Perspectives / Real Estate

Shipping Container Homes - Live richly, cheaply.

BUILD A CONTAINER HOME

HOW DO I PLAN IT OUT?

Some important questions need to be asked at this stage such as how many people will the building be a home to? What is the style/feel of the home you are going to build? What budget should be set? The book gives a good grounding in how to tackle these questions. If you don’t know what you’re doing at the planning stage, then you could end up building on the wrong kind of land – this might lead to all kinds of expensive fixes later on. Knowing the right way to do this is very important, and Warren’s approach shows you how.

WHERE DO I GET A CONTAINER FROM?

One of the key factors in this project is finding the container itself, and this is covered in a straight-to-the-point section. Containers aren’t available from your local market, so the book gives a number of different sources that you can use to find the right seller. There’s also a great tip in here on choosing the right one – avoiding a costly mistake which can save you a lot of cash.

THE HOUSE WON’T LOOK LIKE A METAL BOX, WILL IT?

Let’s face it, a standard shipping container isn’t the most beautiful place to live. Fortunately there are a wide range of things that can be done to turn it into a stylish place to live. The book takes you through a number of different looks for your building, and the end results can be stunning. Have a look at the following video to see what is possible.

BUDGETING

From what this reviewer has seen, it rings true that this is one of the most cost-effective ways to build your own home from scratch. There doesn’t seem to be any other way to create a basic home as quickly and inexpensively as using one of these metal containers for the basic shape. Planning a budget for each stage will help you get the most house for your money, and you can avoid running out of cash as the project progresses if you use a guide such to plan out your spending.