Should You Get an Office Container to Work From Home?
Consider this – you have the liberty to work from one but find it hard to remain focused and give it your best because of various distractions. While the concept of working from home has gained considerable acceptance, and creating a home office or heading to a co-working space is now a norm, the fact that you may use a shipping container office to work from home definitely warrants your attention. The pros, after all, far outweigh the cons.
Why Consider Getting an Office Container?
One of the biggest challenges that people who work from home face is the absence of a suitable workspace. For example, if you have a family with children, you might have to keep up with regular distractions. Alternatively, while you might have a big backyard, you may not have enough room indoors to set up a home office. As long as you have enough outdoor space, investing in an office container to work from home might work well for you.
Companies that provide office containers to work from home for sale or rent can create versatile spaces that you may place in your garden or backyard. The customization of these units takes place in factories and their setting up at desired locations takes little time. Portability is a great advantage for remote workers because they can move their office containers from one location to another. Besides, you also get to customize them in a myriad of ways.
What Are the Benefits of Shipping Container Offices?
The use of shipping containers for storage is fairly common, which has led to the typical image of a rugged steel structure that has little visual appeal. However, once you see how far you can go in creating your dream home office by using a shipping container, you’ll realize there’s more to it than meets the eye.
Ideal for Remote Workers
Data released by Statista indicates that more than half of the country’s workforce worked outside of home in 2022, 22% worked only from home, and 15% followed a hybrid work model. Given the significant number of people who now work from home, the need to have a calm and comfortable workspace has become paramount.
While you may get an office container to work from home in your backyard, you can think about setting one up at a serene and picturesque location on top of a mountain or by a water body. With a container office, you can take it where you go, provided you have enough space to set it up.
Portability
The ability to relocate an office container makes it perfect for remote workers who wish to keep moving from one location to another once in a while. If you rent or lease a container office, you may ask the company you partner with to handle its relocation. If you purchase a unit, you need to get in touch with a transportation company that specializes in relocating containers. What helps is that it is possible to transport your container office by truck, ship, or train, so there’s virtually no limitation to where you can take it, provided you have the required space to set it up at the destination.
People who might need to relocate their units often should consider checking what mobile office trailers have to offer because they’re easier to move.
Flexibility
Another great benefit of going the office container way is that you may use it as an affordable housing alternative. Given that housing continues to become more expensive, you may look at a modified shipping container office as a cost-effective solution if you need a place to work and stay. After all, it’s possible to partition a container into two sections (or more), and you may even consider getting more than one unit.
A single office container can provide adequate workspace for three to four people, so you may even think of it as a solution for a small team. Going forward, as internet penetration increases and it becomes more commonly available in remote locations, these offices can serve as effective alternatives for people who wish to work in far-flung places.
Speed of Construction
If you choose to build a brick-and-mortar structure to serve as your new home office, constructing it can take a few months, maybe even more than a year. However, if you opt for a container office, you may expect to start using it a few weeks after you place your order because the basic container is already in place and all that remains is its customization. In addition, if you decide to scale up down the line, adding a new unit will take less time when compared to traditional construction methods.
Cost-Effective
If you live in a big city, renting or buying traditional office space can put a big dent in your pocket. Constructing a new structure can also turn out to be expensive. According to Levelset, the cost of constructing a traditional single-story office building in the U.S. stands at $238 to $286 per square foot. In comparison, the cost of getting an office container to work from home is around $100 per square foot.
Wide Selection of Floor Plans
Gone are the days when you had to make do with basic floor plans if you chose to get an office container. Now, if you need inspiration, all you have to do is get on the internet and look for container office floor plans. If you need more than one container, you may choose to arrange them horizontally or vertically, with three being as high as you can go.
Once you have a floor plan in mind, show it to the office container company you select and ask if it can do the needful. If it cannot, you may want to check around a bit more. Another option is to ask the company you select for suggestions. A simple floor plan can include a workspace, a bathroom, and a kitchen. You may even choose to dedicate a small section for taking breaks.
Multiple Standard Features
If you’re thinking about getting a shipping container office to work from home because you view it as a cost-effective option and don’t want to spend much money, you may still look forward to various standard features. Bear in mind that not all container office providers offer the same features.
