Container homes are nowadays a very ecological and design way of living. Many companies, also in Poland, offer container houses which are a quick and modern way of building in a new style. They are very popular especially among young people who do not want to take a loan to buy their own apartment, and building their own house is too big an expense
This trend is very popular in the USA and Scandinavian countries. It is still a novelty on the Polish market, but the prices of such houses are becoming very competitive in comparison to apartments in new construction.
From the outside container houses can be a bit like LEGO bricks
, because they are often composed of several or even more than a dozen of parts. Much depends on our budget, but also on our imagination. Such houses can also consist of one big container. There is space for windows and doors or even roof windows. It is also possible to build a storied house. Many container houses also have solar panels on their roofs, which makes them even more ecological.At the beginning we will need
containers. On the market you can also find used containers, most often sea containers, which are specially constructed to carry very large objects or even cars or boats. It is true that they are not ready to live, but they can be easily refreshed, and if we have our own welding machine, we can easily install doors and windows in them. All containers, including the new ones, are made of thick sheet metal that can be rust-proofed and painted in virtually any color. The choice of many enamels and paints for metal allows us to let our imagination run wild. Thanks to this you can create houses from containers.The most popular length of one container is 6 m and the width is 2.4 m
. The ceiling is then placed at a height of 2.6 m. This gives us similar arrangement possibilities as in the case of traditional rooms, which are found in most blocks of flats. Containers can be combined with each other, which gives even more space for planning further rooms. If we want to prepare the container in such a way that it is insulated, it is worth choosing a container that was previously used as an office. Its construction is also significantly strengthened.For the adaptation of the house of containers
will be the best shipping containers, which are made of stainless steel already galvanized, but also covered with a protective layer of resin and epoxy paint. They also have a very rigid and durable construction with additional beams and profiles. However, it is important to remember that such paints can be harmful to health, so inside the container it will be necessary to sandblast the paint, which has lead or arsenic in it, among other things.The foundation of the container is also very important, but it is not as troublesome as we think. The proper compaction of the ground and lining it with, among others, concrete blocks or paving stones is enough. With more complex construction we will need foundations. In Poland there is a law which says that a building without foundations is a temporary building. If the container is to serve as a residential building, it should have foundations, regardless of its dimensions. Otherwise it will not be considered a dwelling house.
Download the embedding codeIt is also important to bring all utilities to the house from
a container, which is worth commissioning an appropriate company. Poorly made installation can cause the accumulation of moisture, which in extreme cases leads to corrosion of elements that are key to the rigidity of the whole block. Cheap but strong polypropylene pipes will come in handy.For the building to have adequate thermal insulation,
it needs a lagging with a thickness of at least 15 cm. For insulation of walls we will certainly need materials such as polyurethane PUR, mineral wool or styrofoam. As a source of heat you can use for example a gas boiler, which does not take much space and is quite economical and ecological. Infrared heating is also very popular, as well as slightly more expensive but very ecological heat pumps and solar collectors.The phenomenon of container houses lies in the minimal amount of materials in their construction, but also in the ecological style of building with materials that have already been used once. They can be transported virtually anywhere and are also characterized by quick installation. Their design is very interesting and modern. The price of building a house from containers can be even half lower than in the case of new buildings, which are built from bricks. The comfort of living in a house made of containers which stands on a plot bought by us is much greater compared to living in a block of apartments or tenement houses. That is why many young people decide on such a building instead of an apartment, even in a new building.
However,container houses
have one disadvantage. It is a little more difficult to get permission to bring utilities to the container, and you can also have problems with the legal aspects of construction in PolandPhoto: Richard Chivers/View Pictures/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
