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Latest Posts
- 8 Aug 11 - Top 7 Common Items that Shipping Containers Beat in Value
- 1 Jul 11 - Shipping Containers and Sustainability, Pt. 3
- 24 Jun 11 - Shipping Containers and Sustainability, Pt. 2
- 16 Jun 11 - Shipping Containers and Sustainability, Pt. 1
- 2 Jun 11 - Falcon is Famous!
- 27 Apr 11 - Falcon moves to Area 51
- 15 Mar 11 - The Container Bar made from Shipping Containers
- 15 Mar 11 - Ideal Guesthouse Made From Shipping Containers
- 11 Mar 11 - Why Falcon is trying tablets - and why we're picking Xoom over iPad2.
- 9 Mar 11 - Modified Shipping Container
Authors blogs
Repurposing shipping containers - the Boxpert Blog
Shipping container home interior dimensions
When converting a shipping container for use as a home, the interior dimensions of the container are important elements to consider. Even though the exterior dimensions are standardized with minimal variances, it will have some variance in its interior dimensions, based on the manufacturer's design. For a 20 ft. container, the average interior length is 19 ft., 4 in.; the average width is 7 ft., 8 in.; the average height is 7 ft., 9 in. Once you finish out the interior with framing and wall coverings, the dimensions could be as little as 18 ft., 4 in. length, 7 ft., 0 in. width, and 7 ft., 3 in. height.
Shipping container as motor coach?
Every once in a while you find something really insteresting. Here is an article comparing the 40 ft shipping container as an alternative to a motor coach:
Why a shipping container home as a cabin
When my husband & I bought our second rural property, I didn’t want to “rough it” any more. I wanted a home that would be functional, easy to secure & maintain, and not diminish the value of the property should we sell it.
Delivering a shipping container cabin
The shipping container cabin was delivered on a tiltbed truck, the kind used to tow vehicles, with a winch. We had the ground leveled out, and crushed granite gravel put down to create a pad. We marked the location of the four corners of the shipping container cabin, and had concrete blocks to level out the corners. The truck had to dodge several trees and cross a couple of streams along the way, but then the driver just backed up the truck, tilted the bed, and let our container home slide into place. He then used a device along with a hydraulic lift (the kind you use to lift your car to change a tire), and lifted each corner so we could put the concrete blocks in place until the container house was level. So simple!
Planning the interior of our shipping container home
For the interior of the shipping container cabin, we had some “must-haves” and some “nice to haves”. The “must-haves” were a full bath, place to store food & cooking supplies, a bed, a place to store clothes & equipment, climate control (the Texas Hill Country temperature ranges from <20F to 100F), low energy usage, and the ability to move the box to different locations without extensive utility changes.
Planning a shipping container home for our site
First of all, we had to consider where we were putting the shipping container house and what we wanted to use it for – a remote weekend/vacation cabin. Given the location, we didn’t have electricity, gas, sewer/septic, or water, so the shipping container home plan had to take this into account. We decided to add gas (propane service), access to water (we had wells on the property), and electric generation capacity (run on propane). We decided not to install septic, as we were in an environmentally sensitive area, with mostly rock underneath a thin layer of topsoil. The risk of contamination of the watershed was too great. We also decided to run the gray water out onto the ground after letting it settle. This meant we were committed to only use biodegradable products in the shipping container house. Sulfates and phosphates became a big no-no.
Stretching our sea legs
It's almost official. Falcon will soon stretch its sea legs.