/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[►SaabLobster Three.Bro !TurbOZa05k No.255566]

I've looked everywhere..I can't find out how much an 8 container home would cost.

Do you guys have any accurate estimates as to how much it would cost?

[Anonymous No.255574]

all of your self worth

[Nope! !!BTYBtMkUWIF No.255576]

As cool as that is

why?

[Anonymous No.255577]

Why dont you price it out yourself?
Do up a barebones structure, check container costs and then if youre not going to finish it yourself, make some phonecalls to get estimates from contractors.

[Anonymous No.255584]

A friend of mine builds these, somethig like $2000 per used container plus shipping and labor and an architect's fee for designing something solid. $50,000ish?

she recently had one built in the outer banks of NC

[Anonymous No.255586]

If >>255584 looks anything like >>255566 that's a steal.

[Anonymous No.255588]

where do you plan on building this?

[Anonymous No.255596]

Been planning one myself -

20' containers can be had for under $4000 max usually.

*8 = max 36k
+delivery, placement, welding, other roofing, etc..

Could probably safely say $45-50k.


>>255584
Oh. beat me to it.. So be it.
>Second opinion agrees.

[Radiofag No.255597]

$3500 per 40 ft High Cube is common. You would need a crane to move them too, which is roughly $100/hr.

[Anonymous No.255613]

What would be zoning laws be like for this? I know it's by location but you know

[Anonymous No.255953]

use google, my friend. Find someone who sells shipping containers; ask for a quote.
then, ask an architect how much they'd charge for designing your home (calculate square footage)
then, price of land
then labour (ask a local building company)

This is /diy/ not /wetellyoueverythingalways/. here to help, not to be an encyclopaedia

[Anonymous No.255963]

>>255613
Easy if you're out of town, not so easy if in town. If you're out of town just call it a storage shed, and when it's approved and inspected, build a home out of it. Who gives a fuck?

Follow building and electrical and plumbing codes. Pour a foundation.

Don't buy land in town where there's a time limit to build, or a homeowner assocation who will hassle you.
You won't want your neighbours, and they won't want you.

[Anonymous No.255974]

Container homes are illegal in my country. ;___;

[Anonymous No.255975]

>>255953
Getting an architect to design a container house

lol wut

[Anonymous No.255989]

In the end not much cheaper than a conventional home. You'll pay out your ass for safety inspections and shit like that because of the anal building codes you have to follow, negating most of the savings unless you do close to EVERYTHING yourself during the construction.

[Anonymous No.256000]

>>255974
why?
>>255975
Haha seriously. Maybe if you're going to get it inspected and... live in it as a house, officially and legally then you need an architect's signature on it. :\

Personally i really like OP pic as it appears to be a steel shell with 8 containers. It seems like it would be so simple, practical, and big.

[Anonymous No.256008]

>>256000
I think you meant engineer, not an architect, the city doesn't care where your breakfast nook is or how your living space flows into your kitchen

[Anonymous No.256023]

Are there any articles on how you actually attach the containers together? I can't imagine you'd get a good seal between 2 horizontal units.

[Anonymous No.256025]

>>256023
that is how they are stored on board?

[Anonymous No.256032]

>>256025
yeah but you don't cut giant holes in the sides and try to connect them during regular use.

[Anonymous No.256073]

they connect at the corners - square pin fits into a square hole then there is some sort of pin or locking mechanism to hold them together; this is when on a ship. for a house I'd think you'd just use the same method but maybe spot weld the pin/lock in position.
on a horz seam that will be exposed to the outside just need to add some sort of sealer/gasket or weld another piece of metal over the length of the seam.
this is not rocket science.
in the OP pic looks like a simple steel warehouse shed shell with the containers stacked inside... wouldn't have to worry about the container seams in this case.

[Anonymous No.256076]

>>256032
They are stable trust me. Bearing load and stability will no be a major concern. Cutting out part of the sides will not make any difference.

[Anonymous No.256080]

>>256076

Is there an internal frame to them? Like could I cut out two adjacent sides without worrying about it?

[Anonymous No.256087]

they have a steel frame with a "skin" welded to it. all [well most] the structure and support is on the frame, not the skin.

[Anonymous No.256099]

>>256032
>>256032
Earthquake = toppling over?
I'm not sure how safe this getup would be, but it's not like an earthquake completely fucks shipping docks.

