How To Prepare Land For Shipping Container Home
When you're considering buying a shipping container home, it's vital to ensure that the area is safe and secure.
The best way to do this is by working with professionals who inspect the property for potential hazards and ensure everything's up to code before construction begins.
Whether you’re planning to build a shipping container home or keep a shipping container in your backyard for storage, here are a few tips to keep in mind for land preparation:
1. Choose the perfect place for your shipping container home
Once you've picked the ideal place for your shipping container home, it's time to start preparing it. This can be overwhelming if you need to figure out what to do first. So let's take a look at some of the most important steps that need to be taken before construction begins:
- Choose a location with good access to utilities (water, sewer, and electricity). You want your new home to have easy access to daily life utilities.
- Pick a location that is level and has good drainage—this will help prevent flooding during rainy seasons or when heavy rains fall on top of containers.
- Pick a location sheltered from windy conditions by trees or buildings nearby.
2. Get the required permits to build your shipping container home
Before you begin construction, ensure you have all the required permits. The building permit process can be complicated and time-consuming, so working with a professional with experience in this area is important.
Permit requirements vary by region; if your state requires a separate permit for shipping container homes, this will also apply to them.
Check out our guide on whether or not you can put a shipping container on your property.
3. Inspect the land
Here’s what to inspect:
- Check the land for drainage and ground stability
Drainage is important to make sure your containers are not sitting in water, which could lead to mold or rot. You also want to check that there are no soft spots on the ground where water can pool up.
- Check the land for any hazardous materials or debris
Most of the time, you will be placing your container home on concrete or another hard surface. If you have a lot of trees in your yard, it's important to check them for roots that may damage your container home.
- Check for underground utility lines
Check the land for any buried utility lines before building your container home so that you don't need to dig them up again once you've moved in.
4. Prepare a foundation
The foundation is the most important part of your home, so it's important to ensure you have a solid one.
There are three types of foundations: concrete slab, gravel pad, and pier foundation.
Each type of foundation has different benefits, so it pays to weigh them before you decide on one.
5. Install off-grid plumbing options
You can install off-grid plumbing options on your land to provide water for the home. These include:
- A septic tank, which is an underground system of pipes and tanks that hold wastewater until it’s safe to release it into the soil around you
- A composting toilet, which uses bacteria to break down waste material into usable nutrients
- A greywater system, which uses rainwater collected during storms on building roofs or in gutters to irrigate plants in gardens.
6. Set up an off-grid power system
Solar panels are a great way to cover your power needs, but sometimes you may have a steep hill or an area where the sun doesn’t shine. In these cases, you can use battery storage and generators to provide backup power for your solar system.
You can also use them in conjunction with solar systems. Suppose there’s no sunlight available to generate electricity. In that case, the generator will kick on and help keep everything running smoothly without having to worry about how much energy it takes up in batteries.
Solar-powered led lights make an excellent choice to complement your solar power system.
7. Work with professionals to ensure safety and security.
One of the best options for preparing your land properly is to work with professionals. You will need to ensure the land is level, strong enough, and in good condition. This can be done by hiring a professional to inspect the property and recommend how to proceed with preparation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, shipping container homes are a great way to live in a small space with all the necessary amenities. There are many benefits to using these containers as your home, but one must remember that they come with some unique requirements and precautions when building on their land.
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