7 reasons why shipping container homes are a SCAM

And today, as we have seen, homes can be built out of almost anything, including shipping containers. Shipping containers. Container house. Container home. Abandoned shipping containers. Shipping containers. The shipping containers. Shipping container homes and tiny home living. Shipping container. Shipping containers. Shipping container. Shipping containers from right here in the river city. Since the early 2000s, shipping containers have captured the imagination of designers and home builders worldwide. They fit in with a very popular tiny house movement that advocates living simpler and in smaller homes. The corrugated metal exterior of shipping containers gives it a trendy, industrial look. Thousands of shipping containers are discarded every year, so there is a sense of being socially responsible and environmentally conscious when one rescues a shipping container from a junkyard and converts it to a home. Along with this mentality is the idea that you are saving money by using waste material as a starting point for your home construction. Container homes are marketed as an affordable solution to a standard suburban home. These tiny homes are glamorized all over social media and have a huge following. Architects in particular seem to have a fascination with modularity, and shipping containers can seem to be the solution to all the world's problems. I admit I wasn't immune to this as an architecture student. Design competitions will usually have at least one entry with proposals such as this shipping container skyscraper that would solve the housing problems in the slums of Dharavi in Mumbai, India. 2,500 shipping containers would be stacked at various angles to create this tower, and their proposal indicates that the shipping container units would be delivered via drones. Google searches yield hundreds of wild, crazy ideas that use repurposed shipping containers for a variety of commercial and residential buildings. But if this is the magical solution to all problems, why don't you see shipping container homes everywhere? Well, we're going to dive into seven issues with this type of construction. First off, the most obvious issue is the size constraints. Standard shipping containers are 20 feet and 40 feet long and 8 feet wide. Most of these containers are 8.5 feet tall, but you can custom order ones that are 9.5 feet tall. To make the shipping container livable, you have to insulate it, add mechanical systems, plumbing, electrical systems, sprinklers, and flooring, so you lose up to a foot of the total height and 6 inches off each side, which leaves you with a very tight box. Most people who renovate these shipping containers usually order more expensive, custom 9.5 feet tall containers, like Benjamin Uyeda did for his home in Joshua Tree, California. Since there is barely any wiggle room in height, Mr. Homemade Modern chose to cut into the metal floor joists for his plumbing work. This brings us to the second issue. A metal shipping container works as a system. The idea that every part of this box is structural is false. Every single cut that you make for plumbing, windows, doors, roof openings into its structural frame or corrugated metal siding compromises its strength, so you have to reinforce it with metal or wood. Also, to add insulation to the inside of the container, you have to frame out your walls with wood. Finish the interior with drywall, just like you would on a typical home construction. Tied to this misconception of the structural nature of shipping containers is the idea that it can support cantilevers. Shipping containers are meant to be stacked on top of each other, like Lego building blocks. The second you don't stack the containers on corners, you need to reinforce the containers with heavy, expensive steel beams. The four corner posts of containers should align with the corner posts of the container above or below it to be the most secure. The rails at the top and the roof of the container are not structural at all. The roof of the container is made of licade steel and will dent easily if you step on it. The only structural parts are the corner posts. So all those double-wide container homes that you see on YouTube with an entire side wall blown out to make more space, have had expensive steel reinforcement. At that point, you are using the shipping container just for the corrugated metal aesthetic and nothing else. The third issue with these shipping container homes is the thermal conductivity of steel. It's not a good insulator, so you can expect the inside of these containers to get very hot in summer and very cold in winter. If you insulate the inside of these containers, there will be a big temperature difference where the hot air from the outside meets the cold inside air or vice versa, which can cause mold and rot inside the home. The logical thing to do is to insulate the outside of these containers and add additional cladding like this couple did, but then you lose the appealing corrugated metal aesthetic. The fourth issue is the health risks that come with buying old shipping containers. You can track down the locations that the container has been to around the world, but you can't track exactly what it has carried. So it could have carried toxic chemicals such as pesticides or fumigants, and the contents could have leaked into the wooden floorboards. For that reason, some states like California only allow single-use containers to be repurposed into homes so that you can track exactly what it has transported. Also, the paint used on these shipping containers is meant to withstand the harsh conditions out in the oceans, so it can contain phosphorus and chromium and other carcinogenic elements. Fifth, this type of building is not the best in all locations. It might make sense in coastal regions near port cities where a shipping container is readily available, but if you are inland, the cost to transport it all the way to your plot of land is not logical. Also, building with native materials is the most eco-friendly and cost-effective method. In the states, wood construction is the cheapest. In other countries, it could be CMU block or clay bricks. Vernacular construction methods make the most sense because they are adapted to the local climate. Shipping container housing could work in places that have material shortages or places recovering from natural disasters where a prefab, factory-built temporary shelter is required. Sixth is the idea that you are saving the environment when you use shipping containers, and that it's a highly sustainable practice. I understand if you're using something meant for the landfill, but if you are using a brand new shipping container, what's the point? Or if you're using a one-time-use container like you would have to in California, then that container would be put to better use transporting goods across seas and oceans, which is the purpose it's meant to serve. Even if you are in a country that doesn't have this one-time-use law, these shipping containers are tossed around at sea and aren't in the best condition. To find one suitable for your home, you're probably going to have to buy a new one. Also, because of the thermal conductivity of steel, the inside of these shipping containers is going to sweat, and you cannot use organic insulation like cotton. You would have to use materials that aren't as environmentally friendly, like spray foam, polystyrene, or fiberglass insulation. Another important thing to consider is the carbon footprint of your container home. Steel construction is not as environmentally friendly as wood. Not only is your home made of steel, but so is the reinforcement. Finally, let's get to the idea that shipping containers can be the solution to the housing crisis in the world. But this crisis is not a technology problem. It's far more complex. Purely from a financial aspect, it would be cheaper to build homeless shelters with wood rather than build a complex shipping container building. This type of building can maybe be 20% cheaper, but not much more. The modifications you make to this metal box to make it livable aren't cheap. So, all in all, I don't think that container homes are everything that they are marketed as. The potential minor difference in cost isn't a justifiable reason to choose this method over other forms of construction. A well-built wood building, for instance, could be a much better option in the States. Let me know what you think in the comments, and if you think I should do a follow-up video on instances where shipping containers actually make sense. Don't forget to hit the like button and subscribe to my channel. Until next time, I'm Belinda. Thanks for watching.