The Whole Process of Container House Construction
The whole process of container house construction includes six stages: design, production, foundation construction, hoisting and main structure erection, decoration, transportation, and completion.
Design Stage: Requirements need to be accurately translated into drawings, balancing modularity and personalization. The spatial layout should adapt to the fixed dimensions of containers, such as 20-foot and 40-foot standard containers, with functional expansion achieved through cutting, welding, and adding doors and windows. Designers should use 3D modeling software to simulate structural strength, ensuring that the modified containers can withstand transportation vibrations and long-term use.
Production Stage: Structural inspections are conducted on recycled or brand-new containers to eliminate potential issues like rust and deformation. Operations such as cutting, drilling, and welding are carried out according to design drawings, strictly adhering to the 'Code for Design of Steel Structures' to ensure structural safety. For example, when adding a second-floor slab, crossbeams should be installed on the top of the container to distribute the load; when installing doors and windows, waterproof sealants and reinforced frames should be used to prevent leakage. The factory also pre-installs water and electricity pipelines to save time for subsequent decoration.
Foundation Construction Stage: Some cases use screw pile foundations, where steel piles are screwed into the ground using specialized machinery, with real-time measurement of pressure and torque to verify stability. The piles are driven 2 meters into the soil, with each pile capable of supporting approximately 5 tons, meeting the requirements. Screw piles do not require concrete, consume less energy during installation, and are reversible; when removed, the pile foundations can be unscrewed, and the land can almost be restored to its original state. Other cases use traditional concrete foundations, where the foundation is first excavated, reinforced steel is laid, and then concrete is poured. Hollow bricks are used to build the load-bearing walls of the foundation, and pipelines are laid simultaneously.
Hoisting and Main Structure Erection Stage: Containers are arranged side by side perpendicular to the direction of the foundation walls to form the main structure. Workers use cutting machines to cut openings inside, weld the joints, reinforce the door and window openings, remove the container floor slabs, and retain and polish the steel beams. For the second floor, the floor slab is also removed, the steel beams are cut to form stairwell openings, and steel plates are welded to build the stairs.
Decoration Stage: Interior decoration uses light steel keel partitions and environmentally friendly panels, with non-slip floor tiles or industrial flooring for the ground. Exterior wall treatment can retain the metallic texture with custom-painted colors or be wrapped with insulation boards and decorative panels to enhance thermal insulation and visual appeal. For example, container houses used at polar research stations have 10-centimeter-thick insulation layers added to their exterior walls.
Transportation and Completion Stage: The factory secures the decorated container houses onto specialized transportation frames and transports them to the destination by truck or ship. During on-site installation, cranes are used to hoist the containers onto the preset foundations, and after connecting the water and electricity pipelines, they can be put into use, usually taking only a few hours to a few days.
