Whenever I see articles about people who built unique homes using nontraditional materials, I’m always a little in awe.
Where I live, most homes are brick. Brick is the norm, and when I think of my dream home—which isn’t the one I live in now—it’s made of brick. Grey brick, to be exact.
I can assure you I don’t look at a Cracker Jacks box and think, hey, I could build a house out of these!
Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but you get what I mean, right?
So when I see tiny homes made out of old garden sheds or monstrous homes built out of shipping containers, I remind myself I need to think outside of the box—the brick box, in my case.
Speaking of monstrous homes built out of shipping containers…
From a distance, this just looks like a beautiful, modern designed house, doesn’t it? And that’s exactly what it is. And again, from a distance, you wouldn’t know that this was created out of shipping containers unless someone told you.
And before you start thinking this would be a wonderfully cheap way to build a house, think again. Of course, whether or not something is expensive is subjective. And where you live can be a factor as well. For example, where I have, the average house price is over $1 million. But I live in a big city. Someone who lives in a small town or rural area may be able to buy a home for a fraction of the price.
Shipping containers aren’t cheap.
So exactly how much does a shipping container cost? Refresh Renovations has an answer for that.
“Expect to pay anywhere from $2,500 USD for a used 20ft container, with larger and newer containers being more expensive.”
Having said that, there are architects who state you should only use brand new containers for a project like this. And they are going to cost about $8,000 USD each.
Again, not cheap!
And remember, that’s just the price of a single container. So you need to multiply that by the number of containers necessary and then add other costs. Obviously, you will need a property to put the home on, and you’ll also need to cover the costs of designers, engineers, laborers and more.
In the beginning…
The owners of the Ohaupo container house, in Christchurch, New Zealand, documented the process of building their home on Facebook.
Early in the project, it looked like this.
As you can see, these containers aren’t just plunked on the ground. The ground has been excavated, and a proper foundation laid.
I would love it if this place had a basement dug as well, but it looks like the foundation consists of a concrete slab.
Things are starting to take shape.
And this is the picture that says slab.
TradeMe says about the home,
“Designed with an industrial scale and theme, the open plan living areas feature a high atrium that houses a significant and prominent staircase interlinking the second-storied living spaces.”
Frankly, I don’t think you could say “industrial” any better, because those shipping containers certainly give it that feeling. That or the feeling that your home is transitory, and one day it will up and leave.
It’s starting to look like a home.
This is clearing a two-story house now. And I am loving all the windows. Having said that—and this is in line with the “industrial” look, it reminds me of a garage.
What do you think?
Let’s move on to the interior.
Whatever my—and possibly your—feelings are about the exterior, there is no doubt that the interior gives off the fly all a modern, upscale home. There is tons of open space, and thanks to all those windows, lots of natural light. And the ugly metal stairs we saw above have been transformed into a gorgeous centerpiece.
Here’s a partial shot of the kitchen, which leads to a large deck through that huge, automatic, garage-like door.
Now take a look at that staircase leading up to the second level.
Beautiful, isn’t it?
This house has it all.
According to the listing their use the main house on the property plus a small cottage, a garage, and a large outdoor pool.
Inside the home boasts six bedrooms, three full bathrooms, and 3 half-bathrooms.
So what do you think? Could this be your dream home? Or do you have something more traditional in mind?
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