Pros and Cons of Shipping Container Houses

We escaped city living to build an off-grid shipping container home in Oregon. Learn from our list of pros and cons of shipping container houses.

Reader Contribution by Jessica At Pacific Pines Ranch
Updated on September 18, 2023
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by AdobeStock/oatautta

We escaped city living to build an off-grid shipping container home in Oregon. Learn from our list of pros and cons of shipping container houses.

About two years ago, Pacific Pines Ranch was born from our idea to escape the city life and chase our dreams out in the Oregon forest. We decided to change our life and start from ground zero to develop an off-grid shipping container home, ourselves, with little to no construction experience.

The reasons why we decided to meander down this road in life vary. We think it’s important for us to expand our abilities and learn valuable DIY construction skills such as welding, framing, electricity, plumbing, finishing work, mechanics, wood working, concrete setup/finishing, etc. There are so many aspects that go into building a house, and they all offer great experience in the different realms of construction. We wanted to challenge ourselves as individuals and teach ourselves how to build something not only unique, but also to build our dream house with our own hands. Our overall goal with this project is to change our lifestyle and become as self-sufficient as possible, and to learn to live off the grid.

Pros of Shipping Container Homes

  • Shipping containers, like any construction technique, come with many pros and cons. One of the biggest pros of containers are their strength. Each container can hold 55,000 to 72,000 pounds, depending on what size they are. They are made to store large amounts of cargo inside and shipped around the world, which also means that they are extremely durable. They go years enduring the toughest coastal and oceanic conditions and are made to survive the wear and tear of life between sea and port.
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