How to Turn a Shipping Container Into a Tiny Home
Shipping containers are much more versatile than people tend to give them credit for. They are commonly converted into restaurants, work spaces, and pop-up shops alike. As the tiny house movement continues to grow, shipping containers are becoming a popular choice to convert into this type of home. There are just a few things to know before you get started.
Meet With a Contractor
The first step that anyone needs to take when converting a shipping container into a tiny home is to meet with a contractor. They will be able to give you an idea of what to expect when converting the container, including what you need and how much it will cost. This isn’t something you can do alone. Their expertise is going to be necessary to make a shipping container livable for you.
Purchase a Shipping Container
It may sound obvious, but you need to find the right shipping container to fit your needs. Normally, they’re 40 feet long, but there is room for variation there. Furthermore, you need to get the shipping container for the best price possible, as you still need to pay to convert it into a tiny home. Luckily, you’ll have plenty of options. There are around 17 million containers worldwide, but only six million are in use. Therefore, there are 11 million shipping containers available to turn into your new tiny home! From those you can find the right option for you fairly easily.
Prepare Your Land
Living in a shipping container isn’t like living in an RV. Moving it is possible, but not nearly as easy as some people might think. So, you need to have land to keep it on. This could mean buying the land or simply getting land you already own prepared to have a tiny home added to the property. Without doing this it can make living much more difficult, so while it’s easy to think about the home first and foremost, don’t forget the property itself.
Design Your Tiny Home
For most people getting a tiny home, the design process is the most exciting part. You have a small set of space to incorporate everything you need, which can be a fun challenge. Thinking about parts of the home, like the kitchen, are key. Cooking in the kitchen is vital to staying healthy, and considering about two-thirds of adult Americans are overweight, it’s important to make the kitchen usable so you can maintain a healthy diet and control your blood pressure and cholesterol properly.
Obtain Professional Help to Set Up Your Home
You may want to do everything for your home, but it’s important to know your limits. Doing everything yourself can lead to big issues if you make a mistake. So, don’t take the risk. Bring in a professional to help set up your shipping container turned tiny home. This will make sure that your home is set up as quickly as possible and won’t have major issues down the road.
Add to Your Tiny Home’s Property
Just because you’re living in a tiny home, it doesn’t mean that you can’t invest in your home or your property. For instance, installing a fence is worth a 65% return on investment for your property’s value, and there are plenty of other ways to invest in your home as well. So, think about these investments that will make your tiny home a more valuable asset to you in the long run as well as the things you need right away.
Tiny homes are popular. Turning a shipping container into one might be the best option for you, but just because they’re small doesn’t mean that there isn’t a lot of work to be done before designing, constructing, and moving into one. Make sure to pay attention to these details so your tiny home is everything that you expect it to be.