With the cost of real estate these days, people have gotten creative in property ownership. From the soaring popularity of tiny homes to manufactured ones, there are more ways to own a &#;house&#; than ever. One unusual and increasingly popular types of homes are shipping containers.
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Yes, shipping containers.
According to HomeGuide, the average cost to build and install a container home is $25,000 to $250,000. While that&#;s no small chunk of change, it&#;s significantly less than you&#;d expect to pay for a traditional house in most parts of the country. Let&#;s explore the costs associated with shipping container homes so you can decide if one is right for you.
First off, let&#;s more accurately define a container home. A container home is a house that&#;s built with one or more shipping containers. Shipping containers are designed to transport cargo across the world on ships, so they&#;re built to be extremely durable and weather-resistant, making them solid foundations for a home.
Shipping container homes are not the same as manufactured homes. Unlike manufactured houses, shipping container homes must meet traditional building codes. Successfully constructed, a shipping container home may last 25 to 30 years without needing significant maintenance. Of course, that duration is dependent upon how well you treat it and the local climate.
Building a shipping container home is a lot of work, and depending on the features you&#;d like, it might not be that much more affordable than building a traditional home. Buying a pre-built shipping container home won&#;t give you the same custom experience, but it&#;ll probably save you a lot of money.
The average pre-built shipping container home costs between $20,000 and $50,000 from a company that specializes in these types of home. Obviously, that&#;s significantly less expensive than a traditional home or building a shipping container home from scratch.
That said, there are fewer investment benefits of a shipping container home. The market likely isn&#;t going to rise dramatically for these types of homes any time soon, so there&#;s less high-end investment opportunity. You trade affordability for a stagnant investment.
As we mentioned at the start, HomeGuide estimates that a shipping container home costs anywhere from $25,000 to $250,000 to build, and will take anywhere from three to six months to complete. The wide net is because there are many, many factors that impact how much a shipping container home will cost.
Here&#;s a look at some of the primary factors that impact the cost of building a shipping container home.
While you can certainly build a home with a single shipping container, you don&#;t have to settle for a studio apartment. Shipping containers are 8 feet wide by 8.5 feet high and are available in 10-foot, 20-foot, and 40-foot lengths. Containers cost $1,200 to $10,000.
The average cost to build a shipping container breaks down to about $150 to $350 per square foot, depending on the features you incorporate. You can build a shipping container home that&#;s greater than 2,000 square feet, just expect to spend more the larger the home gets.
For reference, the average cost to build a house is a little under $400,000, so even if you build a larger shipping container home, you&#;re probably doing it for cheaper than it would cost to build a new traditional house.
There is a shipping container home industry, which means you can buy prefabricated containers or entire container homes for a set price. Prefab container homes generally cost $120 to $300 per square foot. Customer-designed homes are more on the $250 to $400 per square foot range.
Generally, prefabricated containers are single-story and single-container. Custom homes can be configured to include multiple stories and be laid out any way you like.
Prefab containers are popular as extra structures on the same property to be used as a home office, in-law suite, or rental unit. In most states, a single-container unit qualifies as an accessory dwelling unit (ADU).
If you already own the land where you want your shipping container house to sit, that&#;s great! You&#;ll save some money. Otherwise, expect to spend anywhere from $5,000 to $18,000 per acre of land.
Because shipping container homes are typically placed on a permanent foundation, you also need to ensure that local regulations permit you to put a shipping container home on your land. That will entail land surveys and work permits to prep the land for construction.
&#;Land surveys cost anywhere from $200 to $1,200 while land clearing, permits for new construction cost $500 to $2,000, and excavation will cost between $2,500 and $9,000. If you have to grade the land, expect to pay a little more.
In many cities, you can&#;t build shipping container homes, so make sure to check local zoning regulations before starting your project.
Sure, a shipping container isn&#;t exactly silly putty, but there&#;s a still a lot you can do design-wise with a shipping container home, especially if you&#;re building it fully custom. Hiring an architect will cost 8% to 15% of the construction cost, but will help you create a home you&#;re truly proud of and that meets all of your specific needs.
Building the actual home involves many expenses that will have a significant impact on the final cost. Expect those costs to include:
Shipping container homes tend to be smaller than traditional ones, so you may opt for smaller appliances to maximize the space in your home. You can save some money by getting a smaller range, refrigerator, laundry machine, and other typical appliances.
Likewise, multi-purpose furniture is very popular in container homes, like futons, fold-down tables, furniture built into walls, and more. This is another area where you can save money by investing in utility over style or design.
Finally, you&#;ll have to connect your shipping container home to water and electrical services. Installing a new water main costs $32 to $53 per linear foot, but you may have to pay as much as $3,000 for a new water meter.
If you&#;re connecting to the sewer line, that costs $40 to $180 per linear foot. Otherwise, a septic tank system costs $3,500 to $8,500 to install.
Connecting to the local electrical grid will cost $250 to $1,500 depending on the distance to the nearest utility pole. If you need to run new power lines to the home, it could cost another $2,000 to $5,000 or more. Many shipping container homes opt for solar power due to its more affordable nature and the tax credits you can receive for installing panels. If you&#;re going to pay to get on the electrical grid anyway, it makes more sense to pay for solar panels, get a tax credit, and save on future utility bills.
