Stylish Expandable Container House

This stylish expandable container house is equipped with solar panels to generate electricity and is a type of tiny home. A tiny home is not something that has a strict definition, as it is a relatively newer movement. These houses are classified as roughly 100 to 400 square feet. This type of home is only permitted in some states such as Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Texas, etc.

In some other states, this small of a home will not meet building codes or zoning requirements; check before you build. With the small size, these types of homes are easily mobile.

What is an Expandable Shipping Container House?

A shipping container house (AKA Expandable Tiny House) is (as that name suggests) a building made from a shipping container. These containers can be new or used, and offer a lot of options for design.

Shipping containers can be a variety of different sizes, but the most common are 20 feet x 8 feet and 40 feet x 8 feet. Another option (more luxury) option is to have the container be expandable – commonly to a 20 feet by 40 feet dimension.

(See this Expandable shipping Container House at Amazon)

These types can also be prefabricated if you do not have the capabilities to build yourself. This is another relatively new movement/phenomenon, so it is best to check with local jurisdictions about building a shipping container house; a lot of codes do not have anything written about concepts like this so it is best to discuss with the local planners.

Why do people choose tiny houses?

Price – In this day and age, houses are one of the most expensive things you can buy, and they are a BASIC HUMAN NEED. Most people spend half of their income on a place to live, and the newer generation is just not having it. The college graduates have student debts to pay off and have decided to get creative in saving money, and here is where they do it, living small physically, but large on other aspects.

Buying a typical single family house will cost about $250,000 – $300,000 (depending on size, locations, quality, etc) without even considering the interest, repairs, taxes and insurance that you will need. A tiny house, on the other hand, will cost about $10,000 – $40,000 (Again, depending on size, location, quality, etc.) They have other home benefits such as a relatively low cost for upkeep, land rental, and insurance and a smaller overall carbon footprint. This is an extremely large difference in price that can make a huge impact on what else you can afford.

Minimalism – Another growing movement is minimalism, and the tiny house really embodies the meaning of it. The idea of the container house is to only really have what you need. There is not an extra guest bathroom and bedroom that nobody will use. There is not 4 linen closets that you will fill up with 30 towels when you cannot possibly use that many.

Living small and within your means is alright, even good; without the extra space people do not feel the need to fill it with extra stuff.

(See this Expandable shipping Container House at Amazon)

Why do people choose shipping container houses?

Price – If the price it right, people will buy! Up front, there will be a lot of cost saving compared to a brick and mortar building. This will depend on the location, size and quality. Some of the cheapest houses are made for as low as $20,000. With that being said, if getting creative, it can also cost as high as $202,000. Therefore, it is not like these have to look like cheap projects, or like a kid’s tree house in the backyard. You will get what you pay for and work for. That being said, there is also an option to buy these prefabricated, which will also add a difference to the price tag.

Eco-friendly – One of the big purposes for both of the mentioned movements is to help save the environment, or at least do as little damage as one can. The option to use a recycled storage contained alone will save thousands of pounds of steel (and there are an abundance of abandoned storage containers as of right now). Not only that, but instead of living in a 3,000 square foot building that has to use energy to heat or cool all day, every day you can stick to a much smaller space that only holds the essentials.

With a lower consumption rate, it also makes it more likely to be able to install solar panels that can create the energy needed to have heated water and electricity. This is a bit of a pricey option up front, but it means no utility bills in the future, and will eventually end up paying for itself!

For more ideas visit this page to see our gallery of tiny house designs.