Benefits
Valley Installation Association Container homes have a lot of great qualities, but they certainly aren’t for every person and every situation. Let’s begin by talking about some of the specific qualities of shipping container that you may find advantageous. Further down, we’ll highlight some of the challenges you might face with containers.
Remember, some of these benefits might be more or less relevant to you. So compare your personal list of preferences to those below, and decide whether they influence your decision one way or the other. It is important to remain focused on the preferences that actually matter to you.
Affordable
While not always cheaper than more traditional types of construction, many people do find that building with containers does save them money. This can be caused by a combination of factors such as design choices, overall size, and amount of labor.
Containers have certain advantages over traditional construction, and if you harness those in the right way, there can be economic benefits. The trick is to try to accept containers for what they are and work with them instead of against them.
Sustainable
When people think of being ‘green’, ‘Eco-friendly’ or ‘sustainable’, one word usually pops in their minds: recycling. But ‘Recycle’ is actually the last step in the hierarchy of waste management as expressed in the 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle).
Shipping container construction is a great example of ‘Reusing’ a material or product. It introduces a second useful life-cycle for used shipping containers that are no longer suitable for their intended purpose of carrying goods.
In addition, when coupled with the ideas of minimalism and tiny houses, containers can also address ‘Reduce’ through decreased usage of building materials and natural resources.
Strong
Given that they are made of steel and designed for long journeys across the open ocean, it’s no secret that containers are built to be extremely strong. Their ability to withstand wear and tear, handle extreme loads, and last for decades also means that cargo containers have related benefits when used for construction.
Whether you’re concerned about withstanding mother nature, keeping your family and possessions safe, or just building a home that will last for generations, a shipping container building offers some compelling advantages.
Unique
Empty shipping containers are intentionally made so that they are exactly the same size and shape as millions of others. So how are they unique? In the same way that every painting is just a canvas with some paint on it. What’s unique isn’t the material itself, it’s what you can do with it!
On the surface, it may seem ironic that a utilitarian item made to be uniform can result in incredibly unique houses and buildings. However, when you think about all the ways they can be modified, combined, and utilized, you realize how endless the possibilities really are.
Flexible
Separate but related to the unique options of container design is their inherent flexibility. Thanks to the existing infrastructure that moves them by sea, road, and rail, containers have tremendous flexibility in how/where they are built, how they are moved, and even how they are used.
Want to have your container building fitted out in a factory, then shipped to your building site ready to assemble? You can do that. Would you rather work on your containers as a DIY project, spreading your construction over months or even years, while knowing that your building will be safe and secure through it all? You can do that too.
Many people give much more thought to where they want to place their container home than how they want to build it. Whether it is meant as a weekend getaway or a primary residence, many outdoorsy people love the appeal of a home they can set-up in nature relatively easily.
Due to their ease of transportation, shipping containers are fairly easy to set up almost anywhere. And if you’re interested in going off-grid, container home living offers a great way to achieve this lifestyle.