&#; Read more about the value of solar panels
Just like traditional homes, you must pay property taxes and have homeowners insurance for a shipping container home. Homeowners insurance tends to cost from $50 to $150 per month, but you&#;ll likely have to shop a bit to find an insurance company that offers a suitable option.
There are many benefits of building or buying a shipping container home rather than buying a traditional home or tiny house. They&#;re not the right option for everybody but there are several key benefits to consider.
Buying a shipping container home may cost just a little more than a year&#;s rent on an apartment, and you&#;re likely getting a larger living space. You&#;d still need to buy the land to put it on, of course, but putting a container on a plot of land is a much more accessible path to homeownership than buying a traditional home.
They also tend to be more affordable than even some tiny homes, especially if you purchase prefabricated containers.
Learn more about the hidden costs of buying a home
As we&#;ve mentioned before, shipping containers are built to endure the absolute worst weather the planet has to offer. They&#;re often stacked on top of one another without damage to the container or the contents within. These things are tough. The typical container home can last for 25 to 30 years with regular maintenance and may withstand storms and other severe weather even better than a house.
Local zoning regulations permitting, you can put a shipping container home basically anywhere. So, if you really love an area, all you have to do is buy the land and you can drop a container home on it. Since these homes are built to ship, you can get a container home delivered practically anywhere with relative ease and put it down on the exact spot you want.
Because of their standardized nature, you can build one far faster than you could build a traditional home. Sometimes, you can design and build one in as little as ten weeks.
If you&#;re concerned about waste and the environment, shipping container homes are a great option. By buying a shipping container, you&#;re recycling it rather than letting it simply go to waste in a junkyard somewhere. Plus, they&#;re extremely flexible, allowing you to add energy-efficient features and green building materials like spray foam insulation, green roofing, solar panels, or Energy Star appliances.
Top 10 Most Affordable Ways to Save Money When Building a Shipping Container House. What exactly should you consider to save money when building or when planning to build a Shipping Container House? By observing proper building and construction principles, it is possible to build within budget, build green and still have a nice design without cutting corners. In this article we look at the Top 10 Most Affordable Ways to Save Money When Building a Shipping Container House in no particular order;
1. Hire an Architect + other Professionals
Allow me to draw the following analogy; Most of us when we fall sick, we visit the best doctor, or when we have a court case, we hire the best lawyer. But when it comes to building our dream house on the contrary we go for cheap. Before you embark on a building project, hire an architect and other professionals. If you can&#;t afford one, architect-designed stock plans from ShelterMODE.com offer an alternative affordable option.
Most stock plans go for a fraction of the cost of professional fees and can be amended on site to suite the client&#;s needs with marginal costs. Don&#;t fall prey to plan books and magazines in your local store or street vendor. Most of these books are outdated and lack any serious professional input in design and specification. A good architect will guarantee you;
2. Keep the Design Simple
In design, more often than not, Less is always More. Keep the design of your container home simple but not simplistic. Too much zig and zag in your design means more costs. Take off what you do not need and leave the design essentials without compromising on comfort and function of the house. Since shipping containers are ISO standard Modules, the modular nature of containers should be a no-brainer to a seasoned designer.
Shipping containers as single modules can be quite limiting. As multiple modules, they offer numerous layout configuration and combination options that create interesting designs for homes. The steel cut-outs for openings can be reused to cover the gaps between the modules to help cut on building costs. Various materials can be incorporated to give the house an interesting makeover. A simple design entails:
Contact us to discuss your requirements of foldable container house. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.
3. Hire an Experienced Builder/Contractor
This is the biggest and most important decision to make for anyone planning to build a shipping container house. Shipping container homes are relatively a new way of building across the globe. Finding a building contractor who has experience in building a shipping container home, can be one of the hardest things to do when you want to build one. Most people want to build their shipping container homes themselves, however, sometimes this just isn&#;t possible either because limited time to undertake the project, or lack of previous DIY experience with shipping container buildings.
Ensure you get a contractor with previous experience to advise and guide you throughout the process and help you deliver the project within budget. The best way to find a contractor is to get in touch with other local container home owners and speak directly to them for referrals. An experienced builder will guarantee you:
4. Build with the Climate
For a shipping container to be conducive for human habitation, indoor climate control is essential. Steel is a good conductor of heat therefore; the home will need to be insulated even better than conventional houses especially in regions with extreme temperature variations. Designing and building with climate in mind, will help you to avoid wrong specifications or over-design your container house. The local climate should always dictate the type of insulation to use.
If you are building in a tropical climate, your biggest challenge is to keep away heat from your container house. Passive design strategies offer the best cost effective temperature regulation options for container homes in the tropics at almost zero cost. For cold climates, the story is quite different. There is need to keep off the cold and dampness which can cause condensation and mould, at the same time conserve heat within your building. This cost variation can be huge and there is need to keep it in consideration.
