Shipping Containers: Your Next Workshop?

Not only are we stuck with a bunch of Chinese tools and equipment, now we have to figure out how to do something with the containers they come in. Check out this post, originally posted on the Toolmonger.com

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A enormous trade deficit with china has left the United States with a glut of shipping containers stacked up so high that neighborhoods near Long Beach harbor experience sundown an hour earlier than the surrounding area. But the news isn’t all bad: these standardized 40′ X 8′ X 8-1/2′ boxes are being repurposed by people all around the world into low cost housing, internet hubs, and even workshops.

Pretty much any international shipping hub in the US has a glut of these giant lego blocks piling up around their necks. The most common size is 40′, but they come in lengths from 8′ cubes all the way up to 53′ tractor-trailer types.

Companies like Sea Box, Inc. have seized this opportunity and started to market to small businesses and DIYers. While a smaller cubes can be used as a simple tool sheds, the larger versions are a simple platform to add storage and/or workshops to a yard. And while they aren’t light — at about two tons — they are meant to be moved, and hauling companies will drop them on site for a reasonable fee.

A standard used 40′ container sells for roughly $1,500.00, but if you’re going to alter it by cutting out walls and adding windows anyway, you can often find damaged units for much less. A simple pier-type foundation will give the container a good stable foundation. The possibilities are endless once you get one of these set up.

Sea Box’s Example Workshop [Seabox.com]
Shipping Container Auctions [Ebay.com]
Free Storage Container Price Quotes [B2B-Exchange.com]
DIY Shipping Container Construction Videos [YouTube.com]