Many people tend to consider railboxes or shipping containers as a great material to build a home. Get more information about them in this link. This is because they can find these containers more affordable and convenient than building an actual brick and mortar house. Building a container home can be a good choice for you if you want to save money and build the home of your dreams as quickly as possible. However, there are certain things that you need to know when you consider building a railbox for your next place of residence.
Table of Contents
Some Myths That Need to Get Busted
Building Your Container Home is Easy
Although most people believe that it is relatively cheap to build a home from a railbox container compared to the usual concrete and brick house, there is still a lot of work involved in the process. It is a myth that you just have to order your container, build the ideal home, bring your appliances inside, and you are good to go. It still takes a lot of work and patience in order for you to build a container that is comfortable and livable.
You Can Save More on Labor Costs
If you choose the DIY method when it comes to building your home, there are a lot of problems and setbacks that you might face along the way. If this is your first time building a home out of a railbox container, you need careful planning and lots of research before you are able to finish your project. Unless you are already a pro in building a home out of Conex boxes, you might spend a lot of hours doing trial and error jobs to get that air conditioner fitted in the box. You might also want to consider the labor costs if you hire a pro since they can cost a lot if you are stuck in building your ideal home.
You Don’t Need to Do Too Much Work
A typical railroad container does not have any windows and they are usually made with one-way doors. This is because they are just mainly used for storage purposes. Therefore, in order for you to provide proper electricity, flooring, plumbing, doors, ventilation, and windows, you might have to drill here and there on your railroad box. You just have to make sure that you are drilling in the right place. If you improperly work on your box, you might get leaks or entry points for pests that can be a problem in the future.
There are a lot of people who will say that the containers can be handled easily. In fact, many of them see the storages as a kind of solution to their problems with housing. A lot of housing projects that use containers may show some cool photos about completed projects. However, these so-called successful people in building a great railbox house might conveniently forget to tell you about the effort, time, and money spent on making their houses. Do research and be vigilant when it comes to making homes from Conex boxes so that you will prevent unneeded expenses in the future.
What If You Already Decided to Buy a Container?
There are a lot of wholesale railboxes that are available for purchase. You can save a lot especially if you are planning to build a village using the containers. Not that there might actually be someone who will do this. But just in case. The prices can vary and the rentals can cost as low as $80 a month to $10,000 every month. The price range depends on the features of the boxes.
Wholesale containers are usually sold without logos. This does not mean that you will get a low-quality container. On the other hand, there are non-branded containers that were built with tough materials. They also provide adequate covers and they come in very affordable deals. With wholesale containers, you might be the one who will shoulder the shipping and the delivery. However, this can cost less on your part since you will be able to complete your project in single shipping without any extra transport costs.
Sizes of Containers Available
The standard size of a container is 10 ft. by 40 ft. by 20 ft. The height can range from 8 ft. up to 9 ft. There are long railboxes that are more than 50 ft. long. These containers are shipped around the world and they are ISO-certified. There are sizes available on sites such as OppTrends which will let you know more about the sizes that are suitable for housing projects through your browser.
Where the Shipping Containers are Manufactured
Most of the shipping containers used worldwide came from China. This is because manual labor and the materials used are cheaper compared to other countries. These factors make the railboxes more affordable and accessible. If you are worried about the quality, then China can offer a good shelf life for most of its containers. Read more about shelf life in this link: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shelf life.You can find containers that can last for more than 15 years although they were manufactured from overseas.
With these shipping containers, you are investing in something that is sturdy and durable. When containers sail on ships, they are exposed to changing weathers of each continent. Therefore, they need to be made of steel and something that is sturdy in order to withstand the elements. It can be a problem for many suppliers if their goods arrive spoiled because the container was penetrated by water during its long and arduous journey on the seas. This is the kind of container that you should be looking for if you want to start a home-building project.
Conclusion
Now that you know something about the myths of the containers, the sizes, the manufacturing and other information about them, you are now ready to build your container. This is going to be a great project that can be enjoyable and cheap if you know the right place to find your materials. Ask an expert today if you have doubts in choosing the ideal railbox that can provide your needs.