Why are Shipping Containers Prized for Housing Purposes?

There is a movement to use shipping containers for smaller, but efficient single-family houses. This movement maintains that individuals and families can live, comfortably and well, in much smaller spaces – provided they engage in a bit of reprioritising their lives and possessions first. But why are shipping containers homes such popular choices these days?

Size Matters

Shipping containers are the perfect size for someone truly interested in adopting a small home lifestyle. That would be the standard shipping container size. There are actually many different sizes available when it comes to shipping containers in order to provide even greater versatility for those who would like a little additional living space or those who want to go even smaller.

Strength

Shipping containers are built to be strong enough to stack 10 or more high and make weeks long journeys across the country filled with items. They are designed to withstand the elements like salt, wind, waves, and sea without allowing the items inside them to become damaged in the process. If they can withstand these brutal conditions at sea, just imagine what they can endure on land. They certainly present an interesting choice for living quarters.

Easy to Modify and Transform

At first sight, a shipping container might not look like an attractive home. It will take more than a few modifications to make the interior and exterior feel more homelike, but it can be done – and quite inexpensively.

Low Cost Solutions

The shipping containers themselves can be purchased at remarkably affordable prices – for a home. Even with the modifications necessary to make some of them feel like an actual home, the costs are considerably less than buying even the smallest of homes in most cities. The costs are attractive for individuals who are most interested in living affordable lifestyles while minimising their possessions and acquisitions

Environmentally Friendly

Finally, more people around the world are beginning to take an interest in the impact their actions have on the planets. Smaller homes occupy less space. They require fewer fossil fuels (and emissions) to cool and heat. They force consumers to modify their behaviours to fit the spaces in which they live. They are often recycled and use far fewer resources to create than the traditional home – especially for those who choose to use reclaimed and recycled products for their modifications.

All around, shipping container sales may have been driven by the tiny house trend, but it looks like the trend is one that is here to stay. That might not be a bad thing at all.