BENEFIT OF CONTAINERS
Benefit of containers living, is that it is a very cost effective solution, with a path to a very comfortable lifestyle. Please read further.
1. Why did I change to container living?
In Australia we have a housing crisis, (or housing afford-ability), energy shortage coupled to huge price changes, inflation prices for virtually all materials, and last but not least interest mortgage stress.
When I lived in Sydney and became a widower, I did not want to continue living in a million dollar home by myself. So, I sold the house and moved to the country side. Fresh air, freedom, plenty of space, and be in touch with nature. {Even with all this Covid hassle, I have not been sick for a single day in the last 5 years.}
After living in an old 2nd hand caravan for the first 6 months, I moved into my modified shipping container part of my container city and started building and decking out. I have made 2 expansions over the 4.5 years.
But I love my space and my environment. I have 52 sqm of home space plus 200 sqm in the many work shops, copious storage space and I even have a table tennis table with a ball launcher.
No doubt you are as worried as I am with the world’s issues in our post covid19 era. With the recent events in Israel, the world has polarised. On the one hand Russia, China, North Korea, Iran — on the other hand the USA and Nato countries. The meat in the sandwich are the Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. And Australia is a small squirt of condiments on the meat. We are the collateral damage. And if China puts on an embargo around Taiwan, what do you think is going to happen to our fuel, which comes from South Korea and Singapore. I am not a doomsday prepper, but being prepared could be beneficial.
Sustainable container living can be a real solution!
2. How we can help you achieve this? With focus in DIY options.
It is easy to say we can do 1) 2) or 3), but it requires some discussion with you. What do you want or what can you do?
But let’s narrow it down.
- We can just give you advise. You can come and visit my container city and look, touch, and discuss. You can see it in operation. Perhaps in a lot of cases this might be a first step to option 2 or 3.
- We can provide you with the containers and the knowhow to do all the tasks yourself. (DIY) And we don’t mind that, because you will save on all the labour costs. But it will take a lot of your time and in the mean time you have to live somewhere.
- As a subsection of this, we can supply or work on some specialised or selected materials or items. For example the shower cubicle or the incinerating toilet.
- We can receive the container at our property and do the refurbishing job here. For example we can put in the walls and ceilings and all the insulation. We can prewire the electrics.
- And again there is flexibility here. You may want us to install the whole bathroom and kitchen, or you can select to do that yourself.
- You decide what you can do and we will oblige.
Would you like to know more about me?
Go back to the container introduction page.
3. How do we compare the costs in broad figures of urban vs rural container house living?
The first assumption I am making is that you are prepared to sell and move.
- You can buy a house in one of our country towns. That option will most likely cost you $700,000 at the lower end.
- Alternately you might buy an older house in one of the more remote villages , but it will still cost around $500,000.
- You can buy a small property and buy and install a tiny house between 10 and 20 square meters. The property could cost you around $250,000 and the tiny house depends on the size between $70,000 and $150,000. Thus still around $400,000 and that is for maximum 20 sqm.
- Or you can embark on the container solution. You may make an arrangement with one of the rural property owners, for an agricultural tenancy, to rent a space of 1 hectare for say $100 +GST per week. That can be attractive to the landowner, regular income for non used land. I can help you with that also. I have a template of the tenancy document, tailored to our specific purpose. You can buy 2 or 3 x 40foot high-cube containers, some fitted together. Three for less than $135,000. Plus off-grid $41,000 plus water $8,000 plus site costs say $5,000, total just under $190,000. That is finished, ready to live in and you will have 78 sqm of under roof living space. However the price depends on timing and what you include and what you are prepared to build yourself. The moment you are prepared to do some of the work yourself, the cost will come down. This is where the project needs to be discussed and detailed.
- I am also contemplating canvassing potential landowners to see if they are interested in participating in our arrangement.
4. What are the benefits of a container home?
A container is a very robust item. They withstood many ocean journeys in their lifetime and received several knocks and bumps —- and survived.
A 40 foot high cube container weighs between 4000 and 4400 kg. That weight is carried by a 100mm wide beam all around the perimeter. If we recalculate the pressure on the ground it comes to around 1400 kg/sqm. The equivalent of a footprint (100kg on 300 sqcm) works out at 3300 kg/sqm. So if your foot leaves a footprint in the ground, you should not place the container there. If not, then the container can sit directly on the ground. So the benefits are:
- A relatively low ground pressure.
- Yet, as far as wind resistance, we are working with 4 ton. If 2 are coupled together, it would need a super cyclone to push them along.
- It is all metal, so no storm damage, hail damage, bush fire resistant. But also it is intrusion resistant. {This can become enormously important, if the economy will deteriorate substantially or a China war breaks out with Taiwan, which might lead to anarchy.}
- Each container has 4 small protected ventilation boxes in each corner. If they are sealed than no exterior smell, or smoke or light will enter the container. Mine are not sealed, but it may be prudent to make a temporary cover.
- A high cube container can have a standard 2.4 height internal living cell (the minimum acceptable height for living conditions), and still have space for ceiling and roof insulation.
- The fit out will only take a short time, because the outer shell is already there.
- The containers are transportable and will remain so. However proper access is required to place the container in its spot.
- The outer shell is mass produced and therefore it is cost effective.
There is a second page in the gallery, which shows the use of some of my tool. (Like work in progress.)
You can go back to the following containers pages: —- introduction —- agricultural tenancy —- the costs. —-costs page2 —- the steps to take —- containers layouts