[Anonymous No.256100]

>>256099
>>256099
my other concerns would be the insulation. You'd practically live in a greenhouse in OP's picture.

central air systems aren't exactly the same green method these container homes come with, but no insulation is just suicidal in less than temperate zones.

[Anonymous No.256102]

>>256099
>it's not like an earthquake completely fucks shipping docks
Is that a fact?

[Anonymous No.256105]

>>256102
>>256102
well alright. i was actually hoping to be corrected.

now how do these people plan on preventing that? anything short of living outside an earthquake area?

[Anonymous No.256107]

earthquake strong enough to topple welded together containers (only 2 high) would certainly also fuck up most other "conventional" building methods.
I assume the containers are also attached to the floor slab in some fashion and also attached to the warehouse steel frame.
besides; "toppled over" =/= "completely destroyed"... just stack 'em back up and yer back in bidness.
if you were inside the container when it toppled over you'd most likely easily survive - except maybe if that hug dresser or water bed fell onto you - but same could happen in a conventional house.

[Anonymous No.256108]

as for thermal/insulation... I've read they use a spray on ceramic coating that takes care of that; heat and cold... also in OP pic the super high ceilings would really help with heat dissipation and you would have some sort of ventilation system - how do they do it in a standard warehouse?

[Anonymous No.256111]

I'm not particularly fond of container houses, but that design in the picture looks really damn cool to me

Having two opposing 'faces' of rooms and almost a courtyard in the middle.

Looks really interesting to me

[anonanon No.256113]

>>255566
Im just curious about why you need the containers. You can build a nice warehouse and then just divide it up pretty cheap. the whole point behind containers is they are Lego-like and you can use then as walls to a bigger structure. If you arent going to use them as the outside walls or as structural support why bother?

[Anonymous No.256112]

40k for containers and delivery alone if you get a good deal

[Anonymous No.256115]

notice the large rectangular shape in the lower center of the glass wall - its an overhead garage door. see also the tracks above it.
basically you have this on both ends and you've got plenty of cross ventilation.

[Anonymous No.256118]

>>256113
true. but they certainly add to that "industrial" look.
I suppose you could build the same volumes out of wood then clad them in steel siding that looks similar to the siding on a container. would that be cheaper?

[Anonymous No.256119]

>>256113
can't tell from the pic but perhaps the roof structure is supported by the containers.

[anonanon No.256129]

>>256119
Thats kinda what I was hoping. In which case that is awesome.

[Anonymous No.256130]

>>256119

Given the angle they may also form the majority of the exterior walls.

[Anonymous No.256134]

>>255566
Disclaimer: Not trolling.

I seriously don't understand why someone would willingly live in a shipping container. The ceiling is going to be low, isn't it? By the time you install studs and drywall, the interiors are going to be pretty small and the ceiling even lower, isn't it? I'm sitting here imagining it, and even with all the "comforts of home" installed in it, and furnished and ample lighting, it really doesn't seem like it would be even as cheerful and inviting as living in a double-wide trailer home, but not as portable. Honestly, if I put myself in that situation, it sounds like something you'd do to survive in some post-apocalyptic Earth scenario, right up there with living in a cave.

I really don't care about any claims of it being cheaper; don't use that as an explanation, and explain why you'd want to do this.

[Anonymous No.256137]

>>256108
>>256108
-spray on insulation
why don't most newer homes just use this over conventional insulation?

-warehouse-lik high ceilings dissipate heat
i dont' know if its just california, but warehouses are terribly hot during the day and chilly at night.
i can bear the "cold" of california, but the day would be unbearable.

[Anonymous No.256140]

>>256134
>>256134
i think the average inside height of a shipping container is nearly 8' (7'10"). The ceiling in the un-vaulted-ceiling areas of my house is at 8'.

i do see the point with the narrowed living quarters being unfun though. it must be quite cramping.

[Anonymous No.256165]

>>256134
>>256140
I don't think they trim out the inside with full size 2X4s and drywall. height is roughly the same as "normal" rooms.
also if used as in OP, the container is the bedroom - one really doesn't need huge [wide] bedrooms - its just a place to sleep and change clothes. one would spend most the time in the open living area in the OP design.
looks like the side wall is removed on the lower container and it has a kitchen in it? or is that like a little library/study area. either way the main living area is the open space between the containers and the containers are used for smaller more intimate snug cozy spaces like bedroom, bath, study/den...

[Anonymous No.256174]

>>256137
Because spray-on insulation is about 1" to 2" styrofoam and adds single digits R-value of insulation. You can get 12 to 40 R-value insulation with thick layers of fiberglass or cellulous insulation in a normal attic.

I can not fathom what is the attraction of these "container homes" except for a homeless person who gets one for free. Someone above quoted $4000 per container, and that's JUST A SHELL!! No insulation, interior walls, plumbing, wiring, ect. How can't you build the shell of a decent 320 square foot building for $4000? And that's for a one-container building; for a multiple-container, you would have the extra expense of removing walls you don't need.

This is a stupid hipster idea that went way too far. If my uncle had a pile of old shipping containers and told me "take as many as you want and use my crane and trucks to put them where ever you want" then yeah, I might try to make a house out of some. But not if I had to pay as much as normal building materials would cost.

[teka No.256208]

>>256174
>This is a stupid hipster idea that went way too far. If my uncle had a pile of old shipping containers and told me "take as many as you want and use my crane and trucks to put them where ever you want" then yeah, I might try to make a house out of some.
>But not if I had to pay as much as normal building materials would cost.

This.
Some interesting ideas in small-home construction or reused materials come from it, and that is interesting, but the broad idea is kinda crap.

Like OPs image. That is a large conventional steel-framed warehouse or work building with insulation, skylights and etc, with some containers wedged inside to act as rooms. Kinda clever, sure, but the shipping containers are now just expensive, heavy furniture. You could probably frame in fake containers cheaper and easier and more eco-friendly too.

Op, just work with a company to have a simple steel building built on your lot. Insulate to a high standard and enjoy. Heck, build one yourself, they have kits for that kinda thing. Break up the internal area with whatever you want.

[Anonymous No.256213]

>>256208
>>256174
i wouldn't say it's hipster, but it is pretty hip. that's not to say it's any less impractical.

the draw is novelty; downright impractical, but novel. if i were gonna become homeless, i'd scrounge up what i can and build this shit somewhere free/unclaimed IF and only if the bin were free.

[Anonymous No.256237]

for me:

i want a containerhome because it's part of a longer-term, larger structure. but i can drop a 40ft shipping container on a concrete slab and have a shell to call home instead of a roofless structure. i think the bit most people forget is you're going for this, in essence, because of it's prefab nature: drag n drop, done. pad out, live. these are getting waaaay overthought and overdone.

[anonanon No.256245]

>>256174
You can get these for a LOT less than 4k$..think closer to 1k$ and if you look hard enough and know the right folks you can get them from FEMA or off military use fully loaded for around 4k$. If you are resourceful you can get one on a trailer and drive it to where you need it. Or have it hauled by a rig. Most folks that are enamoured by these things have some sort of "in"

[Anonymous No.256301]

Not necessarily convenient, but I love the style that it has. If I could make it look like OP's picture, by imitating the containers, I would.

[Anonymous No.256313]

I wonder if you could bury these and make a bunker

[Radiofag No.256327]

>>256313
The would collapse under the side load. They can only bear weight on the corners. Also, burying steel is ill advised.

[teka No.256328]

>>256313
short answer:
GHGHEJGEHHFDJHFDJH-NO

Longer answer:
While they seem like a huge armored box, a shipping container is not terribly strong when it comes to pressure along the sides and roof. They do not have to be strong there in their proper role because all the weight is on the strong metal frame at the edges, and they are built to very minimal standards, so there is no real reinforcement besides the slight corrugation of the metal to stiffen it.

The amount of work required to rust-proof, move, secure, reinforce, re-reinforce and make useable a shipping container will likely provide less then optimal results at a great cost in time, energy and materials.

Do this instead: http://www.survivalring.org/pdf/cw_shelterh121.pdf or something similar.

>>256245
having lived in the northeast within easy distance of Port Elizabeth (giant port in new jersey) I can say you can certainly pick up these containers for cheap.. unfortunately you are unlikely yo actually get one. The very worst and cheapest ones are sold off for scrap metal, the middling to moderate ones bought up by people with the resources to be a thousand times more connected then you.

Used pre-converted "shipping container" modules, whether from private businesses (sometimes used as on-site offices or bunkhouses) or from the armed forces can be great, if you can swing it. This is even more of a "its all who you know" situation and be sure to keep a lot of capital on hand to pounce on a deal if one comes up.

[Anonymous No.256337]

Working on containers sucks balls too.

Steel isn't thick enough to be structural, apparently says the other guys.
Steel is still a bitch to drill through.

