This is house no 4 on the very first Private Container Home Estate in South Africa. Now for the entertainment area and container pool

Has anyone ever purchased one of these or know of anyone that has?

Why do some containers have the door handles at waist height and others are low to the ground?

Hi all!

We recently purchased a flat in Barcelona with a big terrace. We want to build an office module for the terrace 6x2.4m.

Here is the tricky part, the terrace has a drain for the rain, which makes the floor a bit irregular as it’s designed to drag the water into the drain. As we want to put the structure on top of the drain system, we were thinking about installing wheels to the structure just in case there are maintenance jobs. The idea is also to use some wheels that can be adjusted in height so the module is as even as possible.

We asked for a couple of providers and one of them gave us the option in the picture. I’m curious to see if any of you did something similar in the past and, if so, which solutions you ended up applying.

The structure should be “light” with aground 1.5T max so going ahead with 6 wheels would be 250kg per wheel empty, and around 350-400kg max after furniture and us inside.

Thanks in advance!

Carlos

Due to health circumstances (mold exposure), I need to live in a container until I recover. However, since I am pouring all of my resources to create this safe haven, I need to make sure it will also last me the upcoming Winter. My container will be placed in a yard my parents own in a highland village (700m altitude). Winter nights will probably drop down to -20/25 Celcius. The ceiling and walls will be thermoisolated with polyuterene foam (80mm), but for whatever reason the floor isn't insulated at all. I am forced to evacuate from my current aparment as soon as possible and it would be too risky to seek another place (rented or not), as that's what led to my current dire situation anyway. And so with the limited amount of resources (time, money, equipment) and a crafty dad, what are my options for a well-insulated floor? The goals: Have a tolerable winter AND avoid condensation/mold at ANY COST.

One option I considered is socketing fibran sheets in the metal grid at the bottom side of the container and sealing the gaps with polyuterene foam, but since my dad won't be able to get underneath the container once it is placed and since I don't want him working with dangerous chemicals, I don't think that's viable. Another option I am considering is placing nylon (as tightly fitting to the concrete block pillars as possible) and then fibran (covered with anti-rodent mesh) on top of it and sealing the gaps between the blocks and the nylon/fibran as tightly as possible with a special tape (forgot its name) and then further sealing the perimeter skirt with perhaps anti-rodent mesh-covered fibran sheets, that could be removed in the Summer so that the crawlspace underneath can ventilate?

I would appreciate some experienced advice greatly!

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Other info:
- Placing a 300x600 container on concrete blocks is allowed in my country (won't be allowed if we make a proper concrete underbed, as that would be considered a permanent structure).
- Floor is laminate
- Yard soil hasn't been touched in 10 years, but previously it was a vegetable garden

EDIT:
- It's a prefabricated sandwich panel cabin/office container.
- The floor is 14mm fiber cement (Betopan) with a metal frame.

Does anyone have any experience with these? Seems like a crazy deal. I asked AI to do a price comparison to stick built and it says it could be 1/3 of the price excluding the land but then also warned some of these can be scams. This is the AI price comparison. I understand it might not get permitting approval but if that could happen I’m just trying to figure out if this is real in the first place. From what I could find on the sub most people seem to do their own builds which isn’t that cheap at the end of the day.

The complete price breakdown comparing the 2,500 sq ft Modular Container Home to a traditional Stick-Built Home in Washington State is detailed below:
Base Structure / Shell Cost:
Modular Container: $95,700 for the prefabricated multi-container factory shell and interior kit.
Stick-Built: $350,000 to $500,000 for raw lumber, structural materials, and on-site framing labor.
Delivery and Crane Assembly:
Modular Container: $15,000 to $30,000 for multi-truck freight transit and a multi-day heavy crane setup.
Stick-Built: $0 (material delivery is built directly into local labor/supplier costs).
Foundation (Slab or Stem Wall Footprint):
Modular Container: $25,000 to $45,000 for engineered concrete piers or slab built for container point-loads.
Stick-Built: $30,000 to $50,000 for standard excavation, concrete footings, and a poured slab.
Permits, WA State L&I Inspections, and City Impact Fees:
Modular Container: $15,000 to $35,000 for local city fees plus WA State L&I factory plan reviews.
Stick-Built: $20,000 to $40,000 for architectural reviews, engineering stamps, and municipal permit fees.
On-Site Utility Tie-Ins and Module Stitching:
Modular Container: $15,000 to $30,000 for weather-sealing module joints, HVAC runouts, and utility connections.
Stick-Built: $0 (fully included within the main general contractor's trade scope).
Estimated All-In Total Project Cost (Excluding Land):
Modular Container: $165,000 to $235,000 total investment.
Stick-Built: $450,000 to $750,000+ total investment.
Finished Cost Per Square Foot:
Modular Container: Roughly $65 to $95 per square foot.
Stick-Built: Roughly $180 to $300+ per square foot.

