Let’s say you want to own a luxurious shipping container home. However, while container homes are usually cheaper than regular homes, luxury container home prices can change as much as their traditional counterparts because of many factors.
Anything from your home location to your construction materials can affect the luxury container home prices. As such, it’s only wise to consider them all before you build your home.
Also Read: Storage Container Homes and Apartments: Unique Floor Plans
Factors When Calculating Luxury Container Home Prices
Read the explanation below to learn about the factors that may impact your budget!
Container Size and Condition
Something as simple as your preferred shipping containers can even impact your overall luxury container home prices.
The 20’ and 40’ shipping container variants are the most commonly used container types people use to build container homes. If people need some additional headspace, the high-cube containers are the go-to solution.
Because of the added dimensions, 40’ shipping containers can be more expensive than the 20’ types. Furthermore, the high-cube construction in high-cube containers can also increase the price, even in the 20’ containers.
Additionally, the shipping container’s condition can also affect the prices. Newer shipping containers are typically more expensive because they have not seen any use, whereas the used containers usually come cheaper.
Design Complexity
How complex your container’s home design would be can make your container home cheaper or more expensive.
Minimalist luxury container home designs, for example, are usually cheaper because of the lack of extensive container modification and furniture addition.
If you choose unique design features like cantilevered sections or extra-large glass windows, expect the price to increase because of the additional materials and engineering expertise required.
Location and Site Preparation
Where you set up your container home can affect your luxury container home prices.
City versus rural areas, mountainous terrain, coastal properties, and even downtown versus uptown areas are the common debate topics.
Remote or hard-to-reach areas might incur additional transportation costs for getting the containers to the site, which can add up quickly.
Furthermore, the site itself needs to be prepared for the structure. If your plot requires leveling, excavation, or foundation work, this will add to the overall cost.
Interior Design
How much customization you put into your container home’s interior determines how you must spend your budget.
While the furniture includes minimalist chairs and tables from brands like Gubi and Hay, the overall design can employ cheaper brands to save budget.
Meanwhile, using luxurious furniture brands can increase the container home design’s complexity.
You must make further adjustments to the container’s structure by cutting down the walls and merging the containers just to fit more luxurious furniture.
Construction Methods and Labor Costs
Because the process of constructing luxurious container homes differs from traditional homes in some ways, you must expect a different budget.
Specialized skills are needed to cut, weld, insulate, and reinforce the containers for residential use.
While some companies have perfected the art of container home construction, hiring experts to work on a custom project can significantly increase costs.
Making the container home a multi-story, multi-container abode, for example, requires you to pay the experts more because of this complex home design.
Container Delivery Costs
Being large-sized steel boxes, you need some help from experts to deliver your ordered shipping containers from vendors to your construction site.
While a single used shipping container might be relatively affordable, transporting multiple containers over long distances can add considerable costs.
Additionally, the cost of shipping materials for other parts of the home including windows, doors, and finishes can also increase the price.
As a result, delivery and installation fees will depend on the location and logistics of getting the containers and materials to your building site.
Completion Timeframe
Even your construction plan’s timeline can also affect the luxury container home prices.
While minimalist container homes usually take some weeks to months to build, luxurious container homes with more complex designs can take longer than that.
Although it is possible to expedite the process by employing construction experts who can work under tight deadlines, you must pay them more to meet such a demand.
To counter this budget spike, you can consider building the home by taking seasonal discounts or avoiding rush fees.
Sustainability Features
Befitting the modern reputation of luxurious homes, luxury container homes can employ environmentally friendly features to conserve and preserve energy.
However, installing features like solar panels, solar-assisted heat pumps, and rainwater collection facilities can require significant spending.
While installing them can be entirely optional depending on your preferences, you need to prepare somewhere between $25,000 and $35,000 to buy and install them.
Additional Materials and Finishes
Last but not least, your luxury container home needs additional materials and finishes to function properly as a home and not as an intermodal container anymore.
For example, you need to replace the container’s original flooring with more robust flooring materials and add marble countertops in the kitchen. All these are important to improve the home’s ability to work as a home.
However, keep in mind that the more materials and finishes you use, the more money you must spend.
Because of that, be mindful of which material and finish that work for your home while staying within your budget.
Also Read: Guide and Steps for Building Container Homes for Everyone
Conclusion
By considering factors affecting luxury container home prices, you can be wiser in calculating your luxury container home construction budget. To find the best shipping container as your investment, find one today from Tradecorp’s product list! With over 35 years of experience in the industry, Tradecorp can help anything from delivering goods to building container-based infrastructures.
