# Steel Frame vs. Shipping Container



## KeeperOfTheHome (Dec 16, 2015)

We want around 700 square feet, running water, electric, wood heat, maybe a window a/c, and no basement. I'll be doing most of the construction myself, with help from my dad, who is an experienced home builder. The home will be on a gravel road, on a sloping wooded lot. We're in VA, so no extreme weather to deal with.

Experience? Opinions? Other options?


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

Hard to beat good old 2x4 (or 2x6) framed walls, on a slab, with wood truss sloped roof structure.

If you are wanting something "super cheap" and considering a shipping container, why not just buy an old camper that will already be set up with plumbing, electric, appliances, etc.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

I would build it 2x4 construction 24x24 foot and set it on 6 concrete block piers that sit on holes 4 foot deep and 3 foot by 3 foot with 2 feet of concrete then start your concrete block 

no matter how bad the road is there is no material needed to build a 24x24 house that can't be transported in/on a 4x4 pickup truck

you get no basement but they cost a lot and you wouldn't get one in either of the other construction types you mentioned 

if your dad is an experienced builder you can probably frame it all up in a week 

if you want to speed things up onsite and the road is good enough for it walls sections can be built and set on a trailer then driven to the site a 8 foot x 8 foot section can be lifted by 2 men if you had 4 guys then you could build them longer say 12 feet and only have 2 sections per wall 

think about it this way if time is the issue , everything at home depot lowes or Menards is made for standard 2x4 construction it is made to go together efficiently with a 2-4 man crew framing a house in a bit more than a week 

it's strong almost always to code and will outlast you if you finish it out right not to mention it can be insulated and finished out later for a year round home if you like , want to add on no problem set 3 more piers and go another 12 feet , add on a big porch no problem , decide to screen in that porch still no issue

when you try and build with sea boxes everything is custom and you have to try and move the thing , with traditional stick frame construction a 80 pound sack of concrete is the heaviest you need to move all of it one guy can move 2 move easily


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## RazrRebel (Apr 16, 2013)

I agree with the 2 x 4 construction. I'm building a 16 x 24 cabin with a full loft on my property now. I currently live in a doublewide on the property. I got this cabin dried in with everything but the front door for around 4500.00 I'm building a dutch door for the front. It is located on the ridge behind my house. one mile and a half, and 800 feet elevation to where its at. I had to haul everything up there behind my Polaris Ranger. It would be way cheaper and easier with 2 x 4 construction.


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## LittleRedHen (Apr 26, 2006)

We have two shipping containers that we use for a garage. We have both decked out with shelves but it required a roof over top because the snow on top created condensation and the heat in the summer was immense in those things. Maybe if it was insulated it wouldnt have been so bad but a roof solved a bit of it. It is difficult to attach anything to the walls. Cell phones wont work in them but yet will work in our sheet metal sheds. The pros is just that you have an instant building frame. cons is that it takes more work to modify anything. In hindsight I wish we had just built a regular polebarn.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

2"x6" wood stud construction, economical, easy, breathes, on insulated slab, heat in floor. Metal construction always feels cold to me. The building my kids went to school at was all metal, on slab, always felt cold. Church/school. Metal condensates here in certain situations. A friend built a house on slab, after a fire, metal studs and sheetrock, didn't want wood to burn, felt cold. I have seen shipping containers rust through at the welds. Most metal buildings take more to make insulated, might as well just build with wood anyway. Most containers have wood walls built inside, otherwise they transfer cold, metal to metal, need insulation blown on to stop moisture, a gap and interior studs, insulation and finish. Don't see many used for living space here. Metal buildings need extra ventilation to stop condensation....James


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

Unless the metal was free, I'd pass.... go to any lumber store, most hardware stores, Lowes/HD, and one can find wood anytime.

I've build lots of stuff, and did lots of scrounging.... and never come up on any metal studs for free or barter.... versus barns full of salvaged wood...


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