Building of a house made of containers

Service Description

Building of a house made of containers

Let’s say that you inherited or you have the chance to buy a portion of land at a very advantageous price, in a beautiful area, but you do not have enough money to build a house, in addition you know how to handle various tools. I suggest you to take into account the sea containers, used increasingly more often in other countries of the world.

I saw last days, in the short vacation that I did in Asprovalta, several houses made of containers, hunkering between olive trees, at a few kilometers from the small town that I visited. Unfortunately, being in passing, I did not manage to immortalize with the camera, to be able to show them to you. What I want to say is that, for a holiday house, these containers are ideal, offering enough space for decorating a studio equipped with everything needful. So, today I want to talk about what involves the transformation of an ordinary shipping container into a coquettish vacation house.

The dimensions of maritime containers

Before going further into the subject, I think it should be said that on the market there are two types of containers, as follows:

The 20′ ones – with the length of 6,058 m and the height of 2,591 m;

The 40′ ones –with the length of 12,192 m and the height of 2,900 m.

Although they have different lengths and heights, both types of containers have a width of 2,438 m. In a simple calculation you can find that the smaller ones have a total area of 14.76 square meters, and the bigger ones have an area of almost 30 square meters. It must be taken into account and that the inner surface will shrink further, after applying the insulating layer. So if you do not want to get a small room too cramped and you are dreaming at least of a studio with bedroom, bathroom and kitchen, you should orient yourself from the beginning to a container of 40 feet or buy even two such elements , that you will be able to combine them as you like.

How much is a second-hand shipping container?

I had read somewhere that there are found for sale containers at prices starting at 500 Euro/piece. Very interesting I thought were the new models, called Office containers, which have doors, windows with PVC woodwork, an insulating layer of 44 mm thick and they are provided with electrical and sanitary circuits (some of them). The largest size of such a module does not exceed the surface of a sea container of 20 feet, and the smallest measuring just 3 meters long.

Whichever is the model that you want to purchase you must not forget the shipping costs, which vary from one provider to another, but also by the town where you are.

What the legislation says – with or without permission?

Basically, if you bring a container in the yard and you place it directly on the ground, you get rid of caring the papers, although even in this case it is possible that you may need a location permit. But to be able to contract with providers of utilities (water, gas, electricity, sewerage etc.) things can get complicated, requiring a construction permit.

In other words, even if you want to use only as a holding tools container (Household annex), you need a construction permit. An exactly example is our booth from the yard, for which we had to obtain a construction permit and we pay an annual tax, although it is a simple foundation with wooden pillars and walls of OSB panels in which we keep our tools from the household.

With or without foundation?

The type and the quality of the soil in the area where a house is to be built from shipping containers can influence the choice of foundation type on which the metal modules will be placed, but, in principle, for stability, it is recommended pouring a foundation/base. The good news is the light weight of containers allows pouring a foundation less expensive, meaning more economical.

There are some voices that say it is enough to enshroud a layer of gravel on which the concrete slabs come mounted over. The gravel is meant to prevent the water infiltration in the concrete slabs, protecting them from moisture, and also protecting the metal modules fixed above. Also abroad, many people choose to place the containers on metal or reinforced concrete pillars, leaving a hole under the house. The decision is yours, but I think that the safest option remains pouring a concrete foundation, which should not be deep, as required in case of masonry buildings.

Placing of the container in the final position

Placing containers on the concrete support, after drying it, takes only a few hours, being done with a crane help. If you limit yourself to one module, things are very simple and from that moment you can pass to the stage of decorating the future holiday house, step that will take time and it will consume the most of the budget. However, if you want to get a bigger house, you need to consume more time for fixing and joining them, cropping their walls between the adjacent modules. If you know how to weld, it is good to know that this is where you have to put into practice this skill for welding together the metal containers.

Cropping the windows and construction of the roof

After the definitive fixing the cutting of the openings for doors and windows follow. For this purpose you can use a flex /circular saw or a plasma cutting machine. The windows size is dictated by the preferences of each owner, but I want to outline that for a high visual comfort, it would be advisable to opt for glass in large portions, especially for small modules, with a height of only 2.59 meters. The explanation is simple: rather low ceiling (remember that its height will decrease further after applying the insulating layer) can induce the feeling of pressure or confinement, which can be removed using large windows.

If you use two or more containers, in this moment you have to already know how you want to divide your future house inside, by assembling some wooden or metal frames that will serve as walls.

Now is the time of roof construction that can be achieved, again, depending on your preference. For a vacation house in which nobody will live permanently, is good a simple roof, in one water.

Assembling the installations

Before moving from the house insulation made of shipping containers the electrical circuit and the other necessary installations must be traced and assembled. If you do not master well this field, call for a skilled electrician to do a work by the book and particularly safe. You know that it is no playing with the electrical part.

Insulation of the metallic modules

You can move to this step only after you have assembled the doors, windows and you will have ended with all the necessary installations. Since the insulation of the future house is an especially important step on which your comfort and your family depends, it must be made with great carefulness and responsibility. The most effective method is to apply a layer of sprayed polyurethane foam, which ensures a seamless insulation, achieving in a particularly fast time, on which the plasterboard are assembled over.

Unfortunately, I do not know if this type of insulation can be achieved by self-management, without the help of a team of specialists. But I surely know that you can hire a specialized company that will execute the work quickly, for a fee, of course.

Instead, by self-management, there can be applied one or several consecutive layers of wool, which will be covered with plasterboards. Very important it is to insulate not only the walls, but also the ceiling and the floor. Let us not forget though that the metal wall of a container is extremely thin.

Well, here we arrived at the moment when you can start finishing. Here I will not detail, because it is not different stage of finishing than in an apartment or in a house built in a traditional way, of masonry.

House Refurbishment in London. New Build in London.

Flat Refurbishment in London. New Build in London.

House Extension and Refurbishment in London.

Loft Conversion and Refurbishment in London.

House Renovation and Refurbishment in London.

Office Refurbishment, Shop Refurbishment in London.

Bathroom and Kitchen Refurbishment in London.

Electricians and Plumbers in London. Refurbishment London.

Kitchen Furniture Fitting in London. Cleaning in London.