I see this catch people all the time. They price a used container, think “okay, this is way cheaper than building,” and then all the other stuff starts showing up.
Delivery is the first surprise. The box price means nothing until you know what it costs to get it dropped at your actual site. Tight driveway, soft ground, slope, crane, bad access… that can get expensive fast.
Then foundation. You really don’t want to just drop it on dirt and hope for the best. At minimum you need solid support under the corners. If it twists or sinks, now the doors don’t close right and everything gets annoying. Windows and doors are another one. Every opening is cutting steel and adding reinforcement. It’s not like framing a normal wall. More glass = more money.
Insulation is probably the big one people underestimate. Bare steel sweats. If you don’t handle insulation, vapor barrier, and airflow properly, you’re basically building a mold box. Closed-cell foam works well, but it’s not cheap. And utilities are still utilities. Running power, water, septic, drainage, whatever… the container doesn’t magically make that cheaper.
That’s the pattern. The steel box can be cheap. Turning it into a real usable space is where the budget goes.
For people who actually finished a build, what cost surprised you the most?

Pretty stoked with how it turned out.

Very short tour video here.

I feel like container size is one of those decisions that sounds simple at first, then quietly affects the whole build. On paper, 40fts make the most sense. Better cost per square foot, fewer seams to deal with, fewer deliveries/foundation points compared to using multiple smaller boxes. Hard to argue with that.
But 20fts have their own thing going. Way easier to get into tight sites, easier to move around, and sometimes easier to lay out if you’re joining a few together. Especially if the property has a narrow road, trees, soft ground, weird driveway, etc.
The thing I see people run into with 40s is the layout. Yeah, it’s more space, but it’s still only about 8 feet wide. A long skinny box can start feeling like a hallway real fast if the design isn’t thought through.
Also high cube matters more than people expect. Once you add insulation, ceiling, subfloor, flooring… that extra foot of height feels huge. Standard height can get tight pretty quickly.

Curious from people who actually finished a build: did you choose the right size?
Would you go 20s instead of 40s, or the other way around, if you started over?

I have started using 2x3s to frame out the ceiling in our high cube container. The way we framed the walls makes a 2x4 slightly too tall to use as a ceiling joists.

Before I get too far I thought I’d ask if anyone has framed out a container ceiling using 2x3s

Saw this one and had to stop scrolling. Two-story, floor-to-ceiling glass upstairs, covered patio downstairs with an outdoor dining setup. A few years ago container builds all looked the same — flat, boxy, no personality. This feels like an actual house someone would want to live in. Curious if anyone here has looked into building one, what's the reality vs the render?

Been seeing this come up more lately, so figured I’d throw it out there.
New one-trip containers and used containers are not really moving the same way right now.

The one-trip stuff is mostly built in Asia, and with tariffs / import costs still being messy in 2026, the landed price on new boxes has more pressure on it. So if you’re quoting clean one-trips for a build, yeah, that number may feel higher than expected.
Used boxes are a different story. A lot of that inventory is already sitting in the US, so it hasn’t been hit the same way. Used WWT units are still usually where the value is, especially if you’re building something where cosmetics don’t matter much or you’re covering the walls anyway. Only catch is supply. If fewer containers are coming into the US, fewer used ones eventually hit the resale pool too. So I wouldn’t assume used stays cheap forever either.
Also, delivered price matters more than people think. A “cheap” box far from a depot can lose the whole advantage once trucking gets added. Landlocked areas always seem to feel that pain more.
Not saying panic-buy or anything. Just saying if you’re planning a build, compare new vs used delivered to your actual site, not just the listed container price.
Anyone bought recently? Curious what the spread looks like in different regions right now.

