What This 40 ft Container Home Cost to Build: Contractor Costs 

Not all heroes wear capes! Thank you!

Thank you, mvp.

If anyone is interested in container home plans the best results that I have had was by following the Magic Container Plans (just google it) without a doubt the best course that I have ever followed.

There are several components to creating an amazing design. One place I discovered which successfully combines these is the Magic Container Plans (google it if you're interested) definately the most incredible info i've heard of. look at this great resource.

You the real mvp. Thank you.

jim s I will have to check that out!

@Sean Heim WAIT! STOP! HOLD ON! That TOTAL $$ amount is just the CONTRACTOR'S COST!!! And it is ALREADY at roughly $112/SqFt and does not include A LOT of other necessary items and expenses. If you are not your own contractor, most GC's will not even consider a project like this unless it yields them AT LEAST a $10,000 profit in ~2-3 weeks, and likely MUCH MORE. LAND/PROPERTY COSTS: Purchasing Property or Renting/Leasing a home site??? $$$$ Also factor in annual Property Tax expenses. BUILDING PERMIT COST: This expense was not mentioned at all, and costs vary by municipality. You most likely will also need an Architectural Engineer to inspect, potentially modify, and approve the design & construction. $$$ NO SITE PREP WAS INCLUDED: Grading, Driveway & Access, and FOUNDATION costs were NOT included. This is usually a Substantial Cost of any building project. It will depend on the existing site, the locale, and what the local building codes require for a shipping container home. Check your local city & county requirements PRIOR to starting your project. NO UTILITIES or HOOKUPS: Just the installation of a WATER METER can be $5k-$9k if it's not already installed at your site and you plan to use city or county water. You cannot do this installation yourself. It is done by an approved city or county contractor. THEN you need the Fresh Water Supply run from the water meter to the house (Trenching, Pipe & Fittings, Labor, etc.). The distance and complexity or type of site will determine this cost...it could be $200, or $2,000+. If you are lucky to have a safe potable water well or spring water, you will still need to get it plumbed to your house, obtain a certified water test, and have the plumbing permit signed off. THEN you'll need a SEWER hookup (more trenching and pipe) or have a Septic System installed on your building site, unless you can live with a composting toilet. HOWEVER, check with local building codes if they will even allow this. There are also regulations on how your "grey water" is handled. ELECTRIC SUPPLY & CONNECTION: You will need an Electrical Service Connection run to the service entrance panel on the home from the local utilities. This can be costly, especially if your home will be a fair distance from the nearest power pole or underground service. If there is already another home on the property, its existing utilitiy service connection is most likely not adequate to supply both dwellings. Check the availability and cost at your planned building site. INSURANCE (HOMEOWNER'S & FIRE/EARTHQUAKE): In order to obtain Insurance, most municipalities require that there be a Fire Hydrant or significant accessible water supply within 600ft of your property. Check your city & county requirements. In addition, some companies may be reluctant to insure shipping container-based homes. Check with your available providers. OFF-GRID ELECTRICITY: It's crazy, but some municipalities do not even allow this. :/ But if you plan to be OFF-GRID, you will probably need to spend AT LEAST $10,000 for just a minimalist system that will adequately power all of your appliances and *maybe* a small HVAC system for a short period. And that's for a janky system. A more realistic cost for solar and/or wind power would be $20k-$30k depending on how/where you source the components, and depending on who does the installation. ...And that is with Federal & State rebates. And you will need a permit and sign-off for this installation as well. DELIVERY COST and PLACEMENT: What will it cost to transport, place, and secure the finished container home ON YOUR SITE (if it is not built at your location in-situ)? FENCING: Will you need to install fencing to contain pets or secure children from nearby roads, etc. This can be a considerable cost depending on the size of your lot if it is not already in place or needs repair. Some municipalities have minimum requirements for this. CREW/LABOR COSTS: It depends on your personal skills and abilities. You most likely will need to hire at least several different tradesmen or subcontractors to complete your project. Make sure that ANYONE that you hire is Licensed, Bonded, and Insured. There are a growing number of people especially in the construction or "handy-man" trades who make a full-time living off of personal injury claims. :/ I'm sure that I'm overlooking a few other things as well. I don't want to be discouraging or the Debbie Downer, but there will very likely be Significant Additional Expenses incurred in order to complete this type of project which will at least DOUBLE THE COST when everything is said and done. DO THOROUGH RESEARCH FOR YOUR SPECIFIC REGION AND FOR YOUR PROPOSED HOME SITE.

