House Ideas

Container Homes – Unassuming Efficiency

by Paul Ciocoiu · June 14, 2016

The average conservative family may put a container home last on a list of potential living spaces. This is not the case though when it comes to a modern and practical family who appreciate the plurality of pros of a home that comes at an affordable price. For this very reason, we were not surprised to hear the market in Romania „is moving” when it comes to container homes, especially as far as holiday retreats are concerned. We have spoken with Bogdan Gutu, general manager of Bogaxa, a building company specialized in such living modules, to find out more about this type of homes which are very popular in the West.

The first question, as usual, is why someone looking for a home would buy such a house. “For various reasons: first, it is built in no time, it can be installed in a couple of hours and then it is suitable for living, it is a mobile home, fully insulated and boasts a high reliability in time. Furthermore, if you think of moving for various reasons, then you need a crane and two trucks and find another location. It has many advantages for a very low price”, Bogdan Gutu synthesized.

Asked about the local market, our interlocutor says he is happy with the sales, including industrial use containers. “People are buying container homes. Now, you should know that this designation of container home is often misleading in the way that most of the potential customers expect to see a gabled roof house. But a house doesn’t necessarily need such a roof in order to qualify as a house. We use containers to build houses that each customer equips and fits out the way they like. Also, each customer chooses the living area of such a home and hence the corresponding price. One can finally get diverse sizes, starting with the smallest, 29 square meters, which features a bedroom, a living and a bathroom, all the way to 60-70 square meter living area”, he pointed out.

The buyers are those who mostly seek efficiency in all senses, Bogdan Gutu further said. “Our customers are those who have a plot of land somewhere and want to spend a peaceful weekend over there. Without being too demanding or hiring builders that do not stick to the schedule, without worrying about buying building materials while we come and put together and then deliver a home in a matter of hours. The container comes fully equipped, the customer shouldn’t even bother about fixtures and finishes. Our customers are practical people who understand that an insulated sandwich like wall equals a 50 cm thick brick wall”, he explained.

Container homes – they can even look like a traditional house

So how much does such a home cost? On the company’s website, we found such a home made of two containers, fully equipped. It is structured into a fully equipped bathroom, a 15 square meter living, an 8 square meter bedroom and a kitchen. The house consists of two adjoined containers sitting on a total living area of 29.16 square meters. Its dimensions are 6 meter in length, 4.8 meters in width and 2.55 meters in height. The floor, walls and ceiling have a 6 cm thick insulation foam layer, with four hook on the roof corner so the house can be lifted and relocated if necessary.

The containers can be easily connected if a customer wants so, with all the inside walls being removed so to create various interior structures. More than that, such a home can get different sorts of exterior finishes, including a roof, so it looks like a classic house in the end.