Home building is a costly project, especially when not planned carefully. This is why it is crucial to look at the big picture and consider all factors that can affect the outcome of your home building project before making a move. Apart from ensuring that all your ideas will come to life, you should also take into account alternatives that can minimize outlays yet produce results that will satisfy you just as much as when you use conventional solutions.
Construction materials are one of the main aspects where you will probably spend most of your money. Luckily, with innovation in construction technology, more cost-efficient choices of materials are now available. One alternative, which has taken the world of engineering and construction by storm in the last decade, are conex boxes otherwise known as shipping container. A lot of builders these days are looking to shipping containers for sale as a good alternative to traditional building materials, and for good reasons.
It’s Way Cheaper
A 1000 sq. ft. house normally requires around 700 bags of cement. Each bag costs from $5 to $15 depending on the quality or brand. And that’s just cement. You will need at least 1800 cu. ft. of sand and 1350 cu. ft. of gravel to make a fair amount of concrete. Together, this just makes up 31 percent of the materials needed to build the house. Reinforcing bars and lumber for scaffolding are still not factored in. And these are just for an average size home. Most houses cover around 2000 sq. ft. floor area.
Brand new shipping containers, on the other hand, cost up to $2500 per unit. Used units are much less expensive, though. Each unit (the longest of the size options) is about 320 sq. ft. wide. It would only take 7 units (or $15,000) to cover a 2000 sq. ft. floor area. Even if you double the number to add another level and include the cost of materials for refurbishing, that would still cost much lower than using traditional materials and building methods.
It’s Quick and Easy to Build
Have you ever wondered why building projects, particularly those that involve the use of concrete, take a long time to finish? Well, that’s because concrete takes a long time to dry. Under normal conditions and with the right temperature, concrete can safely cure within 28 days. It even gets longer since you can’t pour all concrete at once (you have to cover a certain area at a time).
If you build with shipping containers for sale, on the other hand, you’ll only need concrete for the footing and then everything else just needs to be assembled. It may take a little longer if there are complex modifications involved but the overall duration of the project is still much shorter than when you build using traditional materials.
It’s So Much Cooler
Who wouldn’t love a house that stands out in the neighborhood? Although they started out as a cheaper alternative to conventional houses, shipping containers are fast becoming a trend that attracts even well-off consumers. After all, the idea of living in a modern home gives you a mix of excitement, pride, and contentment, not only because you know your building is a true head-turner, but also because you know it will last a lifetime.
There’s a lot of things that you should know about using shipping containers as a base material for home construction. There’s an expected increase in demand for these metal boxes but not for its regular purpose. To make sure that the units you will use for your home building project are of high-quality, get them from a trusted supplier in Texas like Equipment Management Services.
Sources:
Infographic: Construction Cost Trends, rsmeans.com
[Infographic] Quantities Of Building Materials For 1000 Sqft House Construction, happho.com