[Anonymous No.256443]

>>256337
most common damage to a container is puncture by forklift
if a forklift and punck through that shit at low speed and bow it in i wouldnt bury it

[Anonymous No.256456]

Seriously, yes container homes are cheaper. No they're not fucking so cheap any tard can basically shit out a free house.

You're still going to end up with a substantial building loan that's going to take years to pay off for a decent finished product.

[Anonymous No.256462]

It has been said many times that you need, or at least it would be easier if you had, some connections to pick up a nice container for cheap. I wouldn't be surprised if there is/are 1-a few /diy/er(s) who have built or attempted something similar.
So does anyone here actually have some connections in the industry, or know where to pick up a nice container for under 2k or even less (<1k for instance)?
I am building a shed and am drawn by the novely and also by the diy challenge.

[anonanon No.256901]

>>256443
>>256328
>>256327
You guys keep saying this, and it makes sense and Im willing to believe it but I know guys, first hand, that have buried the 20' containers and have had them in the ground for more than 5 or 6 years now and you cant tell it at all from the inside. Im sure they are probably rusting away but they arent bowing or wet inside.

[Anonymous No.257127]

bumping for a few mins on the first page.
and answer to:
>>256462

[truckerfag !!xXmBuWkIT3n No.257131]

About $85,000 less the cost of land, permits, and most materials and labor beyond the actual arrangement and securement.

[Gezicht No.257132]

>>256328
Concrete in my area is like $128 a yard. To build something the size that op is talking about your talking about a minimum $50k in concrete, that's not including rebar, labor, or any of the other shit your going to need to make that place livable. Concrete might have been an affordable building supply once, but not any longer. This is why stable strong homes are no longer being built in America, it's all wood frames (metal studs are becoming popular) covered by the shittiest cheapest coverings you can find, throw a little insulation, paint and pretty metal anodized plastic fixtures into the mix and you've got happy customers. Right?

[Anonymous No.257296]

dumping container homes

[Anonymous No.257297]

[Anonymous No.257298]

[Anonymous No.257300]

[Anonymous No.257301]

[Anonymous No.257302]

[Anonymous No.257303]

[Anonymous No.257304]

[Anonymous No.257308]

[Anonymous No.257309]

[Anonymous No.257312]

[Anonymous No.257313]

>>256100
depends on the layout. I found a brochure online that offered 4 different styles of windows essentially giant garage doors that you could open on both ends of the home.

I'm sure you could rig solar powered ventilation fans to circulate air also.

I heard shipping containers that are used for shipping cold items are ideal because of the insulation already installed.

[Anonymous No.257391]

How much would one of these things cost? Just curious.

[Anonymous No.257397]

>>257391
Are you retarded or something?

[professional cynic No.257407]

architect (and engineer) here,

These things never work or are as cheap as advertised. Most of the time you can do cheaper form AAC blocks or stick framing. The thing in OPs pic is basically a Butler building with a glass wall and some containers in it. Most I have seen or read about cost 100k and up to build not including land. The number of containers not being the biggest cost factor, use a sqft costing system for your area, then at a factor for the non-standard construction methods you will need.

>>255975
What kind of fool would invest in a 50-100k project without professional consultation?
No one argues that you need a trained electrician or a skilled concrete worker, but when it comes to architects people just say "i can do it, fuck those guys".....

>>256008 we don't just design the interior or aesthetic shit man, there is a lot of value in knowing how buildings are built and project management, most of us have a couple yrs of engineering course work as well.

Just like most building professional, we save you time and money while keeping you form doing something stupid. (results will vary)

>>256174
you speak the truth, these are trendy but not ideal or economical building material/elements.

>>256208
teka, you hit the nail on the head.

In short: these are fine for simple shack buildings as seen in some of the above pics. I would advocate them for backyard projects you can do with one 20' container, but living in one is just pointless economically and structurally.

[Anonymous No.257461]

>>256213
no, it's hipster. it's like a minimalistic trailer, only it's impractical compared to, say, a trailer.

>bias against living in a trailer
>lives in a box built for shipping cheap goods across the ocean

[Anonymous No.258161]

These pictures are giving me an erection

[Anonymous No.258174]

OP exterior.

[Anonymous No.258188]

>>258161
I had an erection way before I saw any of these pictures

[Anonymous No.258191]

how much would it cost for a warehouse of similar size to the one in OPs pic?

[Anonymous No.258515]

>>258161
These are hardcore porn for /diy/nosaurs.