@@bbfoto7248 I agree with most of that, but minimalist living and off-grid setup is less about the upfront cost and more about the long term benefits of a dependable, independent system. I have been in the process of drawing up plans for a few months now combining shipping container architecture with the 'earth ship' style features. Still going to be an expensive build, (a little less than or equivalent to a typical single-family home of that region) but long term self-sustainability cuts on costs in the future. Plus i have an intermediate level of construction experience, I am confident in being able to build probably about 65% of the house myself given I have the time, which will also cut down on costs.

@@TheCampingCrusader Sounds good. 👍 I just wanted you and others to understand that there is A LOT MORE involved in this process besides just building and paying for The Structure Itself. ;) This particular video was specifically focused on the *Minimum Cost* to CONSTRUCT a decent Shipping Container Home, and not necessarily on the long-term cost or environmental benefits, so my comments were aimed towards that and the additional expenses that will most likely be incurred which were NOT mentioned or included. Building your home yourself will obviously allow you to end up with exactly what you want and need instead of a generic cookie-cutter home or someone else's design that might have features or space(s) that are a waste or inefficient. For reference, my original custom-designed (by me) ~1,500 SF 3-bed/2 bath traditionally-built Spanish Colonial courtyard style stick-frame home cost $55/SF to build 25 years ago (that was a bargain price because I was close friends with the GC). The undeveloped 5-acre property was approximately $26k at the time, located in the high-desert/foothills ~1.25 hours drive North of downtown Los Angeles. It's a semi-rural area where most of the properties are between 2.5-10-acres. Water meter installation was ~$5k, and there was county water and a fire hydrant near the property. There was also a pre-existing local utility power pole at the front of the property to service the existing house across the street. Otherwise, at the time it would have been $22.50/ft to have power pulled to the site from an existing utility pole/source. I'm sure that price is much higher now! Being Off-Grid negates this expense, but then you also don't contribute to the world at large by supplying your excess power to the local grid in order to reduce the production of "dirty power" that is produced by traditional utility companies. The home is completely powered by a 12kw 23ft diameter 3-blade Bergey Excel wind turbine system on a 100ft high guy-wired lattice tower and produces a minimum of 130% of our family's monthly electricity use. That system cost roughly $25k to purchase & install after subtracting the combined Federal, State, and SoCal Edison rebates at the time (which paid for nearly 50% of the total cost of ~$48k). It took about 7 years for the system to pay for itself and for our electricity to be completely free from then on. At the time of installation, wind power was at least 50% more cost-effective compared to solar PV panel installations. Of course, you need wind of at least 6-7mph to start the turbine, and 4mph to maintain rotation, and a large enough property to accommodate it. The advantage of wind power over solar PV is that it produces power At Night AND on Rainy/Cloudy Days as well...at least 50% more production potential. You must also get written approval from all of your adjacent neighbors and submit those documents to the county to obtain the installation permit for the system. And there have been very minimal maintenance costs. It's a simple, proven direct-drive turbine generator. The only real maintenance to perform are replacing the front & rear shaft bearings (guaranteed for at least 7 years of high-duty cycle use) and the pivot bearing & electrical contacts at the turbine's mounting point to the tower. Mine have not needed replacement yet! There's also occasional replacement of a clear protective tape that's applied to the leading edge of each blade (5-year guarantee, $35 for the tape & $150 tower-climbing fee to replace it.) That's been done twice in ~25 years. Oh, and if anyone is curious, I have not discovered a single dead bird resulting from my wind turbine in 25 years! And there are LOTS of birds in my area...ravens/crows, owls, hawks/falcons, turkey vultures, pigeons, doves, quail, cactus wrens, hummingbirds, road-runners, and sparrows/common yard birds, etc. The property in this area remains at roughly the same price, but new home construction would be roughly $120-$180+/SF in 2020 (all-inclusive except for the land). Many 1st time buyers/builders also overlook the importance of their home being a long-term investment in terms of resale value and market desirability. You'll get the best ROI and resale potential by building a minimum of a 3-bed/2-bath home, as that is what 80% of the market NEEDS, even if it is a small SQ FT design. A shipping container home will never increase in value to the same rate or level of a traditional home. This is especially true as the options for newer technology that are more versatile, efficient, and cost-effective come to market every year. IMO shipping container homes will become less & less desirable over time. Don't get me wrong, there are some beautiful and very impressive shipping container homes out there. But I would argue that these are the exceptions and were At Least As Expensive to build compared to traditionally-built homes of equal square footage (assuming the container home is built to "proper" standards). I think that current and future options such as the modular, pre-fab, fold-out *Boxabl* type homes are the way of the future for affordable and efficient housing. They have their limits as well, but not nearly as many restrictions as building with shipping containers. www.boxabl.com IMO & from personal experience, shipping containers are a horrible, inefficient, and space- & design-restrictive ''base'' to build a home from. I've actually tried it when I decided to build a small guest house/granny flat from a shipping container to accommodate my many visiting relatives in the U.S. and Australia. Due to the building codes in most locations, you basically have to do way too many modifications to the container, which results in having to basically build a stick-frame type structure within & around the already tight confines of the container(s). That new, one-trip shipping container I purchased in order to build a guest house is now serving as my wood & metal shop + extra seasonal storage. ;) I used SIPs and ordered simple, engineered-truss roof components to construct a very basic but efficient and comfortable rectangular detached guest house. The orientation, roof overhangs, and eaves were maximized for both winter and summer solar gains & rejection. I designed all of the exterior dimensions to be multiples of the full-size measurements of common lumber & sheet-goods building products to minimize material use and waste. The money saved here was put towards nicer finish details and fixtures. I'm confident that I built a more comfortable, energy-efficient and space-efficient living space for the same cost (or less) compared to using my shipping container, even with the need and cost of the flatwork...i.e. installing a concrete slab-on-grade foundation.

@@bbfoto7248 slow down man. He only gave you cost to build. Clearly said it. Lets Don't twist it. Of course there are other costs. You just wrote a book that obviously anyone with common sense will know when building a shipping container home.

@@TheCampingCrusader it's not even 1/4 of a house...

It follows just after this video in the next video.

i think there is a link in the description

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BNgvdfmrTz0.html

It’s all bullshit. I looked into container homes about 5 years ago and found that it would cost at least $150,000 to just build a low end 1200 sqft model that would be shit to live in. Avoid these snakes who claim to build anything for $35,000.

@aileen cruz Look into *Boxabl* and other modular/pre-fab options as well. IMO, homes based on shipping containers are not the most cost-effective and efficient way to go. Read my other comments/replies here to Sean Heim and check out www.boxabl.com/

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-i7yEDz6bCfU.html

I\'m not sure but ,if anyone else is searching for best container homes try Jadonite Shipping Container Buddy (do a google search ) ? Ive heard some interesting things about it and my partner got great results with it.

@Alan McRae Read *paul simmonds* comments here and also my comments to *Sean Heim* There are A LOT of related costs that are not included here! And on a *Per Square Foot cost comparison basis* my experience is that traditional building methods are less expensive and MUCH more versatile in terms of design and in creating a comfortable and EFFICIENT living space! (I've tried it!) The paints that are used on shipping containers are toxic and would be banned from use in traditional living spaces. Most people (even this contractor) do not realize that shipping containers also use Highly Toxic glues to bind their laminated wood flooring (made from slash-and-burn exotic Amazon rainforest woods as well). :/ These types of adhesives and the container flooring are actually banned in Australia for this very reason. Do some research and you can confirm this for yourself. Used shipping containers will also have most likely transported many toxic or even radioactive cargos during their average 10-15 year lifespans. No thanks! I only discovered all of this after trying to build my own shipping container guest house. Caveat Emptor! Shipping containers were NEVER meant to be used as dwellings!

