5 Reasons To Consider A Shipping Container Home
With the worldwide explosion of the Tiny House Movement, more and more people are looking for innovative methods to create their dream minimalist living space and reduce their footprint whilst staying within the boundaries of their respective country’s planning laws. To that end, many prospective owner/builders are opting to recycle and re-purpose a steel shipping container in what is proving to be an increasingly popular and effective way of creating the perfect tiny home. Here are 5 reasons to consider this method yourself over other methods of construction.
Cheap, Cheap, Cheap!
With brand new 20ft shipping containers available for as little as £1500 and second-hand examples coming in at well under £1000, they provide what is probably the cheapest pre-built structures on the market. And as there are literally millions of containers lying idle around the world and not exactly in short supply, it is very much a buyer’s market. The fact that they’re intended use is not for habitation is immaterial, as with a little imagination, inspiration and some specialist assistance, they can easily be transformed into a desirable living space at a considerable saving on other forms of tiny house construction.
Kind to the Environment
By opting for a cargo container construction method, you are essentially recycling an existing entity that would otherwise be sat in a shipyard somewhere deteriorating. By the very act of repurposing the container you are preventing its component steel from going to waste and negating the need for reliance on fresh materials to construct your new home. Container homes also lend themselves nicely to off-grid living, with the integration of solar, wind and water recycling systems further reducing your carbon footprint.
Construction Time & Flexibility
Speed of construction is a major concern when building any type of home. The longer things take, the greater the cost of labor and alternative accommodation arrangements. A delayed build can seriously inflate the overall cost of a project. As an existing structure, a shipping container design significantly reduces build time and, by extension, your stress levels. As they are also inherently room like and cuboid in nature, they offer a level of design flexibility not afforded by other construction methods. A container home can be extended upwards or outwards by simply adding further containers in a building block manner.
Durability
Cargo containers are built from steel and designed to weather the rigors of the high seas for tens of thousands of miles at a time. They are as tough as old boots! As such, they will require minimum maintenance whilst offering you better protection against the elements than any other tiny house construction method. You can also count fire resistance and natural disaster resilience among their many attributes.
Portable
The clue is in the name. “Shipping” container. These things are designed to be portable and can be easily delivered to a location of your choosing with relative ease. And should the time come that you require a change of scenery, container homes can be relocated to virtually anywhere with the minimum of fuss. Why move to a new home when you can take your home with you?
About the author: Andy Trowers is a staff writer for the popular second hand bargains website http://www.for-sale.ie/. Image: Angel Schatz