How to Build a Container House by Yourself

There are mainly three ways to build a container house by yourself, as follows:

Purchase and Renovate Shipping Containers

• Foundation Preparation: First, purchase an appropriate number of shipping containers. For example, to build a 200-square-meter house, you can buy five. Drive 8 - 12 concrete piles into the ground as support foundations.
• Hoisting and Arrangement: After the foundation construction is completed, rent hoisting equipment. Fix the corners of the containers with chains and precisely hoist them onto the pile foundations using a crane. Since the foundation has pre-installed water pipes and electrical wires, and the container bottoms have corresponding holes reserved, ensure precise alignment during hoisting.
• Door and Window Cutting: After arranging the containers, use cutting tools to cut out the positions for doors and windows according to the design requirements.
• Interior Renovation: After completing the door and window cutting, proceed with interior renovation, such as laying solid wood floors on the ground, equipping the master bedroom and children's room with bathroom showers and small storage rooms, etc.

Build a Prefabricated and Detachable Container House

• Bottom Frame Installation: Connect the lower corner fittings and bottom sills with bolts, place the floor joists and connect them to the bottom sills with bolts, and measure the diagonals to ensure that the bottom frame is perpendicular to each other. When connecting the bottom small strips, pay attention to distinguishing the specifications. When connecting the columns to the bottom frame, do not tighten the bolts, leaving some room for movement.
• Ground Treatment: Lay MGO boards and leave gaps for placing wall panels. Use instruments to measure the ground level and adjust it with shims.
• Top Frame Construction: Connect the upper corner fittings to the top longitudinal beams and tighten the bolts. Then connect the upper corner fittings to the columns (do not tighten the bolts). Next, connect the top short beams to the upper corner fittings. Use a level to measure whether the columns are perpendicular to the ground. You can temporarily use the top floor joists for support and adjustment.
• Subsequent Installation: After removing the supports, first install a short strip in the middle. After installing five short strips, install a long strip and long cleaning strips in the middle. Reinforce the connections at the intersections of the top strips, install drainage channels along the edges, and then install wall panels and ceilings in sequence. Drill holes on the inner side of the walls to fix the electrical wires, lay glass wool on the roof, and lay roof tiles and fix them on the inner side of the drainage channels.

Excavate the Foundation and Then Hoist the Containers

• Foundation Construction: Use an excavator to dig trenches and then manually lay steel bars. After laying the steel bars, pour concrete to form the foundation. Use hollow bricks to build a low wall along the foundation as the load-bearing wall of the foundation. Pour concrete into the hollow bricks and lay the pipelines at the same time.
• Container Hoisting and Renovation: Hoist the containers and arrange them perpendicular to the direction of the foundation wall. Use a cutting machine to cut holes inside the containers according to the design. Weld the joints of the containers, apply paint to strengthen the door and window openings, drill holes in the container floors, remove only the steel beams and polish them. For the second floor, remove the container bottom plates in the same way and cut the steel beams to form stairwell openings, and then build steel plate stairs.
• Subsequent Construction: Use an excavator to level the site around the building. Cut and weld steel members to form a huge steel frame as a cantilever structure. Then install doors and windows, set up pipelines, and lay floors. Build a wooden frame on the roof, lay wooden boards, and do a good job of waterproofing. Finally, carry out interior decoration.