Shipping Container Floor Plan

Here's a quick floor plan for a shipping container house.  The dimensions are for 3-20' x 8' x 9' container, with 3 of them placed side by side, the middle one is set back 4 feet.  It is a rancher style, so only one floor.

Hope you all like it!

Rough Draft Research Abstract

A Shipping Container Home

Thesis: Is building a shipping container home in Kamloops a feasible alternative to standard construction, while keeping in mind all the limitations in design and the (dis)/advantages that come with them?

Right now, there are millions of shipping containers being transported from one port to another and many of those will be retired once they reach their destination, as they will have reached the end of their maximum 20 year life span (Brown 2009).  Once that happens, they will be discarded, re-purposed, or recycled for their steel.  One of the first ideas for alternate uses of retired shipping containers was actually as emergency shelters after the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake in Japan (Bergdoll, 2008).

One option for the re-purposing of these shipping containers is to turn them into homes.  This idea has been around for about 20 years, but has only recently begun to flourish, as modern technology is now at the point that it is possible. They can be combined to create modern, innovative houses.  Since shipping containers are built to withstand every climate from the Arctic Circle to the tropics, it can withstand any climate it is put in as a house.  However, one of the disadvantages shipping containers is that, being made from steel, they conduct heat extremely well.  That being said, they would need a very large amount of insulation to keep heating and cooling costs down, and to be able to keep a consistent, comfortable temperature inside the home.  A couple other disadvantages are that shipping containers can be damaged from use, or there may have been some spillage of cargo when it was in use, meaning that it would need to be thoroughly cleaned before being used.  Also, in order to place the containers as needed, a crane or forklift will be needed, as shipping containers are extremely heavy.  It can also be somewhat difficult to obtain a building permit, since shipping container homes are still relatively new to the construction field.  There are, however, many up sides to using shipping containers to construct homes.  They are readily available from multiple sources, they are modular, so on-site work can be cut down some, and they are generally quite inexpensive.  Even brand new, the majority of them cost anywhere from $2,000.00 to $7,000.00 each (bigsteelbox.com).  Also, the cost of labor to build the house is mainly for welders/steel cutting which can be more expensive when looked at separately, but once the project is done, the overall cost is generally lower than traditional construction.

Included in the design will be all the appliances and furniture that a traditionally constructed house would have, but used in a slightly different fashion.  All the openings (doors, windows, etc.) would be structurally reinforced once cut out, so they could take the load of everything above them.  Also, combining uses/rooms is a great way to save space, and reduce the cost.  For example, having a bed that folds up into the wall to combine multiple uses into one room is a possibility.  Furthermore, when built off site and combined in a modular fashion, the costs to transport materials to the site are taken down to just the cost to transport the modules once they are complete.

The purpose of this research report is to determine if building a shipping container house in Kamloops, B.C. is feasible nowadays.  In order to determine this, the report will look into the structural capability of shipping containers, the climate in Kamloops and the design of a shipping container house.  The design will try to include green technologies to reduce the carbon footprint of the house, space saving measures such as combined uses in rooms, and an exterior design that will somewhat mask the unmistakable appearance of shipping containers to appease anyone who may object to living by/seeing such a building.

Comments and corrections are welcome!

Next Post

Alright, so I know I haven't really been updating on how the research has been going lately, but there's light on the horizon.  My next post will be a rough draft of my Abstract Outline, our final project in this course.  The Abstract Outline is basically a summary of my Research Proposal that will be read by my mentor (I have yet to determine who it is, but it must be one of the ARET faculty), and they will decide whether or not it is acceptable, or if I need to work on it more.  A couple main points about it is that it will include my thesis question and, later on, an original graphic.

My plan for the graphic is to design an actual shipping container house in Revit (hopefully on Sunday or Monday), and post it with/shortly after my Research Abstract.

Thesis statement/question

So I've been doing some thinking about what my theses question actually is.  Obviously, it must contain something along the lines of "Is building a shipping container house in Kamloops a feasible alternative to standard construction".  I would like to stay away from the cost perspective as much as possible, as costs vary too much to get an accurate estimate.  However, I would like to include some points on the limitations, advantages and disadvantages on shipping container houses.

Hows this: "Is building a shipping container home in Kamloops a feasible alternative to standard construction, while keeping in mind all the limitations in design and the (dis)/advantages that come with them?"

Comments?  Questions?

Off the grid

Just a quick video I found of 15 houses, showing the versatility of shipping container homes.

 

Research Proposal after editing

Shipping container houses in Kamloops

Summary Statement:

            Every year, many shipping containers are retired and discarded without a second thought when they could be used instead as housing.  Shipping container houses are growing in popularity as an affordable alternative to anything from low-end housing up to custom homes. 

