shipping container "homes" - definitely NOT all their cracked up to be. Looks great on paper and in photos, but reality is they aren't cost effective and require WAY more work to make them livable. Every one I've been had issues with heating/cooling and ventilation. The better ones are either architectural showpieces that cost a small fortune or were ones that had been so altered that it begs the question, why even start with a container?

If you live in a cold climate and need to fir out the walls for insulation you lose a lot of space, and containers are only 8' wide to begin with. This cuts your interior width down even further. The refrigerated kind will have some insulation but those cost more.

To make any usable room in them you have to stack or set several containers together and break out the cutting and welding torches. Most designs use a single container as a room - which produces the awkward effect of long narrow corridors for rooms.

Used containers can go for $2,500, and you'll be fixing welds and dented panels and painting them to make them look decent.

Some links for those interested in containers:

containercity.com
escapeartist.com - Nomadic Housing
tinyhousedesign.com - dwellbox

This one is by far the most utilitarian and cost effective - it actually uses the container in it's real form;
tinyhousedesign.com - hybrid-seattle-cargotecture

Overall, my opinion is that you can build a similar shape box with standard dimensional lumber cheaper than the cost of a new container, or used fixer-upper, plus delivery fees. Most people don't realize that the container also derives its structural strength so long as it remains structurally integrated, and only the circular windows (oculars) prevent weakening them. Those radical designs that open up massive holes in them or remove entire walls of the container require much more expensive modifications that often aren't being depicted in sites dedicated to container architecture.

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


I think I just might agree with you.
They do look neat and sound neat but there is a lot of work involved in rehabing these things.
Plus now the big thing...drum roll please?




Someone knows where your retreat is, from the salesman down to the delivery driver.
Personally I like the idea that i can go to the local lumber yard and get days worth of wood and truck it to my retreat under tarp and nobody is the wiser of what or where I have got.
First rule of container club, you don't talk about container club!

reply to post by DaddyBare


There's a company in Australia called Royal Wolf (I think) that does this kind of work, it's been around for a while, the idea that is.
Pretty cool none the less.

reply to post by DaddyBare


A beautiful work completely f***** up by deer's head and other parts of dead animals hanged in the walls. What kind of people hangs heads of dead animals within their homes??? That's sick and revolting!!

I don't the interior decorating

btw, i think the military use something like to live in on missions also, without the customisation of course

Thats fantastic! Just a couple nights ago I thought of making an earth sheltered home from two shipping containers. I couldnt sleep so thought about everything from insulation to windows and water supply, sanitation, etc etc. Its awesome to see someone has already done it and learn from their idea!

im curious as to how the fitting of the 2 containers went, having them side by side with that arched hole in the middle of already wierd shaped walls....had to be a nightmare to seal up properly (probably why they didnt show it) and if they didnt do it right they will have rusty walls to deal with in 10-20 years.

Still sweet though but I think I would go for some of the cob houses first.

Not sure if this has been posted previously, but I have had this site bookmarked for a while.

www.tempohousing.com...

Lots of good ideas, and it seems very easy to do. The only issue being getting the permits.

Been looking at container house design and implementation for a while.

Pros:

You'll save about 50% on pilings and base work.
You can have a 4m overhang (in NZ) without support from containers.
What you cut from container can be used for roof etc (as you see in OP).
Pickup and move container from land leaving 'virgin section' which is much more valuable.
No woodwork needed, house can be installed in mid winter if in a favorable country. (hence why I think putting wood inside container like OP is a little silly).
Structural steel is standard (usually few million dollar building options...)
Up to 9 stories high without support.
Strong and secure. I'd much rather be in a container home during a natural disaster, it's probably bulletproof literally haha.
Recycled materials

Cons:
rust if poorly maintained/implemented (however a new container section is much easier than a new house..)
If left as bare containers may not be asthetically pleasing to some if implemented poorly.
Generally you don't put containers straight on the ground (without raising) or damp issues can occur, so best not to bury into the earth.

edit: allegedly new zealand leads the world for container homes, I've been in direct contact with one designer for a while and there is some amazing stuff being done with them.

Here as some sites to go to if you want to see examples;

www.containerarchitecture.co.nz...
www.containersdirect.co.nz...

I have personally seen work by both of these companies and I vouch for their high standard of workmanship.

There is also the 'habode' which is a 100knzd prefab house just under 100m3 which is vastly cheaper than any woodwork house.

www.habode.com...


edit: and one of my favourite space saving designs, maximizing the use of container designs' strength.
3x40ft container on the side of a cliff in Wellington NZ.
www.sharearchitecture.co.nz...

There's many things you can do with shipping containers my old boss from Hong Kong told me how they were used for classrooms out in the new territories becuase of lack of funding and the sheer abundance of old containers (HK port is LARGE).
Check this link out
Little Diggs with Shipping containers

Originally posted by g146541
reply to post by neo96

 

I agree, if only someone could invent like a long piece of copper rod so someone could put it in the ground.
Then in the event of a lightning storm, you could run to the rod and hold on or something.

Yes, they were invented over 100 years ago, it's called a 'ground rod'

I guarantee your house is connected to at least one of them.

Originally posted by grey580
That's a very creative use of two shipping containers.
I imagine that with 4 you could make an even larger home.

However in Miami-Dade county that would never be approved by the Code Dept.

I was debating that myself from here in Broward...would that be good for hurricanes, or bad? If they're anchored down, I would think there is really nothing there to rip off during the high winds, since it's all one piece, basically. Not like a trailer home, where the metal is bolted together in thin sheets. I could see it getting pretty hot in the summer, though, unless the insulation was just right.

That is so cool! I have never seen, or heard of a livable space made out of shipping containers.

Who knew?!

Originally posted by Sphota

Originally posted by grey580
That's a very creative use of two shipping containers.
I imagine that with 4 you could make an even larger home.

However in Miami-Dade county that would never be approved by the Code Dept.

I was debating that myself from here in Broward...would that be good for hurricanes, or bad? If they're anchored down, I would think there is really nothing there to rip off during the high winds, since it's all one piece, basically. Not like a trailer home, where the metal is bolted together in thin sheets. I could see it getting pretty hot in the summer, though, unless the insulation was just right.

Mobile-mini supplies them configured as offices nationwide. Mobile-mini Office. Properly strapped down it's not going anywhere. With a little effort, I'm sure you could get a variance to live in one.

reply to post by grey580


Nothing is ever approved by Miami-Dade county, their entire role is to disapprove and fine people. That's why nobody does anything with planning approval, they just put enough trees around their property to keep people from seeing what they are doing or move to another county. * smile *