@Mundo Gio Personally, I think that recent pre-fab and modular solutions are much more cost and space efficient...and safe. Look into *Boxabl* and similar products. www.boxabl.com/ Read my previous comments here to *Sean Heim* for details and further info on why I don't think shipping container homes are the way to go, even as a short-term solution. For one, unless you buy a new and expensive "one-trip" container, they may have shipped very toxic and even potentially radioactive materials over their ~15 year in-service life span. You have no idea. They may be a great solution and cash cow for a CONTRACTOR looking to expand his/her business, but for first-time home buyers I honestly don't think there are many , if any, advantages. In addition, lumber and properly-managed forests are a green, renewable resource. While recyclable, steel, iron, and all metals are a finite resource. YMMV

I live in VA so I'm a couple hours from the beach, I expect to spend a couple K in shipping alone.

The going rate for a hotshot to run one from Houston to San Antonio is $550-$600.

@Patricia Outlaw WAIT! STOP! HOLD ON! That TOTAL $$ amount is just his CONTRACTOR COST!!! And it is ALREADY at roughly $112/SqFt and Does Not include A LOT of other necessary work and expenses. If you are not your own contractor, most GC's will not even consider a project like this unless it yields them AT LEAST a $10,000 profit in ~2-3 weeks, and likely MUCH MORE. Shipping containers contain TOXIC flooring and most likely have also transported many toxic or even radioactive cargos during their average 10-15 year lifespans. LAND/PROPERTY COSTS: Purchasing Property or Renting/Leasing a home site??? $$$$ Also factor in annual Property Tax expenses. BUILDING PERMIT COST: This expense was not mentioned at all, and costs vary by municipality. You most likely will also need an Architectural Engineer to inspect, potentially modify, and approve the design & construction. $$$ NO SITE PREP WAS INCLUDED: Grading, Driveway/Access, and FOUNDATION costs were NOT included. This is usually a Substantial Cost of any building project involving lots of SKILLED LABOR. It will depend on the existing site, the locale, and what the local building codes require for a shipping container home. Check your local city & county requirements PRIOR to starting your project. NO UTILITIES or HOOKUPS: Just the installation of a WATER METER can be $5k-$9k if it's not already installed at your site and you plan to use city or county water. You cannot do this installation yourself. It is done by an approved city or county contractor. THEN you need the Fresh Water Supply run from the water meter to the house (Trenching, Pipe & Fittings, Labor, etc.). The distance and complexity or type of site will determine this cost...it could be $200, or $2,000+. If you are lucky to have a safe potable water well or spring water, you will still need to get it plumbed to your house, obtain a certified water test, and have the plumbing permit signed off. THEN you'll need a SEWER hookup (more trenching and pipe) or have a Septic System installed on your building site, unless you can live with a composting toilet. HOWEVER, check with local building codes if they will even allow this. There are also regulations on how your "grey water" is handled. ELECTRIC SUPPLY & CONNECTION: You will need an Electrical Service Connection run to the service entrance panel on the home from the local utilities. This can be costly, especially if your home will be a fair distance from the nearest power pole or underground service. If there is already another home on the property, its existing utilitiy service connection is most likely not adequate to supply both dwellings. Check the availability and cost at your planned building site. INSURANCE (HOMEOWNER'S & FIRE/EARTHQUAKE): In order to obtain Insurance, most municipalities require that there be a Fire Hydrant or significant accessible water supply within 600ft of your property. Check your city & county requirements. In addition, some companies may be reluctant to insure shipping container-based homes. Check with your available providers. OFF-GRID ELECTRICITY: It's crazy, but some municipalities do not even allow this. :/ But if you plan to be OFF-GRID, you will probably need to spend AT LEAST $10,000 for just a minimalist system that will adequately power all of your appliances and *maybe* a small HVAC system for a short period. And that's for a janky system. A more realistic cost for solar and/or wind power would be $20k-$30k depending on how/where you source the components, and depending on who does the installation. ...And that is with Federal & State rebates. And you will need a permit and sign-off for this installation as well. DELIVERY COST and PLACEMENT: What will it cost to transport, place, and secure the finished container home ON YOUR SITE (if it is not built at your location in-situ)? FENCING: Will you need to install fencing to contain pets or secure children from nearby roads, etc. This can be a considerable cost depending on the size of your lot if it is not already in place or needs repair. Some municipalities have minimum requirements for this. CREW/LABOR COSTS: It depends on your personal skills and abilities. You most likely will need to hire at least several different tradesmen or subcontractors to complete your project. LABOR is the single most expensive expendature in building a home. Also make sure that ANYONE that you hire is Licensed, Bonded, and Insured. There are a growing number of people especially in the construction or "handy-man" trades who make a full-time living off of personal injury claims. :/ I'm sure that I'm overlooking a few other things as well. I don't want to be discouraging or the Debbie Downer, but there will very likely be Significant Additional Expenses incurred in order to complete this type of project which will at least DOUBLE THE COST when everything is said and done. DO THOROUGH RESEARCH FOR YOUR SPECIFIC REGION AND FOR YOUR PROPOSED HOME SITE.