With this hindsight, there is no one size fits all scenario when it comes to insulation. Using a wrong type of insulation means more cost for repairs and maintenance. This can be avoided from the outset by respecting your local climate. For example, closed cell spray foam insulation offers the best insulation properties but can be pricey compared to other insulators. It may be the best for cold climates but not necessarily ideal for tropical climate. This alone, can be a cost saver. For more understanding, checkout our previous presentation on How to Insulate a Shipping Container House.
5. Control Labour Costs and Fees
Apart from the overall financing of your project, a general contractor and sub-contractors are necessary for all specialized works on the project. Electrical welders, fabricators, plumbers, insulation specialists and general labourers to help you construct your shipping container project. Apart from using an inexperience contractor, uncontrolled labour costs are the second largest source of cost overruns on a container project.Construction project related costs for; council approvals, professional fees for Architects, structural, electrical and mechanical engineers are unavoidable.
Costs for Welders/ fabricators, plumbers, electrician and general labourers cannot be avoided as well, but can be controlled because they are largely based on bid quotations. Most of the unskilled labour on your project will be billed per hour. Unskilled labourers may have one of the lowest hourly fees, but most construction projects are prone to time overruns and if not controlled they can end up as the most expensive fees overall because of the amount of hours worked. To control labour costs on your project:
6. Avoid Over-modification of Containers
Incorporating design flare into shipping container homes is not a bad thing. However, over-modification of shipping containers cab be a double-edged sword on your project. As a design principle for ShelterMODE Homes, we do not tamper with the roof and floor of shipping containers. It cost more to restore and repair the roof and floor of shipping containers as opposed to container walls. However, cutting out too much steel from the walls and the roof interferes with the structural integrity and strength of shipping containers hence need for additional reinforcement with steel sections.
07. Buy a One-Trip Container
The choice of materials from the outset is key to managing costs of your building materials. What is a one trip container? One-trip containers, are used to ship a single cargo load and once they have arrived at their destination they are sold. One trip containers are preferable because they have less or no blemish and are cheaper than new containers. Buying new containers would be the best alternative but this will negate the whole concept of affordability and sustainability.
On the other hand, old containers would be the cheapest option, however, buying an old container may be cheap but will cost you more to restore and maintain. Old containers come with challenges of dampness, corrosion, deformed corners, and dented walls and buckled roof panels. It is advisable to inspect the containers in person before buying them. Using Old containers can have multiple toxic exposures from toxic spillages and contamination from various cargo products.
If you must use old containers consider Sandblasting all internal surfaces down to the bare metal, then seal and repaint with nontoxic paint which translates to additional costs. To avoid all these problems, it is advisable to buy a one-trip shipping container whenever possible. Check out our previews presentation on; How to Buy Shipping Containers for your House for more understanding.
08. Small is Smarter.
Keep the building small. The bigger the home, the higher the cost. Just how much space do you need in your new house! For good Green credentials, building small is always better. Small equals a Small footprint which means sustainable living and less cost. ISO shipping containers come as standardized modules with default height, length and width.
The module size of shipping containers make them perfect building blocks Tiny Houses. When you purchase a shipping container as a home, you already have the walls; the floor; the roof; and the ceiling for your home; you just need to install doors and windows, apply insulation, do interior finishing then move into your new home. All this translates into savings hence save money on the construction costs overall.
09. Sweat Equity
Don&#;t be afraid of a little DIY. If you are afraid to get your hands dirty, then this section will not be your cup of tea. Any work that is not technical on your new house if possible do it yourself to save on labour costs. Having prior DIY experience on construction of shipping container homes can be a huge tip to save money for any new home owner. However, some of the DIY work on a construction project that can be done without any prior technical experience include:
10. Use Eco-Friendly Building Materials
Using eco-friendly materials to build your house is good for the environment. in this regard, recycled materials are one good example of eco-friendly materials. Upcycled Shipping Containers for a new and permanent use as a home, is another optimal form of recycling. Most container homes are smaller than standard homes. This translates to a reduced building foot-print which means less resources and reduced costs hence good for the environment.
There are millions of shipping containers worldwide that are not in use. Reusing these containers as homes can save a lot of energy that would otherwise be wasted in melting them down. For example; Re-using a single 40 foot container up-cycles about kg of steel; this saves about kWh of energy that would otherwise be needed to melt it down.
In addition, to building with shipping containers, recycle all the steel cuttings from doors and windows for infill in the additional gaps between the containers. Yards for recycled materials offers a wide variety of recycled materials and fittings you can buy at a bargain for your shipping container house. Some of the eco-friendly materials and design strategies to use in your container house to cut on costs may include:
Conclusion
Did you find our analysis exhaustive and informative enough to help you plan and save money for your shipping container house project?If you feel we have left out anything, kindly let us know by posting in the comments below. If you&#;ve built your own shipping container home, let us know what strategies and cost saving measures you employed to save money during the construction process. Furthermore, if you intend to build it as a DIY project, then you will be required to have tools and materials that are essential to get the job done. In description below, we have provided a list of highly rated and well-priced the tools and materials that can be purchased online and delivered to you with much ease.
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