RSS Feeds: How to Build a Cheaper Home with Metallic Containers
There are situations when the classical way of building a house simply can't be applied, be it from a lack of funds or from other reasons. Some of these situations are the natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes, which leave people homeless and too poor to afford re-constructing their homes again. In such cases, authorities provide temporary lodging to sinister persons, usually in those big army tents that are OK to live in on a very short term, but which aren't comfortable during very cold periods of the year. Container houses are an excellent alternative to army tents and we are going to see why in a moment.
Interior of a modular container assembly
First of all, containers that are used to make these houses aren't just those simple shipping containers, built for freight storage and transportation. They are modular containers and each module serves a different functionality, which makes them to serve together as a dwelling with all functions and rooms required for a decent living standard as most of us define it: bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom and living room. As all dimensions are ISO standardized, modules are easy to fit together. If needed, there are special staircase modules that make it possible to stack the containers and obtain houses with more than one floor. The modules come with doors, windows and window shutters, with very good thermal insulation and energy efficiency. The walls are also very well insulated and that's why such homes can be used even during winter time without any discomfort. If built on a single level, the ground floor, these houses don't require a foundation: a simple concrete block is enough, therefore the execution time and the costs are dramatically reduced. This is very important in case of natural disasters, because all those people left homeless need a roof above their heads and they need it fast.
Toilet container module
Some people may say that's actually living in a box and that's not quite a human way of living. They'd better think twice: only ask a person whose home has been flooded if she cares about the box-shaped exterior, when on the inside there's all the comfort, even more than in her former house. The floors of modular container rooms can be anything: engineered wood floating floors can be used without any problem. Linoleum is another suitable option. The walls can also be masked or covered with wall paper. Toilets, showers and sinks can function exactly like the ones in a brick-and-mortar home, provided that they are connected to the respective water and canalization utilities in the area. Boilers can be used to generate hot water.
The total cost for building a container house is much smaller than the cost of building a real home with conventional materials. Moreover, such modular homes have the huge advantage of being movable: when they aren't needed anymore in an area, they can be disassembled and moved in another place where there's a need for providing homeless people a temporary shelter.
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