The plan is to find out if it is feasible to build a shipping container house in Kamloops by researching the structural strength and thermal properties of shipping containers and comparing them to what is necessary to both build, and last in Kamloops.

Purpose:

            The research done here will attempt to determine whether or not a shipping container house is a feasible option in Kamloops, B.C.  The expected end result is that it will be feasible, but the container will likely need many additions and changes in order to meet BCBC minimum standards.

Goals and objectives:

            The goal of this project is to provide another option for homebuyers that will not only help reduce the numbers of discarded retired shipping containers, but will also provide a safe, modern, affordable home.  At the end of my research, I plan to have a design for a feasible shipping container house, as well as a written report detailing all I have found.

Methodology and analytical approach:

            In order to determine if a shipping container home is feasible in Kamloops, I will need to first research the climate in order to find out how much insulation will be needed, as steel conducts heat and cold very well.  Since some containers are pre-insulated, I would then need to find out if acquiring a pre-insulated container would be better than getting a non-insulated one and insulating it afterwards.  I will also need to determine if any extra fire protection would be necessary by researching the fire protection rating of the container, and comparing it to the BCBC minimum standard.  Furthermore, I will need to determine if the containers will be strong enough to support the live and dead loads that are associated with homes.  Once those steps have been completed, I will ensure that a home made of retired shipping containers is allowed as per the City of Kamloops by-laws.  Afterwards, all of the information will be put together in a comprehensive report that will indicate whether or not shipping container homes are a feasible option in Kamloops.  I also plan to design a shipping container house using 3D modeling software that will be part of the final report.

Previous studies:

            There have been quite a few studies on shipping container houses since they broke into the housing industry.  Many of those have been on full scale houses, like the kind I’m researching, but with minor differences.  Take the article “Thinking inside the box: A shipping container house” by Pedro Arrais, which documents every step taken in the construction of a shipping container house.  Other studies have been done that looked into the versatility of shipping container homes to be more than just low-income housing, and show that they could, with relative ease, be made into schools and cafes.  The website “thedailygreen.com” has a slideshow of 45 unique designs for buildings made of shipping containers.

Plans for dissemination of work:

            My work and research will be shared with the general public via a blog which will be updated as soon as new, pertinent information is found and will be open for comments and/or questions about the research.

Reasearch Proposal, first time through

Shipping container houses in Kamloops

            Every year, many shipping containers are retired and discarded without a second thought when they could be used instead as housing.  Shipping container houses are growing in popularity as an affordable alternative to anything from low-end housing up to custom homes.

            The research done here will attempt to determine whether or not a shipping container house is a feasible option in Kamloops, B.C.  The expected end result is that it will be feasible, but the container will likely need many additions and changes in order to meet BCBC minimum standards.

            The goal of this project is to provide another option for homebuyers that will not only help reduce the numbers of discarded retired shipping containers, but will also provide a safe, modern, affordable home.

            In order to determine if a shipping container home is feasible in Kamloops, I will need to first research the climate in order to find out how much insulation will be needed, as steel conducts heat and cold very well.  Since some containers are pre-insulated, I would then need to find out if acquiring a pre-insulated container would be better than getting a non-insulated one and insulating it afterwards.  I will also need to determine if any extra fire protection would be necessary by researching the fire protection rating of the container, and comparing it to the BCBC minimum standard.  Furthermore, I will need to determine if the containers will be strong enough to support the live and dead loads that are associated with homes.  Once those steps have been completed, I will ensure that a home made of retired shipping containers is allowed as per the City of Kamloops by-laws.  Afterwards, all of the information will be put together in a comprehensive report that will indicate whether or not shipping container homes are a feasible option in Kamloops.

            There have been quite a few studies on shipping container houses since they broke into the housing industry.  Many of those have been on full scale houses, like the kind I’m researching, but with minor differences.  Take the article “Thinking inside the box: A shipping container house” by Pedro Arrais, which documents every step taken in the construction of a shipping container house.  Other studies have been done that looked into the versatility of shipping container homes to be more than just low-income housing, and show that they could, with relative ease, be made into schools and cafes.  The website “thedailygreen.com” has a slideshow of 45 unique designs for buildings made of shipping containers.

            My work and research will be shared with the general public via a blog which will be updated as soon as new, pertinent information is found and will be open for comments and/or questions about the research.

Hey everyone!

So, let's start by saying welcome to my blog!  My name is Paul Carter, and through the ARET program at Thompson Rivers University, I have the opportunity to research a topic of my choice.  I have chosen to research Shipping Container Homes, more specifically, how feasible a shipping container house would be in Kamloops, B.C.  I hope to prove that they are in fact, a feasible housing option, not only for low income families, but for everyone.  I look forward to any comments, insights and questions anyone has on this subject!