Danielle oh for sure that is in the plan and design, it’s just hard to find affordable removable solutions but we are working on it!

@Danielle Honestly, ask yourself how often you would want or need to move your shipping container home??? Usually, by that time, you, and/or your family's needs have changed and the shipping container home no longer satisfies your needs. It's often not always a "simple" process to move a shipping container home. Think about plumbing, gas, sewer, and electrical hookups. Depending on the building site, this can be a complicated and very expensive process to disconnect and then reconnect at a different site that has a completely different layout or requirements for utility connections. This could easily be $2,500 at each location, but more likely $5,000+. If you do need a "portable" home, I would look into the Tiny Home trailer-based homes. If you look, there are LOTS of these on the market, both new and used. A LOT of these come up for sale at drastically-reduced prices when couples or families outgrow them or become disenchanted with living in them long-term. Personally, I think that recent pre-fab and modular home solutions are much more cost and space efficient...and safe. Look into *Boxabl* and similar products. www.boxabl.com/ Read my previous comments here to *Sean Heim* for details and further info on why I don't think shipping container homes are the way to go, even as a short-term solution. For one, unless you buy a new and expensive "one-trip" container, they most likely have shipped very toxic and even potentially radioactive materials over their ~15 year in-service life spans. You have no idea. They may be a great solution and a cash cow for a CONTRACTOR looking to expand his/her business, but for first-time home buyers I honestly don't think there are many, if any, advantages. YMMV

@@bbfoto7248 you have to have ûtf

​@@bbfoto7248You definitely make valid points. Especially the likihood of poison within the shipping container. That would be a deal breaker.

No tienen masvarato queheso

Mikael you don’t need to we just wanted the additional over hang for rain and sun protection here is south Florida!

@@ContainingLuxury Ah, I see. In Sweden where I live we do see a lot of rain and sometimes snow. Perhaps I should take extra care considering that also?

@mac kue Shipping containers use highly toxic glues to bind their laminated wood flooring (made from exotic slash-and-burn Amazon rainforest woods as well). Do some research and you can confirm this for yourself. Used shipping containers will have most likely also transported many toxic or even radioactive cargos during their average 10-15 year lifespans. If you insist on using a shipping container as your home, you must insulate it from the OUTSIDE so as to keep condensation and moisture on the exterior, otherwise it will rust from the inside out and/or have a high probability of developing hidden interior mold. You must also have an interior/exterior fresh air exchange to keep condensation from breath and steam from hot showers, etcetera, from causing interior condensation. Shipping containers were NEVER meant to be used as dwellings! Read @paul simmonds and my comments to @Sean Heim as well.

