5 Shipping Container Home Plans We Love

17 Jun.,2024

 

5 Shipping Container Home Plans We Love

Shipping container home plans are like a blank canvas for the creative homeowner. Explore five of our favorite designs and why they might be your new place to call home.

Please visit our website for more information on this topic.

Why Choose a Shipping Container Home?

Shipping container homes have become more and more popular in recent years because they&#;re a great solution for homeowners who are looking for something unconventional. Here are just a few reasons why shipping container home designs and plans have become more common than ever:

  • Sustainability:

    Even with features like additional siding or insulation, shipping container homes require fewer new materials than traditional homes. Even more, converting shipping containers for housing allows homeowners to save these containers from the scrapyard or landfill, using fewer natural resources.

  • Affordability:

    These converted homes cost even less than many manufactured or modular homes to build while still offering many of the same benefits&#;making them an ideal choice for homebuyers in markets experiencing housing shortages.

  • Mobility:

    As with other types of manufactured homes, shipping container homes can be moved with relative ease depending on your foundation and where you live.

  • Customization:

    Floor plans for shipping container homes can include all the comforts of a designer-built home. We&#;ve even seen some designs for shipping container homes include multiple floors, stylish contemporary interiors, and unique layouts with panoramic views.

  • Rapid delivery:

    Shipping container homes can be ready for move-in within a fraction of the time it&#;d take for a traditionally built home.

Choosing Your Shipping Container Home by Floor Plan

Our container home partners generally offer their container home units in two sizes. These can either serve as their own living spaces or be combined with other shipping containers to create larger, more customized spaces.

20 Ft Shipping Container Home Plans

These smaller shipping containers are typically 20 feet long, 8 feet wide, and just over 8 feet tall. Although they&#;re smaller than most of our manufactured spaces, they can still include all the comforts of home or serve as recreational spaces, guest areas, home additions, off-grid glamping accommodations, and more.

30 Ft Shipping Container Homes

Splitting the difference between our smallest and largest container home sizes, 30-foot shipping container home plans offer a bit more square footage for living and recreation. These manufactured homes measure 30 feet long by 8 feet wide. They&#;re the perfect size for a tiny home or cabin.

40 Ft Shipping Container Home Plans

Among the most spacious options we have, these homes measure 40 feet long by 8 feet wide. At roughly 320 square feet of usable space on their own, they&#;re also larger than most people&#;s first apartments out of college, but with more privacy and room to customize.

Our Favorite Shipping Container Home Designs 

1. Shipping Container Tiny Houses

This is perfect for people who want to downsize or live a more minimalist lifestyle. They&#;re also an affordable solution that still offers all the amenities you would want in a full-sized house, such as washer/dryer hookups, living areas, and kitchen spaces. 

2. Accessory Dwelling Units

Shipping containers make excellent accessory dwelling units (ADUs) because they offer enough space to accommodate guests. Since we can also help you hook your ADU up with utilities like gas and plumbing, they can be a great way to host guests. In turn, everyone can enjoy a little more privacy without having to stay in a hotel.

3. Multi-Piece Shipping Container Home Floor Plans

This is one of the easiest ways to have a customized home design. With this option, the shipping container home builders can connect different container sizes to form the shape and dimensions you need to build the home design of your dreams.

4. Shipping Container Cabins

Whether you want a place to rest and stay warm during your next hunting trip or a private, quiet retreat away from the hectic every day, shipping container cabins are a great solution for a getaway. Our shipping container cabins frequently come both with spaces for sleeping and showering and with a storage area that can hold even your biggest ATV.

Even more, if you want to go completely off the grid, we can install your cabin without utility hookups so it can run solely on generator power. Or, if you want to connect it to a septic line and the electrical grid, we can adjust your home to suit those needs.

5. Home Additions

Whether you use a 20-foot or 40-foot model, shipping containers are an easy, durable solution for adding another room to your existing home. Whether you&#;re looking to add an entirely new wing to your house or just an additional rec room or gym area, shipping containers are an easy, affordable solution to helping your home grow to fit your changing life.

Find the Shipping Container Home Plans of Your Dreams

We offer shipping container home floor plans in multiple sizes and layouts. To find your new home you can call your own, view our available container home floor plans and schedule a tour with us today.

6 Steps to Design a Shipping Container House

If you want a bespoke home &#; without the architectural price tag &#; then look no further than a shipping container home. Shipping containers are strong, durable and standard sizes mean that you can create a home with a modular configuration.

The only limitation is your imagination. Get creative and design a unique home that reflects your personality and needs.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Hongyu Dinghao.

In this article, we&#;ll show you how to design your shipping container home. We show you the steps that you need to take to turn your dream into reality.

