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There is no doubt that shipping container buildings are trending worldwide right now. People are using them for offices, shops, and homes, sometimes retaining the look and industrial feel of the insulated shipping container, sometimes stripping so much away most people would have no idea that the basic structure of the house was, in fact, a series of mobile storage units. But how do you go about building a container home, and how do you go about generating shipping container home plans?
Whether you are planning to use a dozen or more converted shipping containers or just one single unit, before you even start thinking about plans you need to familiarize yourself with local building regulations. In South Africa, for instance, the National Building Regulations require anyone building a house that does not follow standard construction principles to have an agrément certificate that confirms “fitness-for-purpose” of materials and components.
The building regulations also require a “competent person” who is essentially a person who is qualified and has the necessary experience to prepare the design (or plans). That person, usually an architect or engineer, will also have to ensure that the design meets the requirements of SANS 10400, a series of detailed documents that specify the requirements of the regulations, from structural design and foundations to glazing and fire protection, allowing for deviations specified in the agrément certificate.
If you want to buy shipping containers that can be converted, you really will need to use the services of a designer or architect who has the specialised knowledge relating to insulating and ventilating metal containers. Alternatively, you could find companies that offer shipping container homes for sale. Just check that their shipping container home plans have been drawn in accordance with the local authority bylaws and the country’s building regulations.
Whether you are planning to buy ready-converted shipping containers or simply an ISO container that was previously used for mobile storage, it’s a good idea to look at photographs of shipping container buildings as well as shipping container home plans that are available on the Internet. Even if you can’t use these as is (in most cases you will have to have existing plans redrawn, at very least to show the converted shipping containers on the required site plan), they will give you some idea of just how container homes can be configured. Existing shipping container home plans will also show you how fixtures, fittings, and furniture can be laid out.
Shipping container home plans can be drawn in so many different ways, accommodating as many containers needed, either on one or multiple levels. The plans can have containers:
The options really are endless.
Almar Container Group offers converted shipping containers that are suitable for offices, clinics, workshops, training and boardrooms, as well as accommodation facilities. We specialise in plug and play solutions for remote locations in Africa and the Middle East.
Almar has more than 25 years of experience in the container industry and has an in-house team of designers and engineers that handles all our conversions. Call us today to see what we can do for you.
If you are considering office container hire as an option for office accommodation, leasing a converted container could be the best choice for you.
Of course, you could have a look at available storage containers for rent and then do your own conversion. Or you could simply find an ordinary office to rent! But there is absolutely no doubt that if you like the idea of using a converted container this could be the best decision you have ever made, particularly if it is for a limited time only.
Like everything else in life, when it comes to shipping container rental options, you need to consider your needs. For example, container hire of standard-sized units is the route most businesses wanting to transport goods will use, although refrigerated containers will be needed for perishable cargo. Storage containers for rent are ideal for any area where space is tight. They can also be used to create instant warehousing. Refrigerated containers, in the form of 6 or 12 m-long domestic reefers, are available from some suppliers with additional features that cater for static storage. These include emergency exit doors, internal lighting, and man-trap alarms.
But if you need something that will enable you to either create or add to existing office accommodation, then a converted unit or more will best meet your needs. Unless you need permanent facilities, a major advantage is that you can return the converted container at any time, which can be a great help to overall cash flow. They are particularly well-suited for remote areas where they provide turnkey solutions to solve what might otherwise be huge challenges.
All shipping containers are strong and secure; they are also modular, which means they can be stored in any space. It is also possible to modify and convert them to a multitude of uses, including office space and for convenient accommodation.
Office container hire is also incredibly versatile as container rental may be for just one individual unit, or it might be for multiple units that provide offices for a large staff contingent, possibly with workshops and communal areas, and probably with bathroom, toilet, and kitchen facilities. These options are generally available from reputable, well-established companies that provide shipping containers for sale and to lease.
Almar Container Group offers a range of office container solutions as well as converted container rental of units that are fitted to meet ablution needs. Workshop and other specialised configurations, for instance for clinics, are also available.
The company specialises in remote site accommodation – for work and sleep – and gives customers the opportunity to on-hire and then off-hire in any of the countries of operation, even if these are different.
Conversions are carried out by an experienced in-house team comprising engineers and design professionals and can be tailored to meet any company’s needs.
Almar has a strong presence across southern and eastern Africa, particularly Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and South Africa. The company also has a strong footprint in the Middle East. Contact us for more information and pricing.
Shipping containers are versatile “boxes” that that can be used as-is, with just a few fixtures and fittings inside, for innovative pop-up shops. Instead of tying yourself into a typically lengthy, and relatively costly lease for premises, shipping container rental is an effective alternative that gives you freedom too.
Take your pop-up shop on the road. Follow the crowds and start trading anywhere, anytime – within reason, depending on local bylaws and licensing requirements. Park off for a limited time and lock up overnight to keep your stock safe and secure.
Pop-up container shops are, quite literally, popping up all over the world, offering affordable temporary shop space for a vast range of businesses, including restaurants and coffee shops.
You will find converted container pop-up shops in all major cities, including many South African city centres. Many house individual retail business enterprises, while there are also a number of innovative shopping malls created with used containers. These take shipping container rental possibilities to a whole new level.
