Shipping Container Cabin

A stable, durable, tiny house for under $30k?

This cabin is made from two ISO shipping containers. Both boxes are 8 feet wide and 20 feet long resulting in 320 sf of heated space which is 400 sf shy of the code minimum for its neighborhood. This cabin is located in the Lake Lanier “Lake District” in Forsyth County, Georgia. I explained to the code officials that this was a prototype.

One box is the “dry box” which contains a wood stove and a bunk bed. The other container has the kitchen and bathroom. All the windows, doors, and appliances were purchased at the box store. The adjoining wall has two openings that, combined, do not exceed 30% of the wall space.

I filled the floors with 1.5″ of concrete with expansion joints at every 3 feet. I was delighted to see no cracking after the containers were hauled 50 miles from the fabrication shop in Atlanta to Forsyth County. One of the containers was bounced on the concrete slab in the shop by the overhead gantry crane and still no cracks.

The “exterior” siding is red oak from the rail yard one side has been planed and treated, the other left unfinished but with space between boards for drying. This unit has been sitting in the elements for 10 years now and every time I visit there’s no sign of rot, no water damage.