Today, in the World we live on there is a housing shortage. It is not new, housing has been an issue since we moved from cave dwellings to box structure dwellings. To resolve housing costs massive apartment blocks were built to cram in the people like sardines. The cities are littered with them. Now many of these apartments looking unsightly, low income workers live in terror of street gangs and the future is bleak.
There is an abundance of unused shipping containers. There is the ever increasing costs to build a house. The failing building industry causing uncertainty. A shipping container is the ideal structure for a model home. The only issue you will face is the negativity associated with a shipping container as a home. Before you pursue this further seek advice from local council authorities.
Places like Singapore have attempted to beautify these apartment complexes. Adding plant growth and tiny play grounds in an attempt to make these areas more civil. Has it worked? In an attempt to add more accommodation in Singapore, there are now repurposed concrete sewer pipes being used as temporary accommodation. They are very nicely finished and habitable but do they solve the housing problem? Read on.
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We Want A Home
In our efforts as individuals to strive for our own home as did our forefathers we look to alternative types of dwellings. You will find those that have ‘built’ and live in under ground caves. While others have converted above ground caves into dwellings like ancient peoples once did. None of this is new.
Housing has and always will be an issue for new generations. As we head in to the age of robotics (before they take over the world) where for many of the next generation will not have jobs unless they own a robot, the idea of owning or even living in a home will just be a pipe dream.
The chance of owning your own home is becoming a fantasy. Many middle aged adults are living back home with their parents. Not a new thing. In many countries the family home was literally the family home. With two or three generations living under the same roof. As the old died, the new inherit.
Our Topic Today is Shipping Container Homes.
The idea of using a shipping container as a home is not new. It dates back to the 1960’s when shipping containers evolved. The evolution process was in the basic form of unused shipping containers being structured into a dwelling of sorts.
We face today with housing prices way above our pay rate. It takes two too be able to afford a mortgage. With both parents working the children are left to the influences of television, social media, and violent tech games. A bit like street gangs, gossip at the mall, and cinema.
A shipping container offers a fast build and less expensive life consuming mortgage so that we can have a home to call our own. The stigma that surrounds a shipping container still exists today. The thought of a metal box on the high seas being used as a dwelling in our neighbourhood has its negative connotations.
Your Biggest Roadblock
If you’re planning on turning a shipping container into a living space or work place, you will need to engage a building designer who will advise you on the process for getting building approval for modifying containers for a new use. A building incorporating containers must comply with the National Construction Code. A building surveyor must assess designs and certify them against that Code
Local Authorities
An Investment For The Future
Are shipping containers the investment for the future. Will they or can they make headway in to the building industry without falling in to the realms of the dark side. Part of the concern is acceptance. Our outdated antiquated ideals of a traditional home is one obstacle. Another obstacle is the building industry itself. Modifying a metal box is far different to building a structured home.
We tend to modify shipping containers in their form. As a box it stays a box. Instead of conforming to traditional housing style with gable roof, we just place a long box on foundations and call it home. While most shipping container homes look stunning, creative, and unique they still retain this box structure. Only a few display a gable style roof. Perhaps I am the antiquated traditionalist.
We can not deny that the overall cost of an established traditional home is by far ahead of an established shipping container home of equal floor space. Traditional requires a life time mortgage commitment whilst a shipping container home requires a personal load no bigger than a new car load. Worth it?
Longevity Of A Shipping Container
One feature of a shipping container home is that maintenance is less intense than a traditional home. A shipping container does need to be rust treated which is usually in the form of a good quality paint. As for a traditional home we have to compete with white ants, cracks in the concrete walls, or both ongoing.
Shipping containers were built for ocean voyages. So they are very sturdy and structurally strong. They are also designed to be stackable. A shipping container will last 50 plus years assuming you tackle maintenance upkeep over time and don’t allow rust to penetrate. In fact they will probably last a century or more as do some houses that have been looked after.
Conclusion
Is a shipping container home worth the investment? When you weigh up all the known costs and when compared to the expense of a traditional home the answer is clearly Yes! We can acknowledge fitting out a shipping container home with all the home appliances along with internal wall structures is adding to the initial container cost. This is to be expected.
However the overall affordability cost is by far lower than a completed traditional home of similar standard and floor size. Our shipping container home can have all that we desire from a traditional home. We should not forget the added benefit of adding to our shipping container home. Need an extra room, lets go up and stack. Not something you can easily do with a traditional home.
New homes must conform with building standard codes in your local. Not something to be ignored. But our shipping container home can have solar power. Our shipping container can have insulation and be insulated. We can live off grid easier than a traditional home. All amenities like water, gas, plumbing, and electric in our shipping container are no different to a traditional home. We share similar necessities but our shipping container can be more open space, more accommodating and, more accepting.
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