Shipping Container Houses
Want us to build you a shipping container house? 

     Yes. Good choice, your house will be insanely strong, airtight too, and super interesting.
     Our shipping container houses look like normal houses from the front, and can therefore blend into any neighborhood. The three designs featured here call for a 2x6 wood framed wall to wrap the front of the containers and around each side five feet, clad in your choice of siding. The containers are topped with trusses for a traditional roof. (NOTE: The containers’ steel walls become the house’s exterior “siding” at the sides and back of house.) 
     Step inside the front door, and oh wow, this is not a normal house. Walk in and immediately see the containers revealed. The ceilings are the steel container ceilings, which are 8 feet 10 inches high. The perimeter steel container walls are covered on the inside with 2x4 framing, spray foam insulation, and drywall, though all house plans have peek-a-boo exposed steel container walls revealed in various places.
     The entry is particularly dramatic in the Vaulted Middle model; after entering the house you immediately see the stacked containers, vaulted ceiling rising 18 feet to the top of the upper container. Wow oh wow!
     How much do they cost? Though it is possible to build a shipping container house for less money than a conventionally-built house, the Rad Houses plans will cost about the same as conventionally-built houses. Here’s the value: For the price of a new “normal” house, you can have a new “very interesting & dramatic” super strong house made from recycled steel boxes that have traveled the world. 
     If this all sounds good, you're now probably wondering, "How will this process work and when can we move in?"
  1. You buy a lot (let us know if you need guidance).
  2. You & Rad Houses adapt one of the three plans shown here, or we come up with a new design for you.
  3. Relevant Buildings, who will transform shipping containers into your house’s building blocks, will advise and consult on the final design.
  4. You’ll likely want a garage—garages will not use shipping containers—so we’ll design and later build that for you too, attached to or detached from the containers.
  5. We might plan for a patio, possibly covered, for outdoor living.
  6. We might add a roof deck, particularly if the lot is small.
  7. Final design goes to engineering and drafting.
  8. You & Rad Houses will continue with non-structural decisions: façade cladding and exterior details, cabinets, tile, plumbing fixtures, flooring....the fun stuff.
  9. After final engineering and drawings, Rad Houses submits for all permits.
  10. After permits are issued, the job is scheduled.
  11. Rad House arranges for site prep, excavation, foundation pour, and utilities; and sees that all inspections are called in and passed.
  12. Relevant Buildings transforms shipping containers into specifically-modified building modules for each section of your house.
  13. Relevant Buildings transports the containers to your site, places them on your foundation, and bolts and welds them together.
  14. Rad Houses then turns those modified containers into an extraordinary house, finished in your design aesthetic.
  15. You move in, and enjoy it forever.
About Relevant Buildings

     Relevant Buildings is based in Canby with manufacturing facilities in Oregon City. They build small efficiently-designed one-bedroom and two-bedroom shipping container homes that range in size from 320 to 900 square feet.
     Relevant Buildings also provides manufacturing to other builders (like us). They will modify the shipping containers for Rad Houses & our clients, and prior to that, will provide design & engineering consultation during the planning and permitting stages.
Relevant Buildings' Website
Share by: