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No form of housing is perfect and shipping container homes are no different. If you decide to build your shipping container home using only one container, you will be living in a very small space. This may be your intent, as the popularity of the tiny house movement continues to grow. But some people fail to realize that living in a tiny home can be a tough adjustment. You have to make decisions about material possessions—what can and can’t you live without. You have to accept that entertaining large groups indoors at your home might not be an option. There are, of course, ways to get around this problem. You can buy a larger shipping container, or group or stack multiple shipping containers together. You shouldn’t feel unnecessarily confined to the size limitations posed by a single shipping container.
Another thing to consider is that shipping container homes can be very hot or very cold if not properly insulated. As with the size issue, there are ways to deal with this problem. Proper insulation will go a long way, as will putting a roof on the shipping container and painting the outside with white reflective paint. Putting a roof on the shipping container will also prevent the problem of water collecting on the roof, rust on the roof, and leakage from the roof.
And, when building a shipping container home, as with construction of any home, you must comply with the regulations set forth by your local government. Shipping container homes have to follow the same rules as other types of homes, so it’s important that you ensure that your shipping container home complies with local codes and that you have proper permitting. This is one of the most complicated aspects of constructing a shipping container home, but it’s one that you’ll have to deal with in building a new home, regardless of type. We’ll talk more about how to do this in a later chapter of this guide.
Another part of building a shipping container home that might cause you some headache is finding a contractor with experience in this type of home. Unless you’re completely DIY-ing your shipping container home, you’ll be looking to hire a general contractor to build the home for you. Most building contractors have never built a shipping container home before. You may think that house construction is house construction, whether using shipping containers or other materials, but I would caution you to hire a contractor with specific experience in shipping container homes. I think you’ll find it worth the extra effort to locate the type of builder. To find one, do some research on your locale and see if anyone has already built a shipping container home. If you find someone, talk with them and find out if they can recommend a builder.
If you aren’t able to find anyone in your area who has built a shipping container home, the best thing to do is to just find the nearest shipping container home and get in touch with its owners. Ask who they used as a contractor and whether they can recommend anyone in your area. If they don’t, the next step is to just make a list of local contractors and start calling them to find out whether they’ve ever built a shipping container home.
Building and living in a shipping container home is a rewarding, enjoyable experience for many people, but there are some drawbacks you should consider before diving in. Living in a shipping container home certainly isn’t for anyone, and, of course, it’s best that you make this determination before going to the time and expense of building one.
