Shipping Container Homes

I'm very interested in how you get on with this. My dream's to build a house but it's just not possible in the UK as it has some of the strictest planning laws in the world. Not only that but in the cities, it's hard to find space and if you do, it's far too expensive whereas the countryside is incredibly cheap but impossible to get planning permission unless you work the land. No amount of coffee money could get you planning permission to build a dream home in the countryside in the UK.

As much as I love the idea of shipping containers for cheap and quick buildings, I don't see them working that well in Vietnam. Structurally, they are quite weak when cut up and the amount of material you need reinforcing it, you might as well not have bothered. See it makes sense in a country that's expensive to build but not in Vietnam. I don't know where everyone is getting the 40,000 USD figure. I've been looking at this stunning 2 storey that was designed by architects, total costs including construction material, labour and the furnishing came up to 21,800 USD and this is in Hanoi, 2016 where I assume construction costs are highest. The cost of a shipping container in the UK is about 5000 GBP for the largest one. You'd need a few of those so the maths just doesn't work.

http://www.archdaily.com/789132/as-hous … associates

One thing to bear in mind is the value of your place if and when you want to sell it. Recycling shipping containers is not perceived as the same cool hipster place to live in these parts of the world. In China, only the poorest in society live in shipping containers. I've seen rural migrant workers live in them on construction sites outside Shanghai. Ironically, they are living in them on construction sites where they work on luxury condos and townhouses for the rich. I don't know about Vietnam, but I did tell my GF I wanted to do something like this and she said only poor migrant workers live in shipping containers. She couldn't understand why someone would build a house using them.

http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013 … i-families

Me, I personally love it. One of my favourite Grand Designs is this shipping container home. You might get a few tips from watching it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q82n9Q6Xv0w

I'd like to know if it's possible to get Cross Laminated Timber prefabs manufactured in Vietnam and whether it's suitable for tropical climates. I know it they use it now in Singapore and Japan but I doubt it's available in Vietnam yet.

Goodluck to you and show us how you get on.

A new Korean BBQ restaurant in Da Nang is made out of shipping containers. So I cant see why a house would be a different code but who knows here.
Good luck with it all.

"A new Korean BBQ restaurant in Da Nang is made out of shipping containers."

Pictures please?

I will get some to you next time I go past.
G

Low cost housing complex from shipping containers:
facebook.com/DavidAvocadoWolfe/videos/10153841369251512/

There's a shipping container hostel in da nang now

http://saigoneer.com/saigon-development … ner-hostel

Da Nang clearly becoming the Mecca of Metal Housing.
A hostel, wow - so all night, people coming back and slammin' those steel doors.   

Surely, silenced by the use of rubbers..?     

gobot wrote:

Da Nang clearly becoming the Mecca of Metal Housing.
A hostel, wow - so all night, people coming back and slammin' those steel doors.   

The photos I saw showed man-doors added for access. It's hard to imagine using the big steel doors for ingress/egress every time--makes no sense, even in a noisy country.

phikachu wrote:

I'm very interested in how you get on with this. My dream's to build a house but it's just not possible in the UK as it has some of the strictest planning laws in the world. Not only that but in the cities, it's hard to find space and if you do, it's far too expensive whereas the countryside is incredibly cheap but impossible to get planning permission unless you work the land. No amount of coffee money could get you planning permission to build a dream home in the countryside in the UK.

As much as I love the idea of shipping containers for cheap and quick buildings, I don't see them working that well in Vietnam. Structurally, they are quite weak when cut up and the amount of material you need reinforcing it, you might as well not have bothered. See it makes sense in a country that's expensive to build but not in Vietnam. I don't know where everyone is getting the 40,000 USD figure. I've been looking at this stunning 2 storey that was designed by architects, total costs including construction material, labour and the furnishing came up to 21,800 USD and this is in Hanoi, 2016 where I assume construction costs are highest. The cost of a shipping container in the UK is about 5000 GBP for the largest one. You'd need a few of those so the maths just doesn't work.

http://www.archdaily.com/789132/as-hous … associates

One thing to bear in mind is the value of your place if and when you want to sell it. Recycling shipping containers is not perceived as the same cool hipster place to live in these parts of the world. In China, only the poorest in society live in shipping containers. I've seen rural migrant workers live in them on construction sites outside Shanghai. Ironically, they are living in them on construction sites where they work on luxury condos and townhouses for the rich. I don't know about Vietnam, but I did tell my GF I wanted to do something like this and she said only poor migrant workers live in shipping containers. She couldn't understand why someone would build a house using them.

http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013 … i-families

Me, I personally love it. One of my favourite Grand Designs is this shipping container home. You might get a few tips from watching it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q82n9Q6Xv0w

I'd like to know if it's possible to get Cross Laminated Timber prefabs manufactured in Vietnam and whether it's suitable for tropical climates. I know it they use it now in Singapore and Japan but I doubt it's available in Vietnam yet.

Goodluck to you and show us how you get on.

I'm always amazed by how negative some people can be...

1) This isn't the UK.

2) You said, "Structurally, they are quite weak when cut up and the amount of material you need reinforcing it, you might as well not have bothered." Then you cut into it wrong. If you do it right, they are still structurally very strong.

3) You quote the cost of a shipping container in the UK as 5000GBP.
   a) This isn't the UK.
   b) Your price sounds like that of a brand new one, which is rarely the choice for housing.
   c) I've not priced them, but I've heard <US$2000 per for good condition (no rust or large dents).
   d) Have you priced houses here? My gf's brother built a house in Da Lat for two billion VND (~US$90K). It's nothing special with no insulation. It's ugly and uncomfortable, but the family and the neighbors are impressed--because he spent 2 billion.

4) Re your comments on re-sale:
   a) This isn't China.
   b) My gf loves the idea.
   c) I'm 63, so chances of me ever reselling are very slim.
   d) "...only poor migrant workers live in shipping containers" is only true if you're talking about raw steel boxes with no plumbing and power via extension cord if at all. You know that.
   e) There are a few units going up here in Da Lat and I think it's going to be a generally acceptable/desired housing within 5-10 years. Everyone to whom I've spoken likes the idea, especially if they've seen one of the buildings.

Chances of me ever doing this are slim because land is ridiculously expensive here in Da Lat and it's where the gf has lived all her life, so we're probably here for the rest of it, too.

Though I can still dream...

It was never intended to be negative. I really do hope you realise your dream and report back so I can learn something from it. It's the only reason I signed up to these forums because of a similar threads about house building in Vietnam. It's useful because it's all in english and I can't read Vietnamese material.

Given the chance, I would build a house out of shipping containers too.

Fred wrote:

Old thread but it created a lot of interest so I thought I'd give this a mention. I noticed a new member has placed an ad that could well be of interest to people on this thread.

Interesting testament to the fact that even moderators are aware that nobody reads the classifieds unless prompted to do so.   

It doesn't sound like a living but it might be some easy side money for someone qualified.  It also could be a route to a work permit for a retired engineer so he can stop making border runs on a tourist visa.

THIGV wrote:

Interesting testament to the fact that even moderators are aware that nobody reads the classifieds unless prompted to do so.   

A lot of people read the classifieds, mostly people who are looking for something so the 'views' numbers tend to be reasonable.
The job ad is unlikely to be of interest to any of the expat posters but the fact there's someone out there dealing in containers might well send a spark across a neuron or two when you look at the content of this thread.

Hello everyone,

Just to inform you that several off-topic posts have been removed from this thread.

All the best,
Bhavna