Sea container house: pros and cons, projects, photos

In our country, they are so accustomed to traditional brick and concrete construction, focusing on SNiPs and GOSTs of the last century, that alternative types of construction are not even considered when choosing materials for building houses. Sea container houses are very popular in the US and Europe. For them, this is a fairly standard design, which is much cheaper than capital construction. At the same time, such houses are in no way inferior in reliability to concrete ones.

Benefits of container houses

Distrust also arises from the fact that such experimental construction appeared about twenty years ago. But the experience of construction and technology has already been developed enough to create such housing for permanent residence.

Advantages and disadvantages

Pros:

1. full-fledged housing from containers can be built in 1-3 months;
2. a simplified version of the foundation will save money – columnar, screw, floor slabs;
3. installation of containers in any position: side by side, on top of each other, at an angle, perpendicularly;
4. the possibility of building on a relief of any shape;
5. the choice of your own layout is practically unlimited;
6. do-it-yourself construction without the involvement of specialized organizations;
7. the ability to use it as a mobile home, that is, transfer to a new site;
   

8. the tightness of the container provides protection against the penetration of rodents;
9. seismic resistance: can be installed in areas with high seismic activity without the cost of reinforcement;
10. use of the container as an extension to the house from other materials;
11. expandability: you can add additional modules later;
12. production of installation at any time of the year;
13. originality of the building.

Cons:

1. construction of rooms of standard height no more than 2,4 m;
2. additional costs for lifting equipment for assembly;
3. the cost of installing high-quality ventilation and thermal insulation;
4. the need for corrosion protection of the metal.

Dimensions of shipping containers

In sea transportation, several options for ISO containers are used, which differ in size:

• 20 feet;
• 40;
• 45;
• refrigerators.

45 feet are rare, and the refrigerator is too specific and expensive. The most common and popular are 20 and 40-foot. In the English system of measures, a foot is approximately equal to 30 cm. From this we get 6 and 12 meters, respectively.

The actual size inside the 20-foot module is slightly smaller and is 5,898 x 2,350, and 40 – 12,093 x 2,330 x 2,372 m. From here, the internal area of ​​u13,8bu28,2bthe empty module will be XNUMX and XNUMX m² respectively.

For the construction of a full-fledged house with an area of ​​60–120 m², you need to use multiple containers. Modules can be arranged in 2-3 floors with a limited construction area. Containers are strong enough to build houses with several floors. Smaller units can be used as mobile workshops, cabins, temporary structures, country houses, etc.

Устройство

The metal structure is welded from beams with longitudinal and transverse bearing elements. The side cladding and the roof are made of corrugated steel sheets 1,5-2 mm thick.

The floor is made of 2 longitudinal beams connected by cross beams to reinforce the structure. When covering the floor, metal, waterproof fiberboard, plywood can be used.

For lifting and fastening during transportation, the products are equipped with corner fittings, as well as holes for a forklift.

The name “marine” speaks for itself, the body must be sealed. The doors are equipped with sealing rubber bands to ensure tightness.

Houses made of shipping containers

Such construction is otherwise called “semi-finished”. The building got its name because ready-made blocks with walls, ceiling and floor are used for construction, which do not need to be erected separately.

A house from a 20-foot container will be too small, but it can be converted into a small workshop or a country house. A 40-foot container is approximately the size of a one-room apartment or studio apartment. If you need to create a complete housing, you need to use several containers connected to each other. That is, a modular house will turn out.

Metal containers have the shape of a regular parallelepiped. To play with the shape, some designers install modules at an angle to each other, or combine them with different sizes.

What can be built

Due to their size and strength, various buildings can be created from containers:

• Flower pavilion is another type of mobile business.
• Garden house – for storing inventory and other accessories for the garden and vegetable garden.
• Barn – can be used for keeping livestock, or as a home storage.

Projects and layout

Many people think that a container house will be very narrow and it will have a standard layout – this is far from being the case. Several containers connected together will help to push the boundaries of space, between which you need to remove interfering partitions. It can also be a multi-storey building with a spiral staircase.

The project of the house is drawn taking into account the dimensions of the selected module of 20 or 40 feet or a set of several modules. The building should be designed taking into account the supply of communications and focusing on general standards.

Before you start building a house from shipping containers, you need to issue permits if the construction is capital. If you plan to put the house into operation through the BTI, you must comply with current regulations. In this case, it is worth hiring a professional design organization.

Next, an estimate is drawn up that takes into account all the necessary building materials. Based on the weight, the necessary foundation is calculated.

