Invented over 5 decades ago, the modern day cargo containers are an important product in the global distribution network of products. These containers contain textiles from India, toys from China, cars from Germany and grains from America. There are also cheese, chocolates and electronics products that are transported in these. While a lot of resourceful individuals have converted these shipping containers into makeshift shelters for years, modern day green designers and architects are increasingly turning their attention to these cheap and strong boxes as their source building blocks. The shipping containers can be easily modified with a host of comforts, and can be stacked to create modern and efficient spaces for a fraction of the cost, resources and labor which are otherwise more in the conventional materials.
People who are looking to buy a new home are making the purchase for the same price which their parents or grandparents did way back in the 1950s, at about $20000. Here the catch is that they are purchasing homes which are made not from traditional materials and wood, but from the cargo containers. The shipping container homes are made from used steel boxes which once carried merchandise on the large ships. These are much more than what we normally imagine them to be. These are, in fact, nice and desirable homes.
Easy to Get and Get Into
The shipping container homes have become most common as a lot of people are looking into them. These are definitely a green alternative to using other substances, and using them is highly beneficial for the recyclers. We don’t tend to notice that much, but the fact is that there are a lot of unused and empty cargo containers lying in various ports around the world, doing nothing other than taking up space. Worse still, they might end up in the landfills.
Manufacturers of the cargoes and shipping companies that ship these goods look at them as things to be disposed and this is the reason as to why many people do not see the value of these things. It is rather expensive for countries to ship the empty and unused containers back to the country of their origin, and often it is cheap to purchase new containers when required. The cost of these cargo containers varies, but on an average, you can get a used container for around $1500. The average container has around 350 sq. ft. of space. A person looking for a 3000 sq. ft. home has to pay $80 per sq. ft. to get a traditionally constructed home.
Homes that are made out of cargo containers cost around $4.5 per sq. ft. with the charges being only for the frame and that does not include the construction and finishing charges. However, if you do the calculations, you will see that the frame cost for a home of 3000 sq. ft. built from recycled containers is just around $13,500. Even when you take in the additional costs of configuring and finishing the basic units for making the containers into a home, it is still an economical choice over the traditional home building methods.
Acceptance in Society
The most popular places so far for building homes that are made of cargo containers are the former Soviet Union and parts of Asia. However, of late, the shipping container houses have started making appearances in the United States, especially in southern California. While it does take some sort of construction work to fix these steel containers such as installation of electrical, plumbing, insulation tasks and the doors and windows, these homes are made from recycled materials and are unique. With all the features and economic benefits mentioned above, you can give a new definition to your house in an economical and a stylish way.
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