BNIM Container Home

We are very excited today to have a guest author to the Saner Container.  This author not only lives in a container home, he has shown it to the world on MTV’s “Cribs”.  Sam Glassberg presented his home on “Cribs”, showing off the versatility and eco-friendly aspects of their shipping container home.  Now he has shared some of his experiences with the Saner Container.

As a film and television student, being on a real television show was probably one of the most rewarding experiences of my entire life. It was also created one of the most awkward experiences of my entire life when a complete stranger came up to me in my college’s dining hall and said “I saw you on Cribs. I really liked your house”. Awkward for me because, well, I think that would be pretty awkward for anybody, but also amazing because I realized that people I don’t even know and didn’t tell to watch (probably the most I’ve tweeted or facebooked in my entire life) appreciate what my mom created.

I live in a house made of shipping containers. Weird. It’s a bit like a circus at times with the amount of people stopping to look at it on the street, and the amount of tours I’ve had to give, but I really love it. At first the idea seemed a bit crazy, but now it’s bizarrely normal. The house is composed of concrete, 5 shipping containers, glass, and metal and is truly a work of modern architecture. With geothermal heating, passive solar heating and lighting, and other recycled materials it’s also a house that gives back to the environment. It’s a structure to be envied by all, and luckily for those who envy it, it will soon be available for everybody to have.

Living room dining room and hall

In collaboration with local Kansas City architecture firm BNIM, my mother has begun creating new living, working, and retail spaces that will be available and affordable for nearly anybody. While my house is perfect in my eyes, new designs and configurations of this prefab design are going to be released in many different forms. It’s bespoke living. Studio apartments, dorm rooms, vegan restaurants, and boutique hotels are all ideas my mom had that are about to become a reality. If you can dream it, Debbie Glassberg and BNIM can build it.

For pictures and more information on Sam’s house, check out some of these links, pictures – and of course the MTV video:

KMBC, Kansas City’s ABC affiliate, ran a series on the Glassberg’s home. Follow their home being built:

KMBC – 1st story
http://www.kmbc.com/news/18414304/detail.html

KMBC – 2nd story
http://www.kmbc.com/news/20004971/detail.html

KMBC – 3rd story
http://www.kmbc.com/news/23860045/detail.html

KMBC slideshow
http://www.kmbc.com/slideshow/news/23858878/detail.html

Exterior

Den

Kitchen

Bedroom

Refrigerator 40' container

So you want a container.  You know it needs to be insulated, but what exactly will fit your needs?  Containers come in two styles – standard shipping container and refrigerator (reefer) containers.  Here are some general rules of thumb that might be helpful.

1)      Refrigerator containers are ideal when you need to store items at a particular temperature year round and you have a power source to run the container.  They are considerably more expensive than standard containers, which may play a role in your decision-making.

Inside refrigerator container

2)      If you are storing general items, the standard containers are great.  Standard containers are used around the world, year round for transporting the vast majority goods manufactured year round.

3)      If you are modifying the container, standard containers are much preferred to refrigerator containers.  Refrigerator containers have loose insulation between two walls, which makes modifications a huge headache.  Also, if you are using the container for living space, you will be very disappointed with a refrigerator container floor.  They are grooved to drain any liquid away from items being stored.  While that is great if the container isn’t plugged in and you are storing ice cream.  It is not as great if you want to live in the container.

Inside used 40'

One other consideration for those who are modifying containers – if you plan on adding electricity or plumbing, you will want to insulate the container once you have added those and done all your modifications.

If you still have questions about which is the right one for you, please call us and we can discuss your needs further.

Inside a Double-door 40'

Standard ISO shipping containers come with two swing doors on one short end of the container.  But that doesn’t work for everyone.  Today, we are going to cover some different options you have when purchasing containers.

1)      Double-door containers.  These are containers with standard swing doors on both ends of the container.  Because these are not as common and are so useful, they are generally only available as “one-trip” containers, meaning they are manufactured in Asia, make one trip to the US and then sold to you.  Since they are one-trip containers, they are freshly painted, have no markings and are a great option.  But they are also more expensive.

Open-roll-up door on container

2)     Roll-up doors.  If you want a used container and need the access, but not the price tag, consider adding a roll-up door on the opposite end.  Roll-ups can be added either to the end of the sides of containers to add extra access to the container.  The only place we do not recommend putting it is where the original doors are located.  Those doors are connected into the corner posts that support the container, so you do not want to mess with that.  You can have the door added on before it comes out to you, or use a kit to add the door on yourself.  You get the same access at usually half the price.

3)      Personnel –doors.  So you don’t need a full roll-up, or you just don’t want to deal with bigger doors.  Maybe a personnel door is the right option for you.  Like roll-up doors, these can be added on before you get it or by a kit where you add on the door yourself.  This is great option if you are going to be going in and out of the container often and want to have access just like you would to a building.

Man-door on container

4)      Open-side containers.  These great containers are only available in 20′ long, one-trip containers.  They feature doors that open on the 20′ side of the container.  These are a great option for retail containers, industrial applications and so much more.  But they also come with a pretty large price tag.

5)  Open-top containers.  These are a great option if you have to load the container from above.  They come with a tarp to function as the roof.  So these, are for those people who simply need to have this design, but it is not ideal for the person who wants a nice, basic container.