How to build a house from containers with your own hands

When the project is ready, we start construction. It is only necessary to take into account the sequence of installation operations, which practically do not differ from the usual construction of housing.

Alteration of the container for housing takes place in several stages. First of all, this is the installation of containers in the desired position and fastening them together. After that comes the installation of the necessary partitions, as well as the addition of the necessary structures to create a layout according to the preliminary plan.

Construction stages:

1. The erection of a suitable foundation – after a miscalculation and selection of the type, the foundation is arranged in accordance with known standards.
2. Installation and strengthening of containers – for these purposes, special lifting equipment is used.
3. Anti-corrosion treatment – to ensure the durability of the building. It is necessary to pre-treat all metal with special anti-corrosion compounds.
4. Insulation of walls and roofs – metal containers must be insulated. To do this, use mineral wool, polyurethane foam or foamed polystyrene.
5. Connecting communications – in addition to the device for power supply, water supply, sewerage and heating, a special role should be given to the device of good ventilation.
6. Exterior and interior decoration is the final stage that gives the house its final look.

Home decoration

When choosing a finish, you do not need to follow any special rules. The choice of material depends only on the preference of the customer. To finish the container from the outside and from the inside, all materials available for construction are used. Beautiful container houses exist, despite the opinions of skeptics. The main thing is to competently approach the design and choice of high-quality finishing materials.

Layout

12 meter house comparable in size to a studio apartment. When planning, you can focus on finished projects. There is a combined bathroom, a living room connected to the kitchen. In such a block there is enough space to divide the space into zones for work and leisure.

Small sea container poorly suited for use as a full-fledged housing – make a comfortable layout for 12 m² pretty hard. Mirrors can be used to visually expand the space. Such buildings are usually used as seasonal housing, or as additional modules to the main building.

Modular house

Houses from block containers can be capital or collapsible for ease of transportation. The advantage of modular houses is the ability to replace a separate block of the house, which is not possible in a traditional building.

The most standard version of a modular home is a one-story building with several modules connected. A more creative option is a multi-storey building with the installation of an internal or external staircase. Installing stairs outside the building helps save usable space and use it for the necessary rooms.

The house of 2 containers can be completed with a veranda or terrace. To do this, they need to be placed perpendicularly and an open terrace should be erected in the resulting corner space. Or install the containers in parallel at a certain distance, and between them place a covered veranda on an additional wooden deck connecting the blocks to each other.

foundation for container

As already mentioned, the construction of container houses does not require the installation of a special type of foundation. The choice depends only on whether the building will be capital or mobile. The calculation takes into account the relief of the site and the type of soil. Additionally, you need to take into account the number of storeys of the future house, as well as the weight of all modules used.

You need to understand that metal containers are very durable and will not settle in only one place, unlike concrete or brick. Therefore, when installing such housing, cheap types of foundations, such as columnar or screw, are sufficient. The use of stronger bases is only necessary if the building is heavy enough, for example, when assembling modules in 2 floors.

Finished housing production

The production of housing from containers has also been established in our country. Specialized firms have appeared that, according to pre-developed projects, manufacture them at enterprises, and then deliver them to customers at the installation site.

The advantage of such houses is that they are inexpensive and do not need to spend time on construction. The downside is the standard layout, as well as the set of materials from which the building is made, without the possibility of choice.

Cost

The cost of such housing (even including finishing) is 30% less than the price of a finished house of a classic construction. On average, the construction of a house with an area of ​​​​55 m² will cost from 800 thousand rubles. It should be borne in mind that the total cost of such housing is influenced by such factors as:

• the cost of the land plot on which the finished building will be installed;
• costs for designing and obtaining permits in the case of capital construction;
• number of storeys and total area;
• transport and lifting works;
• hiring specialists when it is impossible to carry out work independently;
• communication costs;
• purchase of building materials.

Additionally, the cost is affected by the fact whether the purchased containers for construction will be new or used, which will cost less. If the installation site is located far from the port where the sea containers are located, the distance may increase the cost of transportation. It will not be possible to save on thermal insulation materials, since such a house, with year-round use, requires high-quality insulation. Finishing can also significantly increase the budget – this is the most expensive item in the estimated cost of any home.

Reviews, video

Despite numerous discussions of skeptics about the unsuitability of containers for full-fledged living, the owners of such houses speak well of their finished homes. Such budget housing does not hit the pocket of a large family, but it can provide a separate room for each of its inhabitants. Those who cannot afford a full-fledged brick or concrete house speak well of sea container cottages. This option is much more profitable and convenient compared to a small cramped apartment.