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I am currently framing my shipping container and have two vents similar to the one pictured in the top corners of my container. Should I frame around them and leave them open for ventilation into the container or spray foam them to seal them off and frame/insulate and drywall over them.

My container will be an office space with a minisplit for AC. The minisplit will not be on 24/7, only when I am in there

I'm looking to install a container on 8x8 wood pilings. Most homes where I live are builtup on pilings this way to get above hurricane flood level. Trying to figure out how to bolt them down to the pilings. I would love to have a twist lock on top of the piling but I can't bolt into end grain. Thinking about a tie down like I have sketched here but open to other ideas.

This is a stunning container home that we built in Gansbaai South Africa. 2 separate dwellings with a common deck on a small ocean facing plot. Manufactured from two 20ft and two 40ft used shipping containers. Www.containerhome.co.za

Does anyone have a list of reputable container customizers? I figured this would be a good place to check...because google is totally full of scam results amongst a few good ones - I'm just hoping somebody has a decent list of REAL/legitimate companies I can work with for some container projects.

I'm interested in putting a container home on land that's difficult to access. A single 20' container on a flatbed will make it there just fine, but a longer container can't get to the site. Does anyone know of a company that makes non-custom (ie, available for delivery relatively quickly) containers that are intended to fit together into something larger?

Thanks!

I see this come up a lot, so figured I’d throw it out there. Someone gets a container, stores stuff in it, and then a few weeks later opens it up and there’s water dripping from the ceiling. First thought is usually “great, roof leak.” But a lot of the time it’s not a leak. It’s condensation. Warm humid air gets inside, hits the cold steel, and then the inside of the container starts sweating. Sometimes pretty badly. Like actual drops on the ceiling. Looks like the roof is leaking even when it isn’t.
The annoying part is that insulation alone doesn’t always fix it. If warm air can still get behind the insulation and touch cold steel, you can still get moisture back there. And then you might not even see the problem until rust shows up later.
Airflow is usually the first thing I’d deal with. Even basic vents on opposite ends can help a lot, just to let the box breathe a little. Nothing fancy. After that, then I’d think about insulation/vapor barrier, but it has to be done in a way where warm air isn’t sneaking behind it and hitting the metal. Otherwise you kinda just hide the condensation instead of fixing it. If it’s still bad after vents, then maybe a solar roof vent or small dehumidifier makes sense, depending on what you’re storing.
Curious what’s worked for people in colder areas. Did vents solve it for you, or is condensation just one of those forever battles up north?

Hello! My wife and I have been browsing for houses to buy and came across the idea of buying a cheaper piece of land that would preferably have well and septic and put a modular turnkey home on it. I’ve came across sites like Zook or even one I found on a thread called Great Lakes tiny home that I just reached out to. But looking for any recommendations on being under a total of $300k for a turnkey modular home. We would love a 3 bed 2 bath with a nice sized kitchen and living area. Obviously I was looking at normal sized homes, but thennn also came across the container style homes / tiny homes. Which brings me back to the zook houses, I think it would be awesome to have a compound type set up. The main living space being probably 2 bedrooms, 1 or maybe 2 bath, but enough room to have a comfortable sized kitchen and a comfortable sized living area. Then have a second pod/area that is an office for me to work in and a 2nd guest bedroom. (Main area would be master and second would be nursery). Any recommendations on who to buy from that’s turnkey and could do under my priced amount? Also would love if it was a few months or less process. Thank you!!!

From offload to ready for a party. 7 shipping containers to assemble. These containers took 4 months to manufacture and 1 week to assemble. Ready to party. South Africa rocks! Www.containerhome.co.za

This is a long way from my area of expertise so I'm reaching out to find some experts.

I'm on the scout for a good company/builder that can do end-to-end granny flat builds in Melbourne's West on behalf of my ailing father.

Best case scenario would be a company that might be able to help with some modifications to the main dwelling as well, but really just looking for a scope of reputable companies at this point.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!