Because shipping containers are so widely used when it comes to transporting goods over long distances, finding one is an easy task and the price is often a good one as well. While shipping cargo is their main purpose, they can be used in many other different situations, just by modifying them a bit to fit your purposes. They can be modified to be used as offices, as housing (especially during disaster emergencies) or storage spaces. Because they are so cheap, these containers are often a tempting proposition for people that are looking to start a new building project. Some things should be considered though if you’re looking to buy shipping containers to use in special projects that don’t have much in common with their original goal.

One of the things you should know is that these containers are often standardized, so there are certain sizes available and your project should incorporate those sizes and not rely on other ones. In order to get them as cheaply as possible, you should be doing the project based on containers that are either 20 or 40 ft long, with a width and height of 8 ft, as measured on the exterior. The length can vary, but the height and width are often kept pretty standard.

If you’re just looking to make something like a ticket booth, a temporary building or some storage in the backyard, you should probably go for a 10 ft model, which has around 80 sq. ft. to work with. If you’re interested in creating some temporary offices or to store stuff for a small business, go with a 20 ft model, which has a surface area of 160 sq. ft. As for the 40 ft model, that has a 320 sq. ft. surface area, so they are great for large storage spaces and for house building.