7 reasons why shipping container homes are a SCAM

and today as we have seen homes can be built out of almost anything including shipping containers shipping in tightest container house container ha abandon shipping containers shipping containers the shouldn't hangers will shipping container homes and tiny home living shipping container shipping containers shipping container shipping containers from right here in the River City since the early 2000s shipping containers have captured the imagination of designers and home builders worldwide they fit in with a very popular tiny house movement that advocates living simpler and in smaller homes the corrugated metal exterior of shipping containers gives it a trendy industrial look thousands of shipping containers are discarded every year so there is a sense of being socially responsible and environmentally conscious when one rescues a shipping container from a junkyard and converts it to a home along with this mentality is the idea that you are saving money by using waste material as a starting point for your home construction container homes are marketed as an affordable solution to a standard suburban home these tiny homes are glamorized all over social media and have a huge following Architects in particular seem to have a fascination with modularity and shipping containers can seem to be the solution to all the world's problems I admit I was an immune to this as an architecture student design competitions will usually have at least one entry with proposals such as the shipping container skyscraper that would solve the housing problems in the slums of the Ravi in Mumbai India 2,500 shipping containers would be stacked at various angles to create this tower and the proposal indicates that the shipping container units would be delivered via drones Google searches yield hundreds of wild crazy ideas that use repurposed shipping containers for a variety of commercial and residential buildings but if this is the magical solution to all problems why don't you see shipping container homes everywhere while we're going to dive into seven issues with this type of construction first off the most obvious issue is the size constraints standard shipping containers are 20 feet and 40 feet long and 8 feet wide most of these containers are 8 and 1/2 doll but you can custom order ones that are nine and half feet tall to make the shipping container livable you have to insulate it add mechanical systems plumbing electrical systems sprinklers and flooring so you lose up to a foot of the total height and six inches off each side which leaves you with a very tight box most people who renovate these shipping containers usually order more expensive custom nine and half feet tall containers like Benjamin Ojeda did for his home in Joshua Tree California since there is barely any wiggle room in height mr. Holman modern chose to cut into the metal floor joists for his plumbing work this brings us to the second issue a metal shipping container works as a system the idea that every part of this box is structural is false every single cut that you make for plumbing windows doors roof openings into its structural frame or corrugated metal siding compromises X strength so you have to reinforce it with metal or wood also to add insulation to the inside of the container you have to frame out your walls with wood finish the interior with drywall just like you would on a typical home construction [Music] tied to this misconception of the structural nature of shipping containers is the idea that it can support cantilevers shipping containers are meant to be stacked on top of each other like LEGO building blocks the second you don't stack the containers on corners you need to reinforce the containers with heavy expensive steel beams the four corner posts of containers should align with the corner posts of the container above or below it to be the most secure the rails at the top and the roof of the container are not structural at all the roof of the container is made of lightweight steel and will dent easily if you step on it the only structural parts are the corner posts so all those double-wide container homes that you see on YouTube with an entire side wall blown out to make more space have had expensive steel reinforcement at that point you are using the shipping container just for the corrugated metal aesthetic and nothing else the third issue with this shipping container homes is the thermal conductivity of steel it's not a good insulator so you can expect the inside of these containers to get very hot in summer and very cold in winter if you insulate the inside of these containers there will be a big temperature difference where the hot air from the outside meets the cold inside air or vice versa which can cause mold and rot inside the home the logical thing to do is to insulate the outside of these containers and add additional cladding like this couple did but then you lose the appealing corrugated metal aesthetic the fourth issue is the health risks that come with buying old shipping containers you can track down the locations that the container has been to around the world but you can't track exactly what it has carried so it could have carried toxic chemicals such as pesticides or fumigants and the contents could have leaked into the wooden floor boards for that reason some states like California only allows single-use containers to be repurposed into homes so that you can track exactly what it has transported also the paint used on these shipping containers is meant to withstand the harsh conditions out in the oceans so it can contain phosphorous and chromium and other carcinogenic elements fifth this type of building is not the best in all locations it might make sense in coastal regions near port cities where a shipping container is readily available but if you are inland the cost of transported all the way to your plot of land is not logical also building with native materials is the most eco-friendly and cost-effective method in the state's what construction is the cheapest in other countries it could be CMU block or clay bricks vernacular construction methods make the most sense because they are adapted to the local climate shipping container housing could work in places that have material shortages all places recovering from natural disasters where a prefab factory built temporary shelter is required sixth is the idea that you are saving the environment when you use shipping containers and that it's a highly sustainable practice I understand if you're using something meant for the landfill but if you are using a brand-new shipping container what's the point or if you're using a one-time use container like you would have to in California then that container would be put to better use transporting goods across seas and oceans which is the purpose it's meant to serve even if you are in a country that doesn't have this one-time use law these shipping containers are tossed around at sea and aren't in the best condition to find one suitable for your home you are probably going to have to buy a new one also because of the thermal conductivity are still the inside of these shipping containers is going to sweat and you cannot use organic installation like cotton you would have to use materials that aren't as environmentally friendly like spray foam polystyrene or fiberglass insulation another important thing to consider is the carbon footprint of your container home steel construction is not as environmental friendly as wood not only is your home made of steel but so is the reinforcement finally let's get to the idea that shipping containers can be the solution to the in crisis in the world but this crisis is not a technology problem it's far more complex purely from a financial aspect it would be cheaper to build homeless shelters with wood rather than build a complex shipping container building this type of building can maybe be 20% cheaper but not much more the modifications you make to this metal box to make it livable aren't cheap so all in all I don't think that container homes are everything that they are marketed as the potential minor difference in cost isn't a justifiable reason to choose this method over other forms of construction a well-built wood building for instance could be a much better option in the States let me know what you think in the comments and if you think I should do a follow up video on instances where shipping containers actually makes sense don't forget to hit the like button and subscribe to my channel until next time I'm Belinda thanks for watching [Music]

