Hi there! Welcome to Container Home Hub 🙂
What is a shipping container home?
A shipping container home utilizes steel intermodal freight containers, also referred to as shipping containers, as the main structural element.
Why use shipping containers?
Shipping container architecture is extremely green, allows for the most unique innovations, and has grown significantly in the past five years. Shipping containers are tremendously strong, widely available, and are priced very reasonably; these characteristics lend themselves to the designers that want to build homes that are most eco-friendly. The use of shipping containers allows for decreased costs and build time as compared to traditional building materials such as brick and cement.
There are a number of excellent reasons to invoke the use shipping containers for home building!
- Strong & Durable
Shipping containers are designed for the ease of transport, storage, and handling of cargo. Shipping containers or intermodal freight containers are welded steel boxes capable of carrying heavy cargo and are designed to be stacked in columns. The steel protects the contents from outside damage due to handling or weather conditions. The strong steel design also provides security for the cargo.
- Modular Design
Shipping containers are designed for the ease of transport, with a defined dimensions. The standard width, lengths, & heights allow for the stacking of shipping containers into high columns displaying their most modular design. They are designed to interlock when stacked for transport. This design element makes shipping containers ideal for use in the construction of smaller structures. The portable nature of the containers also lends itself to easier transportation to the building site.
- Widely Availability & Green/Eco-Friendly
Shipping containers are widely available worldwide due to their use in international trade. Used shipping containers can be found around the globe at a far reduced price, perfect for the structural element of many construction applications. Used shipping containers in the United States range from about $700 to $1500.
Shipping containers are widely available in part by shippers only using them one way. They find it cheaper to buy a new container in the country of origin then to ship their empty containers to the exporter. The use of shipping containers as structural building materials not only puts to use what would become scrap steel, but also reducing the amount of traditional construction material that will be needed.
- Minimal Foundation Requirements
Due to the fact that shipping containers are designed to be supported by four corners, the foundation requirements are minimal. For construction purposes your foundation only requires four columns rather than expensive cement slabs.
About the blog
Container Home Hub is a blog I started in November 2016 to inspire shipping container house living. Since visiting The Container Park in Downtown Las Vegas a few years ago, I have been fascinated with the various ways people are using shipping containers. After hours of internet research I have decided that I will build a shipping container home in the most near future. While I am planning for the build of my shipping container home I want to share my research with you, showcasing beautiful shipping container homes from around the world.
If you have a shipping container home you would like to share, please do so at thecasaclub [at] gmail [dot] com!
About me
Hi there! My name is Nancy and I am the brains behind the operation. I am Texas born and raised, a tea enthusiast, and Eiffel Tower obsessed (may be the part of why I like metal structures).
This blog is to not only share some of the most interesting and beautiful shipping container homes out there, but to give me the perfect idea of how I want my future shipping container home to be!
If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out!