31 Jul Shipping Containers

The Top Advantages of Building with Shipping Containers

A relatively new concept in South Africa, shipping containers are revolutionising the building industry. Having transformed the face of the logistics industry in the 1950s, today, building with metal boxes is picking up fast. You have probably heard all the hype and seen container homes, coffee shops, schools, clinics, libraries, cellular phone shops, spazas, and studios popping up all over the place, but are these rectangular metal boxes really the perfect eco-friendly, cost-saving brick and mortar solution we have been led to believe? If you are new to building with these metal shells, here are three advantages you should know:

Eco-Friendliness and Sustainability

There are millions of unused shipping containers lying around the world, taking up space. Recycling and reusing them by turning them into buildings or houses is the “green” choice because you avoid having to build with bricks or cement, which is a big source of carbon dioxide. When you use these metal boxes, you avoid building with wood and steel, and one container contains 3500 kg of steel. In addition, you get off the Eskom grid by fitting solar panels and solar geysers, and you can even set up a rainwater harvesting system.

Cost-Effective

One of the biggest advantages of building with containers is that they are affordable, and this can go a long way in saving people money, especially in our tough economy. Providing the space, materials, and functionality of a traditional house, they are much cheaper compared to traditional materials, such as wood, steel, and other new, high-tech building materials. Besides the above, they are also much faster to set up than building a traditional structure, saving you labour costs and leaving you extra funds to invest in the interior.

Weather Resistant

Think about it, shipping containers are designed to carry valuable cargo through rough, dangerous, and unpredictable weather. Thanks to their steel structural integrity, they are resistant to many of the threats buildings and homes usually face, such as fire, mould, termites, rain, and even earthquakes and tornadoes, making them durable, safe, and watertight housing. When using these to build, your home will withstand anything, and these metal boxes can even protect you from intruders.

Sturdy steel structures, these metal shells just make good overall financial sense, but getting the best container can be quite testing without the help of a trustworthy supplier, such as Absolute Containers. Getting a second life through architecture, our affordable shipping containers are shaping the low-cost housing industry in South Africa, footprint-by-footprint. With years of experience in container sales, rentals, and customisation, allow us to provide you with the perfect container for your precise needs.