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Essay: Do It Yourself Shipping Container Architecture

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Copyright © 2005-2006 by Zack Smith
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Is prefab destined to be too costly? At the present time in the marketplace, very few companies are making container homes, but of the ones that are, excluding one in California, are selling them at high prices.

This is a problem, since it is contrary to the main idea of a container home, namely cheapness.

But another key idea of container homes (in my opinion) is that they should be easily modifiable by their owners, for four reasons:

  1. Containers provide a more limited space than most other housing options, and the more cramped a space, the greater the desire to arrange things to taste.
  2. Cheapness is often attained by doing the work oneself.
  3. Low cost is also attained by getting materials directly from the owner/wholesaler.
  4. There is a great deal of enthusiasm in the world for the Do It Yourself approach, and this is not solely because it is cheaper to DIY.

In my opinion, there is room in the market for container homes that are cheap and only partially completed, with the hard work such as welding, cutting and transportation being paid for, and the remaining activities done by the occupants.

Another reason why container homes should be DIY : they are competing with other do-it-yourself housing methods such as straw-bale housing, some of which may be more viable due to China's recent high demand for steel, and some of which may be more desirable for aesthetic reasons.

To support my claim that the Do-It-Yourself trend is popular, consider these websites:

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