Location Transport - anyone knows much about building your own home with shipping containers?

anyone knows much about building your own home with shipping containers?

what are the advantages and disadvantages? has anyone done that before?

Public Comments

Yes, and the building inspectors aren't going to like it.
Lots of people have, the web is full of this sort of information. They don't look very suitable to me, though. They're only 8' wide, and not very tall, either. To insulate these properly takes 6" of insulation in the walls, 12" in the roof, and another 6 or 10 inches in the floor. By the time you frame with wood to hold this insulation and give you something to screw the drywall to, then you're down to a 7' wide building. That's pretty narrow living. I doubt you're going to end up with a full 8' height, either. And, after you've framed this container in, you might start to wonder why you didn't just build a house with your lumber instead. Then, you could have any size and type you wanted, instead of a narrow long box shape. Then, there's the matter of flat roofs. That doesn't make a very good roof, or a very attractive one, either one. I'd advise you to look into straw bale construction, and cob building. They're both pretty inexpensive, and wouldn't lock you into this oddball shape. You'd get a tighter, better insulated house, too.
Concrete does more for the money, than almost anything I can think of. And wood is simple........just do some of the work your self. It really isn't that bad. Honest:) Hope it helps, I like daylight basements with the entrance on the main floor.......that way you have 3 sides concrete........and it's cheap.....about 4 grand for the first floor unfinished, if you pour the basement yourself.
This is a great idea for a smaller home. They can be stacked and come 40 feet long. You can get them that are refrigerated so they are already insulated. The are air and water tight so no bugs will get in. They are strong and can last forever. Great for tropical areas. no termites to worry about. We are making a basement out of them for a tornado shelter.