The Great Australian Dream is changing. Only a generation ago, Australians dreamt of owning a detached, brick house on a quarter acre suburban block – complete with a spacious backyard, barbeque and Hills Hoist.
Australians are getting more experimental with their home builds, inspired by the need for more affordable housing options and the desire to express their uniqueness. Whether it’s a trendy converted warehouse apartment or an off-grid tiny house on wheels – Australians are experimenting with different spaces in different locations.
One of the biggest housing trends is shipping container homes. These containers, once destined for the junk pile, are getting a new lease on life and being repurposed into some of the most exciting and original housing designs.
There are good reasons why this trend will continue to grow. Shipping containers offer you the opportunity to be creative with your home design. With modular configurations and the ability to join them together to create open space areas, shipping containers give you a strong, durable and original home – and a refreshing change from the cookie-cutter homes that fill so many streets in Australia’s suburbs.
In this article, you will discover the benefits of building your home with shipping containers. These benefits include:
1. Flexibility
2. No cookie cutter
3. Portability
4. Cost savings
5. Fast build
6. Strength and Durability
1. Flexibility
Container homes give you complete flexibility in your design, layout and configuration. You can stack them, place them in the shape that you want and have a design that suits your block of land.
Shipping containers come in standard measurements with the most popular sizes being:
- 20 FT
- 40 FT
In addition to these sizes, you have the option to choose high cube containers that give you an extra 30cm height. This extra headspace makes a big difference to the comfort and versatility of your container.
Designed to interlock for ease of mobility, containers can be combined to create a spacious home and can be stacked up to 12 high when empty. Choose a configuration that works for you. If you have a narrow block of land, a straight configuration with 40FT shipping containers could work for you.
A u-shape made of three containers can create the perfect space for a courtyard or patio. Need a tiny house? A single 40FT can be converted into a cosy and compact home.
Design your home to suit your location
Whether you plan to build your house on the coastline and want to take advantage of the beautiful views or would like to build a cabin in a lush forest setting, you can create a home that suits the natural environment.
2. No cookie cutter home
Looking at many new estates in Australia and the first thing you will notice is the cookie cutter designs. Houses have similar styles, colours and landscaping. A shipping container house gives you an opportunity to design an original and bespoke home – without the architectural price tag!
Get creative and design a home that suits your personality and tastes. Whether it is the configuration of how you place the containers on your block, or the exciting palette of colours that you use when painting your containers, you can create a house with the ‘wow’ factor. Create a modern, industrial looking home which combines rustic wood finishes and metal finishes, or an open-space, minimal design with multiple containers.
One thing that you are guaranteed of is that your container home will not be a cookie-cutter design.
3. Portability
Shipping containers are designed for portability and ease of transportation. They are designed to travel long distances and withstand harsh ocean conditions.
With a shipping container home, you can transport your new home anywhere in Australia – from Coonabarabran to Canberra, Brisbane to Broome; shipping containers can be delivered to your site.
Shipping containers are designed to fit on the back a truck. Get creative and design your home, to be built anywhere in Australia!
4. Cost savings
Shipping containers are an affordable option for your new house. As Australia faces an affordable housing problem, shipping containers are seen as a cost saving alternative.
These structures can be used to build a comfortable granny flat or cute tiny house. Even a large, modern home can be built affordably with shipping containers.
Although shipping container homes can be affordable, and save you money, it will depend on your design, features and customisations. Start with a realistic budget which takes into account unexpected costs and shop around for the best deal with what you need.
One of the reasons you save money with a shipping container home is that these homes are quick to build and can be transported to your site by truck. To save money get your modifications done before it leaves the factory. On-site modifications can be costly, so find out what customisations your shipping container company offer you.
5. Fast Build
Imagine your new home being built in three weeks! With shipping containers, this is possible. The benefit of small shipping container homes is that they can be built extremely quickly in a factory and shipped to your destination. Of course, it depends on the complexity of your design. A simple design often means that your home is built fast.
6. Strength and Durability
Shipping containers are built to last. These steel structures are made to withstand the harsh conditions of traveling by ocean and are designed to be stacked on top of each other. These super strong structures have strong walls and roofs. To extend decades to the lifespan of your home, add external cladding to your container. A good quality cladding can extend the life of your container up to 50 years.
Want to build you dream house with shipping containers? 1300SPAREBOX are your go-to shipping container specialists. Contact us today to discuss your project and we’ll guide you through the process of what you need. 1300SPAREBOX offer a range of affordable and quality containers that are ideal for your container home – and we offer Australia wide delivery.
