 A life of shipping ‘container-ment’
by Prabuddha Athukorala
As cities become increasingly
crowded, finding a place for shelter is turning out to be a big
headache. Sky-rocketing real estate prices only will make the situation
worse. As a result, most young couples, thinking out of the box, have
ventured into interesting alternatives. One of this is living in a
shipping container.
I heard this novel idea from one of my colleagues who was so adamant
about trying the theory himself. The thought did catch my mind because
the more I thought about living in a shipping container, the more I
wondered about how practical the scheme actually is. Here we take a look
at how beneficial this shipping container lifestyle can be.
Suits your purse
The best part of a shipping container house is that the basic
investment is quite low, almost equivalent to monthly rental of a good
quality home. While the smallest container could cost as low as Rs.30,
000 ; you can go down to the shipping yard and book a decent 40 feet
container for somewhere around 1.5 lakhs.
Moving your home
 The feature I value most is the ease of relocation. Packing up all
your belongings and calling a moving company is annoying. A better
option is calling a container transporter to load your whole house on
the trailer and a drop-off at your new foundation.
Solid structure
Shipping containers offer an enormous amount of structural strength
for a fraction of the cost compared to traditional housing
constructions. You need a concrete post under the container corners in
order to keep the setup above ground level.
After insulating the outside of the container, the thick coating
around the structure will make sure your house stays corrosion free.
Customisation
For all those artistic minds who love doing their own interior
designing, this is a perfect answer. A few of the contemporary house
designs are carried out using 10, 20 and 40 feet containers.
Designs can be modified to suit your property and lifestyle
requirements. One can easily attach a couple of containers and you can
have your own two-storey building. All basic needs such as water and
electricity can be easily configured.
Abundance
 Ships unload containers at the docks and more often than not just
leave them there. The cost of shipping an empty container is higher than
just making a new container. Therefore, there is no reason why we should
fear about running out of containers. In fact, by utilizing shipping
containers you are helping the recycling process as well, since most of
the times they lie in idle and eventually wear down to ground.
But as every good things has a negative side, container lifestyle has
its downside as well.
We all know steel conducts heat very well. Henceforth, shipping
containers used for human occupancy in an environment with extreme
temperature variations will normally have to be better insulated than
most brick, block or wooden structures. Also to keep cool especially in
tropical countries such as Sri Lanka, you might have to install an air
conditioner unit. A container can carry pretty much anything during its
working life. So, special care should be taken that no spillages or
contamination occurs inside the walls. Ideally, all internal surfaces
should be abrasive, blasted to bare metal, and re-painted with a non
toxic paint. All of which will add up to a substantial cost.
Despite these negative aspects, as the population keeps multiplying,
shipping containers could turn out to be a fancy solution in years to
come.
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