I thought I might write an article on the methods and procedures for building houses from shipping containers. I live in a city where a large project of condominiums utilizing shipper containers was quite successful and inspiring. Nevertheless, I can not compete with some of the information available on the Internet and so have decided to provide some useful links that one might explore how to build them as well as the various configurations and design ideas.

Now, I do not like to use too many links because they tend to disappear over time. However, I will make an exception this time and hope that you, the reader, will be helpful and let me know when they no longer work.

 

 

First of all, one of the best explanations of the various things needed for construction of a container house comes from Tin Can Cabin. This website covers many of the basic details of putting containers together and offers excellent advice on safety. There are aspects to the proper outfitting of a container home that might not be readily apparent. Yet this site covers them.

 

 

 

 

Another essential article to read is “5 Mistakes to Avoid When Building a Shipping Container Home.” This covers the necessity of checking local building codes as well as something I have read over and over again; that of the removal of too much structural steel. When designing a container house, as part of the design, one must include strategies for reinforcing large areas removed for doors and windows or when removing an entire side to affix to another container, for instance. As a general rule, easy designing is hard constructing.

 

 

 

 

 

An excellent article on one of my favorite publications, Architecture Daily, is “11 Tips You Need To Know Before Building A Shipping Container Home. ”

 

 

 

 

Even though quite negative, this article, “What’s Wrong With Shipping Container Housing? Everything”, and considering this article mainly refers to mass housing, provides some insight into things to consider. One thing in the article, though, not accurate is the dimensions of a shipping container. Some shipping containers are higher than those mentioned, although the width is the same. The width is not necessarily restricted depending on the design.

 

 

 

 

On Popular Mechanics’ website appears an article on 45 shipping container buildings, many of the tiny house variety.

 

 

 

 

Another excellent list of what one needs to do to build a container home is on Residential Shipping Container Primer. This post covers subjects such as structural integrity, foundations, and permitting, for instance.

 

 

The above link purports to be the ultimate guide to shipping container homes on the website, Home TuneUp.

 

And, of course, a couple of videos will help, as well:

 

 

 

 

 

This is a link to some videos on container homes on HGTV.

 

 

This link leads to a site that contains 10 films on the construction of container homes. 

 

Obviously, many find a fascination with the many designs coming from the use of shipping containers. Yet there are pros and cons in utilizing them. Hopefully, this article provides a starting point for information in pursuing such an unusual building.

 

HBosler