@ladybugcdl I'm sure that your remodeled house has At Least DOUBLE the SqFt of a single shipping container home, though, right? ALWAYS compare cost in terms of Price Per Square Foot of USABLE living space. Another thing to consider is resale value and market desirability. Any home must always be considered as a long term investment and a hopefully appreciating asset. If you look into it, due to most local building codes, building a home from a shipping container requires that you basically build a traditional stick-frame type construction within and around the confinements of the container. IMO, there are just too many "work-arounds" that become expensive because traditional building practices and supplies will not work easily. THE most expensive aspect of home building (any type) is LABOR. There are some newer solutions that minimize this cost. YMMV, but look into *Boxabl* and similar products. www.boxabl.com/ Read my previous comments here to *Sean Heim* for details and further info on why I don't think shipping container homes are the way to go, even as a short-term solution. For one, unless you buy a new and expensive "one-trip" container, they most likely have shipped very toxic and even potentially radioactive materials over their ~15 year in-service life spans. You have no idea. Shipping containers may be a great solution and a cash cow for a CONTRACTOR looking to expand his/her business, but for first-time home buyers I honestly don't think there are many, if any, advantages.

@@bbfoto7248 thank you for your reply. That is a good point regarding what could have been shipped in those containers. It would cost to much to do a chemical clean and add a Faraday cage interior before installation and sheetrock if that is possible. The house remodel has cost over 60,000. I probably still could have built a newer eco friendly house with what we put into it. It turned out really nice being that it is on cedar post. It will due for now.

But if it was a 20x16 at that price though.

The Tiny House movement’s supposed to be about “affordable housing “. But too many people are doing this AirBnB thing and pushing the prices out of too many people’s reach. And $1200 for a mini-fridge bought by a guy with a contractor’s license???!!!! Criminal!

@@heyzeusghoti1483 @#Truth is Treason Personally, I think that recent pre-fab and modular home solutions are much more cost and space efficient, safer, and a better ROI. Look into *Boxabl* and similar products. www.boxabl.com/ Read my previous comments here to *Sean Heim* for details and further info on why I don't think shipping container homes are the way to go, even as a short-term solution. For one, unless you buy a new and expensive "one-trip" container, they most likely have shipped very toxic and even potentially radioactive materials over their ~15 year in-service life spans. You have no idea. They may be a great solution and a cash cow for a CONTRACTOR looking to expand his/her business, but for first-time home buyers I honestly don't think there are many, if any, advantages. YMMV

Their previous cost video covered what minimums you could get away with, things like siding are optional, but unless you happen to be somewhere where the climate is always nice then I'm pretty sure the insulation, at least, is a must when trying to live in something that will essentially be a heat conductive steel box otherwise... Though, it can be just on the interior but that reduces available interior space and you'd have more insulation options for the exterior that can make it more cost effective... So, unless you need to keep it easily moveable the exterior insulation is usually the better option but you can also split the difference like they're doing with the 20' one they're working on now...

antonio sosa thank you for all the support! To answer your question, no you do not need the roof or the siding, you just need to make sure you insulate really well if you don’t because the metal gets super hot, but you can paint it with the product we were talking about and that helps drastically... then leave it!

@@ZeoCyberG @antonio sosa If you insist on using a shipping container to build your home, you must insulate it from the OUTSIDE so as to keep condensation and moisture on the exterior, otherwise it will rust from the inside out and/or have a high probability of developing hidden interior toxic mold. You must also have an interior/exterior fresh air exchange to keep condensation from breath and steam from hot showers, etcetera, from causing interior condensation. Shipping containers use highly toxic glues to bind their laminated wood flooring (made from slash-and-burn exotic Amazon rainforest woods as well). Do some research and you can confirm this for yourself. Used shipping containers will have most likely also transported many toxic or even radioactive cargos during their average 10-15 year lifespans. Shipping containers were NEVER meant to be used as dwellings! Read @paul simmonds and my comments to @Sean Heim as well.