Last Updated on November 4, 2021 by Kravelv
Many people are converting sheds, garages, and small buildings into fully functioning homes today. They save money, space, and time, and what’s most important other than the budget; they provide a safe shelter for yourselves or family members. Building a shipping container home does take some dedication though, and nevertheless, with the right work done to it, it can be even more sturdy than a mobile home.
A Lot of Planning Has to Go Into it
You need to make a bunch of checklists to ensure that you can build a shipping container home. If you don’t have a good plan, with plenty of detail involved in it, you will have to just go with the flow when it comes to building your shipping container home, and that can cause you to lose some precious time in the process. Not only that, but you’ll have more issues while you’re building it.
One good thing is to know how much you need to budget when it comes to spending the money on your home. Calculate how much of your money needs to go into materials, construction, tools, and other things you may need in order to complete your home. If you want to find out the cost of the shipping container itself, you can check out shippingcontainersale.org.
Secondly, you need to know what type of home (just like a regular home) you’re wanting to build. How many bedrooms? What about bathrooms? Do you want a multi-story home (This often requires more than one shipping container)? What kind of containers should you use? Do you want a freight container that’s been used or would you rather have one that’s brand new?
All of these questions, and a lot more need to be answered and developed in your plan. Remember, you’re building a home, treat it like one. Just because it’s made out of a shipping container doesn’t mean it doesn’t require as much planning as a standard home.
Also Read: Shipping Container Garage Conversion
Common Error is Your Worst Enemy
When you make mistakes (which is easy to do), and they are the smallest and most common, these can actually cause a lot more problems. Here are some common mistakes to try to not make:
- Not planning. This is a horrible thing to do as mentioned above.
- Getting rid of more of the steel than you have to. It’s very easy to take away too much of your material, and then you’re left with less material which you can use, which means you wasted it.
- Don’t buy the wrong kind of container than you need for your home.
- Don’t buy your container before seeing it.
- Make sure you know your local regulations required to build your home.
- Make sure the insulation you use is the right type for your location and surrounding elements.
- Not researching and/or hiring the right construction contractor, carpenter, etc.
There is More of Course
Make sure you make notes of every dime you spend. Taking budget notes, keeping receipts, and more can help you with many things, including taxes. Also, make sure you know where you want to purchase your materials and spend money that you will need to buy your home. Of course, the highest priced item when you’re wanting to build the home, and new ones cost a lot more than used ones.
Both have some advantages and disadvantages, so some of those decisions are based solely on your preference. The main thing you need to do is plan and don’t forget to salvage materials that you may be able to use to build your home; people are always throwing away things that they don’t need, or extras (carpet, insulation, wood, etc.)