Live in a shipping container?

[EVENKEEL]

6 minutes ago, ChouDoufu said:

thai gf's niece works for a company that sells these.

here are some current prices (google translate from her email):

 

container fee for a grade office

 

empty box: 55,000

make 1 window:  9,000

door:  8,000

rust-proof coating:  7,000

paint with external rust proof primer, interior, 10,000

can chose 2 colors, padded foam with ceiling panels around the heat

 

base cost around 80,000  (box with rust-proofing, paint and ceiling insulation), then add for doors and windows, and add shipping cost calculated according to distance.

 

lotsa how-to videos on youtube if interested.

 

I'm guessing that's for a 20 footer.

[CharlieH]

4 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

I'm guessing that's for a 20 footer.

From a Thai company website:

 

"For a fully fitted home with all the normal facilities such as fitted bathroom, fitted kitchen, main kitchen appliances such as Oven, Hob, Extractor plus the AC etc you should budget between THB 15000 – THB 25,000 per square meter, depending on the quality of the fixtures and especially the grade of Kitchen which can range from as little as 15,000 Baht to 250,000 Baht for a full western, high gloss kitchen. This will give you a very good estimate of what it will cost."

 

http://www.containerkingsthailand.com/prices/

[ChouDoufu]

4 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

I'm guessing that's for a 20 footer.

gf says her niece said the price is for the used "big one," assume that's a 40-footer.

 

seems to be a lot of extra work and headache for a trendy/hip "living space."  at the same time, her nephew (builder) said he can do basic concrete house (1BR,LR,BA,KT) for around 200k.

 

no further detail possible at this time.  we're in china now, with internet throttled and vpn's shut down, so facebook and line are off-limits.

[chingmai331]

Some good ideas and cautions here, so thanks all.  Lady has 2 early teen kids and mother, so all those folks in one house. She cannot get a bank loan as 'tai wai', or minority ethnic. She owns the land now so no condo for her. Plot of ground might take 2 containers side by side, not more. 

And NO, i won't be moving in with them.  

Certainly a secondary roof for sun screening, maybe on a slab or on short concrete posts, she has no male partner to do any work and she works every day at low pay job. 

As said, perhaps a shanty now will better than 30 more years of rent.

 

[OffshoreMig]

You can purchase ready to live container homes from China. There are some fantastic designs on Youtube search "tiny house",  It is not just the container that you need to consider but the area outside or in between containers decks etc

 

 

[BTB1977]

Lie down with dogs you get fleas.  People without money only use people with money. 

[URMySunshine]

12 hours ago, chingmai331 said:

Some good ideas and cautions here, so thanks all.  Lady has 2 early teen kids and mother, so all those folks in one house. She cannot get a bank loan as 'tai wai', or minority ethnic. She owns the land now so no condo for her. Plot of ground might take 2 containers side by side, not more. 

And NO, i won't be moving in with them.  

Certainly a secondary roof for sun screening, maybe on a slab or on short concrete posts, she has no male partner to do any work and she works every day at low pay job. 

As said, perhaps a shanty now will better than 30 more years of rent.

 

Sadly without money then her best hope is to to knock up a 'khlong-toey' serviceable slum type home. If it can be built up off the ground and with a good roof then that's a good start. You seem like a nice guy be cautious in getting too drawn into her life unless you are prepared for a lot of drama and pain.

 

Going back to  container - the advantage of a very basic container is the security aspect - stuff can seemingly be locked safely in side. I could envision having the basic container as the secure store and inner core and then with very little further money build the 'micro cost shanty' around it.  Probably 100-150k should do a good job.

[URMySunshine]

15 hours ago, cornishcarlos said:

Container home to any standard is gonna cost more than a traditional build.

Whether wood, bamboo or block..

150k-250k I would think...

 

My hut cost 40k !!

 

 

That is well cool...

[The Theory]

You can get a 40', clean one for about B45000-60,000. That is "not" included delivery to the site. 
You need to insulate it from inside and outside. The floor as well. Build a bathroom outside and attached to the container (With a floor few inches lower than container floor) I recommend no water plumbing inside the container. 

[tjo o tjim]

Another voice in the “it is not cheaper” crowd.  It works well for a few different types, but mainly when you minimize what you actually do to it.  Once you start cutting holes in it the value quickly goes away. Likewise, once you do the work to it on-site you have lost a big part of the value.

 

If you can ship it complete to site, unload it, and move in with your suitcase, go for it.  If you just need to do ”a few things” to it then skip it.

 

For most people, a prefab or semi-prefab kit home will provide better value. 

[natway09]

I read somewhere that they had been banned for habitation use only allowed for offices

[gamesgplayemail]

On 2/19/2020 at 12:47 PM, CharlieH said:

There is a Hotel that uses them here, and there is a company near me that operates converting them into offices and shops etc.

 

Great way to try one out, book in for a few nights !

 

 

it's nice, can i know the hotel name please ?

 

 

[Salerno]

6 minutes ago, gamesgplayemail said:

it's nice, can i know the hotel name please ?

Pino Latte Resort, Khao Kho

[gamesgplayemail]

20 hours ago, ChouDoufu said:

thai gf's niece works for a company that sells these.

here are some current prices (google translate from her email):

 

container fee for a grade office

 

empty box: 55,000

make 1 window:  9,000

door:  8,000

rust-proof coating:  7,000

paint with external rust proof primer, interior, 10,000

can chose 2 colors, padded foam with ceiling panels around the heat

 

base cost around 80,000  (box with rust-proofing, paint and ceiling insulation), then add for doors and windows, and add shipping cost calculated according to distance.

