Summer houses from sea containers: is it worth to choose?

If you have a chance to visit the seaside or holiday homes during the summer, you are probably already familiar with the idea of turning sea containers into summer houses. It is not only a fairly simple but also an ecological way to create a small space for your relaxation, a separate room for work, and maybe even an individual gym for your free time. However, is such a building worth more attention than a wooden house?

In this article, we decided to share a few observations on why log cabins should become a better choice for your garden plot than houses made from marine containers.

How to choose a sea container for construction?

If you are starting to look for a container for the constructions of your house, it is worth noting that these days they are available in very different sizes: the width of the containers is usually very similar (about 2.4 meters), their height can reach up to 2.9 meters, but the dimensions vary from 3 to almost 14 meters. For this reason, summer houses built from a single sea container can be from 7 to 33 square meters, however, the size of the house could easily be increased by merging more containers into one building.

Keep in mind that the choice of containers from which summer houses are planned to be built should also be carefully considered – it is necessary to take into account what the containers were used for, as their frequent movement may have damaged the structures. It is also important to pay attention to the general construction of the building: although it is usually very strong, it should be kept in mind that part of the container will be cut out (entrance, windows, connections), so this process must also be well thought out.

By choosing to build a wooden garden house on your plot, you will not only avoid the space constraints typical for marine containers, but will also avoid the possible damage to the main structure of the building which is made from a marine container. This choice will ensure the strength of your summer house as well as affect its longevity.

How to turn a sea container into a living space?

While the purchase of offshore containers may seem like a major part of the job at first glance, it will take a lot of work to turn this building into your vacation area for many years.

In particular, summer houses made of sea containers, like any other buildings, are constructed on foundations, so this work should also be carried out in advance, as well as site preparation works. The foundations for such a summer house can be laid out on your own, but if you lack the time, you can entrust the work to professionals (it currently costs around 3,000 euros).

Secondly, in order to make this kind of holiday home usable all year round, it is necessary to invest in high-quality roofing and minimal wall insulation processes – only insulated summer houses will keep the heat in the winter and cold in the summer. Depending on the project, external or internal wall decoration may also be required.

The truth is that if you choose a wooden house for your rest, you will also need to take care of its roof and foundations. However, the construction and walls of the house made of solid wood will ensure excellent insulation of the building even before it is insulated. In this case, if you do not plan to use the cottage all year round, the need for its insulation will remain minimal. No less important is the fact that choosing a wooden house will require a much less finishing works. If poor-looking walls of marine containers need applying of an extra layer of wood or other material, a protective layer of paint is sufficient enough for the walls of the wooden house.