Channel: Belinda Carr

Views: 3,835,789

Rating: 4.2709141 out of 5

Keywords: shippingcontainer, home, ecofriendly, construction, homeubuilding, mythbuster, belindacarr, containerhome, scam, indian, womeninconstruction, automation, buildingconstruction, architecture, design, unique, tinyhome, indianamerican, dubai, shipping, container, diy, selfbuild

Id: i7yEDz6bCfU

Length: 8min 58sec (538 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 08 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/terrask]

We had container prefab staff housing in Whistler for the 2010 Olympics.

Lets just say lots of people got sick. Respiratory infections skyrocketed, humidity was very high and air circulation was shit which meant it was a great big petri dish. Everything smelled slightly moldy. You could never really dry your towels.

It was coloquially known as District 9. Hey don't get me wrong I freaking loved every minute of the experience.

But container housing fucking sucks.

[u/jojowasher]

• Frst issue: the size constraints. Standard shipping containers are 20 feet and 40 feet long and 8 feet wide. Most of these containers are 8.5 feet tall but you can order custom ones that are 9.5 feet tall.
• Second issue: A metal container works as a system, the idea that every part of this box is structural is false. Every single cut that you make for plumbing, windows, doors, roof openings into its structural frame or corrugated metal siding compromises its strength so you have to reinforce it with metal or wood.
• Third issue: the thermal conductivity of steel. It’s not a good insulator, so you can expect the inside of these containers to get very hot in summer and very cold in winter.
• Fourth issue: the health risks that come with buying old shipping containers. You can track the locations that the container has been to around the world, but you can’t track exactly what it has carried. It could have carried toxic chemicals such as pesticides or fumigants and the contents might have leaked into the wooden floorboards.
• Fifth issue: this type of building is not the best for all locations. It might make sense in coastal regions near port cities where a container is readily available. If you are inland, the cost to transport it all the way to your plot of land is not logical. Also, building with native materials is the most eco-friendly and cost-effective method.
• Sixth issue: the idea that you are saving the environment when you use shipping containers and that is a highly sustainable practice. Another important thing to consider is the carbon footprint of your container home. Steel construction is not as environmentally friendly as wood.
• Seventh issue: the idea that shipping containers can be the solution to the housing crisis in the world but, this crisis is not a technology problem, it’s far more complex. Purely from a financial aspect, it would be cheaper to build a homeless shelter with wood than build a complex shipping container building. This type of building can maybe be 20% cheaper, not more. The modifications that you need to make a metal box livable aren’t cheap.

[u/dingos8mybaby2]

What kind of fool builds a home out of shipping containers? Clearly, abandoned Cold War-era missile silos are the way to go.

[u/esPhys]

Or you can just live where I do where the building materials cost is negligible compared to the land, so a small pile of dirt costs 600 thousand dollars regardless of what junk you want to put on it.

[u/pastaMac]

Here is a follow up video. It seems this video has outraged an audience, requiring Belinda Carr to create one. https://youtu.be/kjbgduaH_7U

[u/Spanka]

My cuz who is a builder said that he's done a few "shipping container" builds. They have used materials that look like shipping containers just for the aesthetic and not actually used real shipping containers. He basically said the same thing this lady did...they suck. For sustainable reason we could do what the vikings did and transport all the building materials by boat, flip said boat upside down and use that as the house.

[u/Scrivenerian]

So using a niche product for an unintended purpose is inefficient and costly. Who would have guessed?

[u/[deleted]]

I've tested a shipping container shop up here in the arctic.

With no insulation, and a 7kW diesel heater the interior in -35 only got to around -5 degree's celsius.

One reason I'm looking at doing this is the benefits of using a sea container are obvious. It's not affected by weather. It may rust, but that can be fixed with paint.

One of the things I'm looking at is using rebar and mesh re-inforced aircrete to add insulation to the exterior instead of the interior.

[u/NSFWies]

good lord, they sound really terrible. i didnt know any of that.