Shipping Container Homes

[Will Foster]

Hello BPers!,

I've been thinking about shipping containers as homes, and wanted to know if anybody here has done that. There has been some good articles online and shows on television about the pros and cons of building from this material. And I have to say, some of the homes I've seen are quite remarkable.

My questions are, if I can purchase land, in Colorado, in an already established neighborhood, then build two homes from containers by a company that specializes in that construction, how difficult is it to work with the city planning and zoning to tap into electric, water and sewer, and to get the permits to have the homes constructed.

I'm thinking one home could be a one bedroom/one bath studio to rent out and the other could be a 2 bed/2bath for myself.

It seems such a good way to go, especially if the cost of the land and two container homes comes out to be the same and sometimes less than one older conventional house.

I know there is more to it than what I've discovered so far, any feedback and ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

~Will

[Bill S.]

@Will Foster shipping container homes do not fit in the building permit code box very well. That will be your largest hurdle. Specifically Colorado is a rather large state so it will ultimately come down to the specific jurisdiction that you are building in. Container homes have been discussed for the Denver area and the consensus is that they are not cheaper to construct than conventional homes once you get all the hoops jumped through. If they are well planned they can be faster to construct. The only way for you to know is to contact the building authority in the area you plan to do your project. Make sure you check with zoning about having two dwelling units on one parcel as that is often an issue as well.