People are always looking for affordable housing options, and some are evening using shipping containers as the foundations for their homes. They take these containers, stack them, connect them, furnish and finish them, and then move into them.
For the right person, they can make great homes, and they can be built for a fraction of the cost of a traditional home.
One architect recently built a two-story container home, and it’s pretty impressive. A photographer recently took photos of the home, and people can’t believe how amazing it is on the inside.
One photo shows the spacious and comfortable living room.
The family sits on the sofa, and a boy plays with a dog on the floor. It looks just like your typical living room, and you would never know that it’s inside a container.
Prepping dinner in the galley kitchen is a breeze.
The style is clean and modern, and it’s the type of kitchen you would expect to see in an apartment in NYC and not a storage container. The walls are finished, and there are shelves and plenty of storage space.
The spacious and modern master bedroom is just as impressive.
There is also a basement, dining room, large bathroom, and several balconies. It really is a beautiful home and well worth sharing. People weren’t shy about sharing their reactions to the home, either. They also had a lot of questions. On the Zigloo website, they got the answers they needed right from the designer.
One person asked:
“Why did you remove the tops ? and is it possible “legally” to have them stacked and welded together ??”
The builder, Keith, replied:
“I removed the tops on zigloo domestiques (and on other CargoSpace Living projects) to improve the interior height of each floor. The container’s interior heights are 8′ clear from floor to underside of the ceiling. When the concrete and in-floor heating system was installed the height reduces to 7’10”. To prevent cold (and heat) from conducting through the steel lid approximately 4.5″ of insulation and framing would be necessary which would reduce the ceiling height to 7′ 5.5″. As the standard in North American buildings is a minimum 8′ ceiling height, the solution was to remove the lid, and jack up the second story by the hight necessary for insulation and finished ceiling. The finished height of the main floor in zigloo domestique is 8′. The upper floor is a curved vault starting 7′ 10″ rising up to 10′.High-cube containers are 9′ interior height. When it makes sense to use high-cube containers it is possible to get 8′ 7.5″ without removing the container lid.”
Another visitor asked about the time it took to complete the project and the overall cost.
This was a question everyone was waiting to have answered. After all, a person can’t consider building a home like this themselves if they don’t know what they are in for. Keith replied to that comment, as well. He said:
“In the Victoria area, spec quality building is done for about $150/sqft, while designer quality building is done for $225-$250/sqft. We were able to accomplish zigloo domestique for $180/sqft ($360,000 CDN). Of course, the cost to construct depends on labor costs in your area, but I figure we saved approximately $70/sqft ($140,000). The build took 8 months, although there was a 2-month work stoppage to wait for the correct windows to be built and delivered on site.”
Other people complimented Keith for an amazing job and talked about how unique and beautiful the house is on the inside and out.
A visitor named Luc said:
“Love your home. You did a fantastic job finishing the interior.”
Will there be more houses like this in the future?
Everyone who sees them seems to love them, and since they are completely customizable, anyone who builds a container home has full control over how it looks and the cost, too.
This may be a good option for low-income housing and may even lead to housing for homeless people. Until then, check out the photos of this amazing home and think about building one yourself.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