The trend first started in the early 21st century, with maverick entrepreneurs and under-financed start-ups recognizing the enormous potential of storage containers for rent. Perhaps the best marketing exercise for shipping container pop-up stores was the launch of the now hugely popular Boxpark pop-up shopping mall in Shoreditch, East London, UK in 2011. Made from used shipping containers that were stripped and refitted, it provides 40 pop-up spaces that house restaurants, cafes, fashion outlets, galleries, and other retail businesses. There is now a second Boxpark in Croydon, and a third is scheduled to open in Wembley late 2018.
Of course, while the Boxparks can be easily dismantled, they don’t offer the mobile option.
South Africa’s first pop-up shopping centre was opened in Johannesburg in 2015. This comprises 27 customized shipping containers but, like Boxpark, does not offer the opportunity for mobility.
Shopping mall options aside, pop-up stores may be housed in customized containers that incorporate doors and windows, and various typical shop-fitting elements, including counters and facilities for storage. Often, a container will be used as the base of a pop-up operation with some sort of constructed addition providing a different type of space. So, for instance, a pop-up restaurant might operate out of a container, while an adjacent patio or glass-enclosed area is used for seating.
The other obvious option is to look at storage containers for rent with the view to trading from them and also using them to lock up equipment and stock after hours. In this instance, low container rental prices will impact positively on your bottom line. Because no customization is required, this will also potentially add to profits. The other benefit of this type of shipping container rental is that the container can be used for a short period of time if required. Since there’s no major investment in terms of shop fitting or additional construction, it really is a true pop-up solution for any retail business.
Almar Container Group specializes in container rental services to meet every possible need from international transportation of goods across continents and oceans, to storage rental that will meet the needs of literally any type of pop-up shop.
Last Christmas, the KwaZulu Natal-based Bench Coffee Co. set up a pop-coffee shop at the beach. They opted for a 3-m container rental and fitted out the “shop” with little more than a trendy wooden counter and the appliances they needed, including a fridge. Of course, they needed electricity, which was provided by an extension cable. Instead of operating from a table or a caravan, they had a secure environment in which to operate and provide customers with the kind of coffee products they are known for.
Bench Coffee Co.’s pop-up outlet was a hit. People flocked for coffee and surfers would ask them to look after their car keys while they were in the water!
If you’d like to explore the option of a pop-up shop, contact Almar for container rental prices and advice. You don’t have to live in Durban or any other part of KZN, Almar operates in southern and eastern Africa and the Middle East and can provide a superior container hire service virtually anywhere in the world. Call us today.
Shipping containers are commonly used to transport goods to remote locations either by sea or over land. But, containers aren’t only used for transportation and logistics, or in challenging environments where they are required for offshore oil and gas operations. Frequently, shipping containers for sale are used for office and living accommodation, and for storage on remote sites, particularly those where building operations are planned or are in progress.
Often these are old – or used – shipping containers that cost considerably less than new ones. This doesn’t mean they are damaged or worn, or in any way inferior. Rather, old containers for sale offer amazing opportunities for both accommodation and storage. They can be used as is. They can be converted into basic units with windows, doors, and internal fixtures and fittings. They can also be totally repurposed to create exciting, good looking offices, retail outlets, or even multi-storey houses.
There are many reasons companies that need remote site accommodation take advantage of shipping containers including the fact that:
Once the containers have been delivered to the remote location, they can be positioned and finished according to the needs of the company or individuals. For instance, they may be furnished and fitted for use as boardrooms or offices, or for living accommodation, or for ablutions. The possibilities are endless.
Shipping containers for sale may be used for all forms of accommodation anywhere in the world. They are particularly useful where building resources are scarce, or, perhaps ironically, where major building is going to be carried out and the planning infrastructure is required in a short timeframe.
Actual locations range from deserts in the Middle East and undeveloped African regions to island areas where delivery of building materials is difficult… or anywhere else!
Almar Container Group specializes in the full range of containers, from those used for refrigeration and cold storage, to old shipping containers used to provide remote on-site container accommodation solutions. The company also focuses on a global reach that incorporates a number of African countries, from South Africa to Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, as well as locations in the Middle East.
Importantly, remote doesn’t always spell low-density locations. Sometimes it is simply that the location is far from any place where low cost, good quality office, and accommodation options are available. An example is a remote Kenyan site where Almar supplied an innovative solution for site container offices for a construction company that needed a good turnkey option quickly. Add link
If you are looking for assistance with shipping containers for sale, don’t hesitate to contact the professional team at Almar. We are ready to help you solve your unique needs.
The invention of the world’s first shipping container by an American businessman more than 60 years ago revolutionized trade and transportation. Today, they are not only used internationally for transport and logistics, but also for cold-storage, and offshore oil and gas, and you’ll see shipping containers on the move in most of the world’s busy harbours.
But steel shipping containers aren’t only used for shipping goods. Container conversions are showing up all over the world in a myriad of forms from houses, schools, and clinics to offices, workshops, and even compact retail space.
When it comes to converted containers, there are more options than most people imagine, and so it’s important to think out of the box. After all, shipping containers are just that – large, steel storage boxes. But as soon as you start visualizing these big boxes with doors and windows, roofs and gutters, that are fitted or furnished for purpose, you’ll see how they can be converted into an incredible assortment of container homes, container offices, and other container buildings.
Almar offers a range of converted shipping containers that are suitable for use as offices, workshops, clinics, as well as for accommodation and ablutions. Contact us to see how we can help you.
