Would you like to live in a shipping container house? It seems to be the latest fad these days. I do get it though, it is getting more and more expensive to purchase a “regular” home no matter what area of the country you live in. Cheap shipping container homes can be purchased and built for much less and perhaps you can even live debt free without a mortgage. That is the goal, especially if you live in a very expensive area like San Francisco
For example, in San Francisco, the average price for a small, one-bedroom apartment is priced at almost $3,200 a month, and in general, the typical cost of living in the city is over 55% higher than the nationwide average. So, while the Bay Location definitely has numerous advantages and benefits, the expense of housing is typically thought as excessive unless you’re pulling in a six-figure wage. This has lead people to consider imaginative options such how to create cheap shipping container homes and use that as their personal residence. They do not have to be tiny and ugly, in fact, some of these container homes are downright trendy!
What Are Cheap Shipping Container Homes?
Since you are doing an internet search and came across this page, you probably already know the answer to this question. But did you know, there are an estimated 17 million shipping containers worldwide, and just 6-7 million of those are presently in use. That indicates that around 10 million shipping containers are sitting unused in docks worldwide.
Back in 1987, a guy called Phillip Clark filed a patent to turn used steel shipping containers into inhabitable locations. Since that time, thousands of individuals have recycled cheap shipping containers into lovely, modern homes. From multi-story estates to small homes in the woods, delivering containers have actually been utilized to develop a variety of different housing options in all different kinds of climates.
Benefits of Residing In a Shipping Container Home
There are several environmental and economic benefits associated with shipping container homes. Below, we take a look at some of the most obvious advantages.
It is good for the environment. Each shipping container recycles over 7,000 pounds of steel that may have wound up in a garbage dump or decomposing away at some deserted port. In addition, by recycling cheap shipping containers for a home, we obviously utilize much less lumber, cement, brick, and other building products that would otherwise have been required for the construction of a house. Shipping container homes are also usually much less expensive than houses built the traditional way. Two 40-foot shipping containers would offer you around 600 square feet of interior area, and the shipping containers themselves usually cost between $1,000 and $5,000 dollars, depending upon how old they are and the shape that they are in. While it can be expensive to deliver empty containers across the country, in the San Francisco area, shipping expenses are drastically decreased due to the proximity to neighboring ports.
Last but not least, container houses can be rapidly constructed, and therefore provide a relatively inexpensive and environmentally friendly housing option that can usually be completed within a few months or less. In one city in Amsterdam, over 250 college dormitories or houses were built on a university campus from utilized shipping containers in under 4 months.
How Much Should You Expect To Pay For A Shipping Container House?
While you could potentially find a couple of utilized shipping containers for under $5,000 dollars, there is a lot more work (and expenditure) related to transforming cheap shipping containers into livable areas. You will have to put the shipping containers on a foundation, install insulation and utilities, integrate walls and a roof, in addition to other interior design work. On the low end, if you contracted all of the work out to a professional specialist with experience in building shipping container houses, you could anticipate to spend around $15,000 dollars.
In the Bay Location, Boxhouse was a company that focused on changing a few of the more than 2 million shipping containers that flow through the Port of Oakland each year into livable houses for regional citizens. For people who enjoy do it yourself tasks, they sold a barebones shipping container design for simply $9,000 dollars. This model consisted of the container itself in addition to the window and door cut out and framed, outside paint, insulation for the walls, flooring and ceiling and 2×4 framing. With a little bit of work, you could have a cheap shipping container home for under $10,000 dollars.
Even if you are bad with a hammer and wish to purchase a completely completed shipping container house, Boxhouse also provided a “luxury” model for simply under $50,000 dollars. The “boxouse luxurious” included 1kw of solar power, an incorporated trailer, voice controlled gadgets, windows that transform from transparent to opaque, remote controlled projector screen/ room divide, automated utility servicing, and an interior decoration that consisted of a kitchenette, shower, and bedroom. With the average home price in the Oakland location over $750,000 dollars, shipping container houses are certainly a few of the most economical real estate alternatives readily available.
Where Can You Put a Container Home in San Francisco?
As with small homes, among the most significant difficulties related to container homes in San Francisco is related to where to put them. There are several zoning laws and other housing ordinances that make it difficult for alternative real estate strategies like cheap shipping container homes to grow.
If you want to lease a shipping container home before actually purchasing and remodeling among your own, you might be able to discover a spot at “Containertopia” a small village of shipping container homes in Oakland. Rent is just $600 dollars a month.
While San Francisco normally does not have zoning laws that get along towards shipping container houses, there are examples of the regional real estate commissions granting permission for shipping container homes. As shipping container houses become more mainstream as an economical and green real estate option, zoning laws must end up being more accepting and tolerant.
While you might try to build a little shipping container house and hope not to be caught, we suggest doing it the right way so your investment can last.