Containers are so flexible.  Even if they don’t come the way you want them, they can easily be changed to fit your needs.  We can help you add doors, windows, etc. so that it works for you, just the way you want, or we can help you to do it yourself.

20' Open side

Open-top 40' container

Inside a refrigerator/insulated container

1)      Standard or Insulated/refrigerated? Containers come in either standard steel box or insulated/refrigerated box.  In order to pick the best one for you, think about what you are going to do with it.  If you are going to modify it (add doors, windows, or any other cut outs), then steer clear of the refrigerated/insulated containers.  They are difficult to modify due to the loose insulation in between the container walls.  Standard steel containers can easily be framed and insulated to provide the necessary insulation once your other modifications are done.

Cargo-worthy containers can handle being stacked

2)      Shipping overseas or not? If you are shipping the container overseas, then you will want to plan your modifications accordingly.  Containers that are being shipped on cargo ships must be cargo-worthy or sea-worthy, meaning they are structurally sound enough to handle having other container stacked on top of them.  If you cut up a container, you reduce the structural integrity of the container, so you want to make sure you are keeping that in mind with your plans, or plan on modifying the container once it arrives at its destination.

Open-top 40' container has a tarp roof

3)      Is there a container already designed for your need? There are specialty containers – containers without a top or with removable steel top, 20’ containers with doors that open the full 20’ side of the container or flat-racks, containers that have no long walls or roofs.  While these containers are generally more expensive than standard containers, you may find that they fit your need so well; it is worth the extra money.  However, be warned that some of these containers are not all that plentiful, so you may also end up paying for shipping long distances.

20' open side container opens on one full 20' side of container

4)      How complicated is your design? If you are planning on creating a home or living quarters complete with electric and plumbing, stacked containers or other complications, be sure to get an architect or engineer involved.  Even though containers make great building blocks, you are still creating a living space that needs to be safe and up to code.  They may up with structural issues you have not considered which can save you headaches down the line.

5)      Are you doing to modify the container yourself or have it done? Containers are easy to modify yourself if you have the right tools.  Primarily, it requires a cutter and welding tools and the know-how to go with them.  Kits are available for adding on basic additions like doors, windows, AC/heat, skylights, etc.

40' office and storage

If you don’t want the hassle of doing the work, have it done for you by a qualified container shop.  Then your container can arrive ready to go (or at least part-way there) depending on what your plans entail.

Containers are incredibly flexible building blocks.  Let your imagination loose to come up with fun ideas.  Share them with us!  Or share pictures of projects you have already done to inspire others!

1)      How much stuff do you have? Size up what you actually need to store.  The most common sizes of containers are :

20’ – 20’ x 8’ x 8’6” – or 1,169 cubic feet
40’ standard – 40’ x 8’ x 8’6” – or 2,385 cubic feet
40’ high cube – 40’ x 8’ x 9’6” – or 2,690 cubic feet

High cubes are nice if you are thinking about living in a container.  The internal height of a standard container is 7’8.5”, and a high cube is 8’8.5”.  Over time, you will feel that height difference.

Do one of these seem like enough to fit what you have?  If not, think about specialty sizes, but keep in mind that the cost on those containers adds up – bigger, more specialized trucks are required to deliver them and they may have to come from further away.

Used 20'

2)      Are you going to move the container around? If the answer to this is yes, think small.  A 20’ container weighs 5,000 pounds when it is empty, but is still small enough and light enough to be mobile.  20’ containers can be moved on a variety of trucks and even when they are full, can be moved by very heavy duty forklifts.

Once you jump up to a 40’ container, you will need a larger truck for moving it and when they are full, you will need a crane to lift the container on and off the truck.  Cranes mean money.  So even if you need the space of 40’s, think about 20’s.

3)       Are you going to ship the container overseas? If yes, even though the container is moving around, think about the 40’ or the 40’ high cube.  Usually there is a minimal extra cost to the larger size and you get to send more per cubic foot.  However, the delivery issues listed above still apply.  To get around this, most freight forwarders will pick up your container from a depot, bring it to you for loading, you load it while it stays on the truck, then they deliver it to the rail or port to ship.

40' container on a truck

4)      Do you have enough space to accommodate the size you want? Containers are delivered on tilt-bed trucks when you ask for ground-level delivery.  This means that the truck will back into the spot you want the container.  The back of the truck tips down and there is a winch on the truck to lower the container off of the bed of the truck and start setting it on the ground.  Then the driver pulls forward and finished setting the container on the ground with the winch.  All of this works beautifully – if you have enough space.  For a 40’ container, you will generally need 110-120’ of a straight, relatively flat area.  For a 20’ – 100’.  And don’t forget that the truck has to get to that spot.  Make sure you think about how the driver will pull in and pull out of your site.  Think about how firm and flat the ground is because delivering a container involves more physics than driving a truck across a ground.

Used 45' container

5)      Do you still need more or less space? If you need more space, there are larger containers – 45’, 48’ and 53’ containers.  They are not available in all markets and require larger trucks than 40’s, so be prepared for additional costs.

10' with roll door added

If you need less space, containers can be cut down for an additional fee.  Generally this process will add an extra $2000 dollars and the containers will still be delivered on the same truck.

If course this won’t answer everyone’s question on sizes.  Give us a call if you want to discuss it further!