Image by Jesse C Smith Jr via Flicker

It is easy to find shipping containers for sale in Australia or any other part of the world for that matter. These rectangular boxes made from corrugated metal are a common site all over the planet. They are used to transport vast amounts of cargo all over the world in an easy and cost effective manner.

Shipping containers are also being increasingly recycled and turned into living or working spaces, due to the ease with which you can build with them. As with most things in life, there are both good points and bad points that you will need to consider, but the good points far outweigh the bad ones.

Building with Shipping Containers

Shipping containers are being recycled all over the world and turned into usable spaces that people can use for either living or working. Shipping containers come in standard sizes, so they are easy to connect, and you can build a structure as big or small as you need.

You may think that if you build a structure from shipping containers that you will be limited to rooms that are like rectangular boxes, but this does not have to be the case. You can join the shipping containers together along the edges, and then remove the internal walls to make a large open space. Your rooms can be as large, or as small, as you require them to be, and also means your plans can be very versatile.

Unlike when you build using traditional building materials, creating a structure from shipping containers can be a very quick process. You can easily arrange and stack around 12 shipping containers together, in just a couple of days. The majority of the time taken for construction will be in installing windows and doors, as well as installing floors, walls and also ceilings.

You should be able to build a four bedroom home using shipping containers, and have the project finished within three to four months. There are also other benefits other than being able to build quickly with them:

• Used Shipping Containers are relatively cheap to buy.
• In Australia, a structure would be considered as temporary, so you only require limited planning permission.
• You can move the structure relatively easily if required, unlike a house made from bricks.
• Making additions to your structure at a later date is fairly easy to do.
• You are using recycled materials to build your structure, and that is good for the environment.

Still, if you decide to use a shipping container for whatever purpose you want and use it for a longer period of time, you are best to purchase them instead. There are plenty of quality shipping containers for sale in Australia – and you can be assured that whatever design you make, home or office, it will be with you for the long haul.

The Downside to Building with Shipping Containers

To be honest, there are very few downsides to using shipping containers to construct a living or working space. One thing that you will need to make sure that you do is to insulate your structure properly. By insulating your structure properly, you can help block out unwanted noise, as well as keep the interior cool, or warm, depending on the season.

You may be best to design a roof that is like a parasol, as this will help to stop the structure from heating up when in direct sunlight. A roof like this may be awkward to design and may also be expensive, depending on how big it needs to be. Installing a roof like this will help to keep the structure much cooler during the hotter months of the year.

The only other drawback might be if you plan to sell the structure as the local authorities will consider this as a temporary structure, which may put off some people when it comes to purchasing it.

All in all, using recycled shipping containers to build with is a wise investment, and also good for our environment.