 

lotsa how-to videos on youtube if interested.

 

 

Where is the company please ?

 

 

[CharlieH]

14 minutes ago, gamesgplayemail said:

 

 

it's nice, can i know the hotel name please ?

 

 

Yes, this is the Pinot Resort, Khao Kor its on Agoda and all the usual hotel booking sites.

[Vacuum]

What about a tent?

[ChouDoufu]

1 hour ago, gamesgplayemail said:

 

Where is the company please ?

 

 

finally!  vpn's back on line!

 

gf contacted her niece.........the price was for a 20' container.  don't know why she referred to that as "the big one."

 

pm me if you want the info.  i can send you her QR code.

[chingmai331]

Well, off topic, but anything bigger than 4 inches is a 'big one' for the chinese girls.

[URMySunshine]

On 2/20/2020 at 3:03 PM, Vacuum said:

What about a tent?

That's not a totally bad idea - more an awning sort of thing I would have thought. The problem here is she is working her guts off 7 days a week for little recompense probably with little time,headroom or indeed money to dream about a build. 

 

Some more info from the OP would be helpful. 

 

Rough location , is it on a slope, prone to flooding , neighbouring dwellings.

Budget - that one is important. 

How key is this project to her future wellbeing and how useful are these two teenage boys ?

How deeply does he want to get involved with her and her families life ?

 

If he would volunteer this info then no doubt collectively we could come up with some sort of strategy for consideration. 

[chingmai331]

Thnx for ur input Sunshine but i rather think you do not fully appreciate the deep poverty that many Thai folks are currently swimming in. Low education, ethnic minority, very rural family, no birth cert, early teen pressures on girls hence a mother at age 18, migrated to city with mother when dad died, accepted abandoned nephew when he was 4 yrs old, renting a tiny house and seeing only a  very limited future and continual poverty.  If working every day the min wage per year in Thailand is about 120,000 baht = 10,000 baht per month.  Not much $.

 

She says she has a cousin who can band together some farmer workers to build a small house on the land she now owns, in a community of 5 other families of similar dispositions. Total estimated max cost half a million baht, all in.

 

The notion of the shipping container caught her fancy.  I can't see a steel box, which will probably cost nearly as much as a concrete house, as worth the $$ or energy/time, esp after, say 8 years, sitting in the sun and rain of Thailand.

 

I will advise her to press on with the concrete house and forget the steel box idea. That's the best i can do for her at this time.

[URMySunshine]

16 hours ago, chingmai331 said:

Thnx for ur input Sunshine but i rather think you do not fully appreciate the deep poverty that many Thai folks are currently swimming in. Low education, ethnic minority, very rural family, no birth cert, early teen pressures on girls hence a mother at age 18, migrated to city with mother when dad died, accepted abandoned nephew when he was 4 yrs old, renting a tiny house and seeing only a  very limited future and continual poverty.  If working every day the min wage per year in Thailand is about 120,000 baht = 10,000 baht per month.  Not much $.

 

She says she has a cousin who can band together some farmer workers to build a small house on the land she now owns, in a community of 5 other families of similar dispositions. Total estimated max cost half a million baht, all in.

 

The notion of the shipping container caught her fancy.  I can't see a steel box, which will probably cost nearly as much as a concrete house, as worth the $$ or energy/time, esp after, say 8 years, sitting in the sun and rain of Thailand.

 

I will advise her to press on with the concrete house and forget the steel box idea. That's the best i can do for her at this time.

Thanks for the fulsome reply. I do appreciate that - but if you get too close to a lot of poor Thais it can break your heart. It is a testament to their resilience that they soldier on often with good grace in what are very difficult circumstances. Sounds like you are in quite deep emotionally already so I hope you can guide her to a better outcome given her collateral and circumstances whilst preserving your own identity and direction of your personal journey you wish to go on. Best of luck, doing good is its own reward. 

[ChouDoufu]

16 hours ago, chingmai331 said:

Thnx for ur input Sunshine but i rather think you do not fully appreciate the deep poverty that many Thai folks are currently swimming in. Low education, ethnic minority, very rural family, no birth cert, early teen pressures on girls hence a mother at age 18, migrated to city with mother when dad died, accepted abandoned nephew when he was 4 yrs old, renting a tiny house and seeing only a  very limited future and continual poverty.  If working every day the min wage per year in Thailand is about 120,000 baht = 10,000 baht per month.  Not much $.

 

She says she has a cousin who can band together some farmer workers to build a small house on the land she now owns, in a community of 5 other families of similar dispositions. Total estimated max cost half a million baht, all in.

 

The notion of the shipping container caught her fancy.  I can't see a steel box, which will probably cost nearly as much as a concrete house, as worth the $$ or energy/time, esp after, say 8 years, sitting in the sun and rain of Thailand.

 

I will advise her to press on with the concrete house and forget the steel box idea. That's the best i can do for her at this time.

half a million seems high, considering she already owns the land and can get free (or cheap) labor.

 

consider she can buy a 28-30 meter condo in bangkok suburbs for that.

 

 

[gunderhill]

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100025622497578

[chingmai331]

That's nice gunderhill.  My friend has a plot of ground 14x14 meters, needs a house for 4 people, has about 500K baht and knows nothing of house construction. 

May i ask the point of your photo?