Shipping containers are a great option when you want to build a home. They provide a durable, sturdy frame, and you can customize these containers as much as you like. While there are endless possibilities for designing and laying out one of these homes, there are a few common shipping container housing options that you can use. These specific patterns can help you decide what sort of house you want to build and go from there.
The Tiny House
One of the most obvious examples of turning a shipping container into a home is to take a single container and convert it. Shipping containers come in a range of sizes, so you can decide which one works best for your needs. Tiny houses are great for those looking to compartmentalize or if you want to build a small guest house in your backyard. Some of the earliest introductions to shipping container architecture turned single containers into barracks and sleeping quarters. Transforming a container into a tiny house is an upgraded expansion of this earlier concept.
The U-Bend
Given their limited size, even the largest shipping container may feel a bit confined when transforming it into a home. Naturally, the workaround is to connect multiple containers. One of the most common shipping container housing options involves taking three containers and making a U-shape out of them. The open space between the two side containers is great for building a yard or other outdoor options for relaxing or entertaining.
The Multilayer
Most shipping containers have a width of only eight feet. You may want to build up rather than out if you don’t have a lot of land or want to have a bigger yard. A popular option for shipping container homes is to go two, three, or even four stories high and use staircases to connect them. You can create houses with a lot of vertical space and a great view by sacrificing overall width. These options are more popular in cities, and certain shipping container structures use the different floors as apartment complexes.