- Painted interior and exterior
- Wooden, vinyl, or painted floors
- Insulated walls
- Phone, internet, and electricity connections
- Lighting
- Windows
- Lockable doors
Customization
Not only can you turn a shipping container into an office, you can customize it in practically any way you like. For example, it’s common for container offices to come with phone and internet connectivity as well as electrical and plumbing connections. Getting insulated units is a great option, as this helps maintain temperature levels throughout the year. If you live in a place that experiences extreme summers and/or winters, you may choose to get a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system.
You can even get the company you partner with to customize its interior and external walls, doors, windows, flooring, ceiling, and furniture. Getting state-of-the-art security features is also an option, which is great for people who work with sensitive information. Given the ongoing evolution in technology, one may expect to do way more with office containers in the future.
Durable and Secure
When you get an office container to work from home, know that a high-quality steel container serves as its basic structure. In addition, it comes with corrugated walls welded to end frames and rails as well as hinged doors. This makes your home office highly durable and weather-resistant. It should come as no surprise then, that these units can easily last for more than two decades.
If you wish to get high levels of security, you have the option of upgrading to galvanized steel frames and doors, heavy-duty door locks, anti-theft systems, panic hardware, and video surveillance.
Environment-Friendly
Container offices check different environment-friendly boxes. For starters, your home office will be a repurposed container that has hauled cargo in the past and is getting a new lease of life. Their low ceilings, along with good insulation and use of space, can result in lower use of energy for heating/cooling. Besides, this form of construction helps reduce waste typically associated with traditional construction methods. Minimal requirement of traditional construction materials leads to lower carbon emissions.
What Are the Disadvantages of Container Offices?
One disadvantage of container offices that many cite is they seem cramped when used by multiple people. However, this is typically a concern for offices that have a number of employees, and not for individuals who wish to use them as home offices. After all, how many people do you expect to use your container home office if you decide to get one?
A possible drawback comes in the form of making unfavorable structural changes by chipping away too much or at the wrong places because this can have a negative effect on the unit’s durability and strength. However, if you partner with a reliable company, it can provide suitable solutions and guide you in the right direction. For example, it may strengthen load-bearing walls to counter the potential negative effects of the modifications you request.
Made using steel, container offices are good conductors of heat and cold, which can make regulating indoor temperature a challenge. However, this problem is relatively easy to overcome by using the right type of insulation. You may even install an HVAC system if required.
Another potential drawback surrounds building codes and approvals because several municipalities across that country have not addressed this aspect yet. Fortunately, the company you select can tell you if your home office will comply with existing zoning and building codes based on where you live.
Should You Rent or Buy?
Whether you wish to buy or rent a home container office, you get multiple options from which to choose based on your budget and the features you need. In both cases, you get to customize your unit too. One of the key factors to consider when determining if you should buy or rent is the time period for which you need the office container.
Since many people require these units temporarily, it’s fairly common to find them on rent. If you need a unit for a few months or even a year, renting might work better for you. This is because the price of an office container to work from home can be more cost-effective than buying one if you have a short-term requirement. If you think you’ll keep using your home container office for three years or more, buying might be the ideal option.
Do Portable Office Trailers Need Your Attention?
Prefabricated in factories, mobile office trailers come with a wheels-and-chassis trailer base. This makes them ideal from the portability point of view, because you can tow and move them from one location to another fairly easily. If you plan to keep moving around a fair bit, a portable office trailer might work better than an office container because the former is easier to relocate. However, the portable office trailer vs. container office comparison tilts in favor of the latter when it comes to longevity.
Conclusion
Getting an office container to work from home can be a great idea if you need a dedicated workspace with some peace and quiet. Besides, while you may place one in your garden, you can get one set up on a piece of land at a scenic location too. The option to buy or rent one works in your favor, giving you the freedom to make a decision based on the duration of your requirement. Portability is an added benefit, no doubt.
If you have decided to look at what office containers to work from home for sale or rent have to offer, it’s important to select an office container manufacturer that has adequate experience in this realm. This is because while customization plays a key role in getting a home office container, it’s vital that you do not compromise on the structural integrity of your unit.
