What is a Shipping Container?
10 Reasons to Build with Shipping Containers
Here at Gateway Container Sales we’re so sold on the idea of building with shipping containers we’d be hard pressed to devise a list of 10 reasons not to build with a shipping container! Here are 10 of the best reasons (of many, many more) we have for you to dive in and build your home or business premises using containers.
1. Cost
Not only are the containers themselves cheaper than traditional building materials, square metre for square metre, they can be put together far more quickly than other methods.
Bricks and mortar is a slow and often arduous way of putting a build together. Cutting, reinforcing and welding a load of pre-made boxes together takes far less time than putting up a building brick by brick. This time saved impacts on the labour costs involved in the build.
Remember, however, to look at the containers you buy with your own eyes – cheap isn’t always cheerful! A dirt cheap container can mean it’s at the end of its life, so pay what you can afford and inspect what you’re buying. A good used container could give you 50+ years as a part of a building if you choose the right one and look after it.
2. Modular
Much of the construction of a build with shipping containers can be done in a factory environment. Doors, windows and even first-fix utilities, insulation and stud walls can be put in before it is loaded onto a truck and dropped at the site for putting into place. This can save weeks on the overall construction time.
Another important part of a container building being modular is that they are far more easily designed than a bricks and mortar building. You can get quite funky with the design even while knowing each unit’s exact size and shape.
3. Speed
As we have discussed above, you can build a large family home or office unit in a fraction of the time it takes to put together a bricks and mortar unit. The cost savings include:
- Modifying and fitting out in a factory environment
- Moving the units to site on trucks
- Speed of stacking and welding on site
Speed translates to financial savings but can meet other needs too. You may have had your home or business destroyed in a fire for example and getting a finished, weather tight building together in just a few months could help everyone involved.
4. Environmentally friendly
Image source: Dezeen
When building with shipping containers you use far fewer of the world’s resources to – and effectively finding a permanent use for a waste product is good for the planet. Cement emits a tonne of carbon dioxide for every tonne produced. Containers cost far less to the planet than a concrete home.
5. Appearance
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Here at Gateway Container Sales we think that container homes look beautiful but we’re a little biased on that front! With literally thousands of shipping container-based building developments going up worldwide every year – and the rate growing – then other people seem to think the same way too…
6. Durability
Built for the worst that Neptune can chuck at them, containers can take an awful lot of abuse. If looked after once in place (as you would any other home) a shipping container building could well out-last you or your kids who inherit it!
Keep an eye out for rust spots. Paint the exposed parts every five or so years and the shipping container will look after you for a long time to come.
7. Readily available
Thanks to the imbalance of trade between Asia and the rest of the world, there are a large number of containers that go on one way trips across the globe and that’s the end of their careers. This means you can get ones of extremely good quality that will have had an absolute minimum of abuse. Again, as we said earlier – do look before you buy as you would any investment.
8. Easy to transport
Both in taking to the site and potentially onward from there if a temporary development such as a pop up marketplace or shopping mall, containers are dropped onto specially built vehicles for each stage of their journeys. As long as they aren’t over 40 tonnes or so per unit you could in theory ship a four bedroomed home from its original resting place here in Brisbane over to Europe! Takes the idea of ‘moving house’ to a whole new level doesn’t it?
9. They’re versatile
Every shipping container is a blank canvas for you to turn into anything you want, from a backyard garage to a family home. Want a 12 metre high entrance lobby? Take the doors off and mount it vertically. Glass walls? The more architects look at shipping containers the funkier the ideas seem to get!
10. Can be built anywhere
Ever fancied having a bolthole in The Outback? There’s no real limitation where you can put a shipping container building. Solar/wind energy can supply the power. You just need some form of water supply and a spot for your waste and the shipping container could go anywhere from a Sydney suburb to a forgotten corner of the Northern Territory. Be aware of local planners – they can be a little scarier than an Eastern Brown Snake taking a fancy to your new home if not properly consulted…
Inspired? Come and say hi!
With these 10 reasons for building with shipping containers in mind, you might want to give us a call! We look forward to hearing from you…
Related Topics