  1. Set a Realistic Budget
  2. Permits and Compliance
  3. Inspiration
  4. Size and Layout
  5. Positioning and Orientation
  6. Floor Plan and Site Layout

1. Set a realistic budget

Before you design your shipping container house, you will need to set a realistic budget for your project. Although container homes are generally more affordable than traditional homes, it will depend on the size, location, design and bespoke features that you want.

Research ballpark figures for costs such as the following:

  • Permits and compliance.
  • Structural and civil engineering.
  • Architects, builders and contractors.
  • Shipping container and building materials.

You will need to allow at least 20% for a contingency fund. A contingency fund is a reserve of money that you can use when you meet unexpected expenses and delays during the construction of your house.

2. Permits and Compliance

Before you delve too deep into designing your home, it is wise to contact your local council and get information about the relevant building codes in your area. You need to find out about building standards, zoning restrictions, height limitations and other limitations.

This is an area where you can&#;t cut corners. Work with your local council to find out how to make a shipping container home compliant with legislation. You should also work with an architect who has experience with shipping container homes.

Council approvals can be a time consuming process, depending on the uniqueness of your design and the openness that your council has with these types of homes. The onus may fall on you to convince local council that your design and intended materials will meet Australian building codes. Do your research.

You will need to show your designs to council for final approvals, but start your research and be prepared to adjust your designs according to what is suitable in your area.

3. Inspiration

You&#;ll find plenty of inspiration online to help you design your shipping container house. Watch videos on YouTube, read architectural blogs and get eye-candy from Instagram.


Mood board

Create a mood board with all your ideas. Select the colours that will suit your location and natural environment. Will you leave the container exterior as is, for an industrial look house, or paint it with colours that suit the setting of your home?

4. Size and layout

The standard size of shipping containers measure eight feet wide and 8 feet 6 inches high in the following lengths:

  • 20 FT
  • 40FT

SPAREBOX has high cube containers in 20FT and 40FT, which give you an extra 30cm headspace. This may not seem like much room, but it gives you higher ceilings and more room for your furniture and open space layout.

The appeal of working with storage containers is that you can group them together to create a bigger space. Shipping containers can be arranged in a variety of configurations, so how much space you need and the limitations of your block of land will determine how many containers you need and how they will be placed.


Here is a list of questions you should ask:

  • Who will occupy the container home? What are their physical needs?
  • Do you need an office and spare room?
  • Would you like a tiny house, spacious mansion or something in-between?
  • How many bedrooms and bathrooms will it have?
  • Will your home be one or two storey?

20 FT shipping container tiny house

The benefit of small shipping container homes is that they are affordable and can be built quickly in a factory.

This tiny house in New Zealand was built with extra width. The clever design and minimal features make the space seem bigger. It features large windows and makes the most of the beautiful view. A range of small features separate the different spaces including the kitchen, bedroom and sofa area.

Upmarket shipping container house

Shipping containers can be used for any house build &#; from tiny house to luxury, modern homes. The only limitation is your budget and imagination.


Modular configuration

Shipping containers are made to standard measurements and designed to interlock for ease of mobility. These modular elements can be joined together to form larger structures. As they are designed to interlock for easy transportation, structural construction is completed by placing them. Due to the containers&#; modular design, additional construction is as easy as stacking more containers. They can be stacked up to 12 high when empty.

Choose a home configuration that works best for you. Consider the size of your site. There may only be a certain way the shipping containers can fit on the site, so try a few different combinations of the containers, including putting them on multiple levels. The modular design gives you ultimate creative freedom.

Here are a few suggestions:

  • Stack them on top of each other. A double storey shipping container home is a popular configuration.
  • Place multiple containers in an L or U Shape. With a U-Shape configuration, you can create a courtyard between the containers.
  • Choose a configuration that will make the most of sunlight and protect you from wind chill, extreme heat in summer and heat loss in winter.

5. Positioning and orientation

When thinking about the positioning and orientation of your house, you will need to consider these factors:

  • Soil bearing capacity.
  • Site boundaries, roads and easement.
  • Views and existing trees and landscaping.
  • Flat areas will save you money with costly excavation and grading.

The positioning of your house will make a difference in the energy efficiency of your home, including heating and cooling costs. Find out how you can reduce energy consumption by making the most of sunlight.

6. Floor plan and site layout

You &#;ve decided on the layout and number of rooms that you want. It&#;s time to design your floor plan. If you have a simple layout, such as a 20FT cabin or 40FT tiny house, you may be able to use software such as Google SketchUp, AutoCAD or Revit to illustrate your ideas. In Google SketchUp, you can even create video fly-throughs.

Ready to plan your shipping container home in Australia? SPAREBOX are container specialists and will help you create your dream house with the features that you want. We have a complete range of new or used, big or small, standard and specialised shipping containers that can be delivered Australia wide. Get in touch with us to discuss your options and get the information you need.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Container House Factory.