Container homes, the solution for the deficit of homes

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 • min reading

Housing shortage in the Netherlands. Who would have thought it could arise in our welfare state? And yet it is there. Increasingly even, because it is only becoming more expensive to build houses and the housing market has gone completely crazy! The result: starters can't find affordable housing, or build one themselves, and tenants pay astronomical rental prices. But there is a solution: homes from shipping containers.

You may know container homes as temporary housing for students or as temporary housing during renovations. But shipping containers can also be used for the construction of permanent homes. You build quickly, they are not expensive and offer unprecedented opportunities. But why don't you see so many of these houses? Is it only an image problem;

"surely I am not going to sit in such a steel sea container? Or are there snags covered in grass?"

What should you take into account when you convert a shipping container into a home?

To begin: you won't find many caveats. There are no special rules for building a house from a container like "prohibited for sea containers" or "with the exception of container houses". So you just have to meet all legal and municipal requirements.

A shipping container is really just a steel container. You will therefore have to isolate it properly if you want to use it as a home. You will also have to make a lot of adjustments, such as installing windows and doors, installations for water and electricity and you will also have to finish it on the inside with ceilings, floors and wall coverings. The big advantage is that you can do most of the rebuilding part in an external workplace before you transport the container to the construction site. Therefor you are not dependent on, for example weather conditions.

8ft container size: minimalist and compact

A modest 8ft container is ideal if you are looking for a compact storage space for your belongings and do not want to be stuck with a half-filled container. The container has a wooden floor and has an external height of 2.26 meters and an external length of 2.44 meters. Internally, the height is 2.06 meters and in length you have 2.29 meters of storage space. Add to that a maximum payload of 5050 kg and you can manage!

Je hebt eigenlijk hierboven al kunnen lezen dat containerhuizen veel voordelen hebben en eigenlijk maar weinig nadelen. Voor het overzicht zetten we ze nog even op een rijtje.

De voordelen:

De korte bouwtijd
Ze zijn zeker niet duurder, vaak zelfs goedkoper, dan vergelijkbare conventionele woningen
Je krijgt een markante woning, die je relatief eenvoudig kan uitbreiden of aanpassen

De nadelen:

Het stalen casco moet je doordacht afwerken om te komen tot een goede warmte- en geluidisolatie
Je zult vaak vragen moeten beantwoorden van vrienden en bekenden: ga jij in een container wonen?

20ft container size: flexible and popular

The 20ft container is a good choice when you have big plans. Whether it concerns a large-scale move or the safe transport of a large amount of goods. The popular standard 20ft container has an external height of 2.59 meters and an external length of 6.06. The internal height is 2.39 meters and the internal length 5.90 meters. In terms of maximum payload, you have over 28300 kg of storage space. The slightly higher 20ft high cube variant has a maximum of 15820 kg of storage space and will certainly not go unnoticed. 20ft containers are also available with double door. This allows you to open both sides of the container and load it easily.

Easy to open