If you live in a container home, you are sure to make heads turn with your ultra-mod container house standing tall among all the surrounding traditional houses. Buying a container house is not a very hard job. Just about anyone can buy one for themselves from the multitude of businesses that are dealing in shipping container homes such as jjchouses.com.
The hard part is maintaining one. It requires a lot of commitment and dedication to keep up with all the maintenance issues that arise quite frequently. The following are some tips that might help you with the upkeep of your container house.
Place the container on level ground
Ensuring that your container house is placed on a secure foundation is crucial for a durable build. Although it is barely noticeable, the ground moves a substantial amount. It rises, slides and sinks with slow and sporadic movements. A stable and solid platform underneath your container home is essential. Otherwise, the ground’s movement can cause severe damage to your container home. It can cause cracks and splits.
A well-built foundation will make sure that the entire weight of the container house and the stuff inside it is evenly distributed. This is also precisely what prevents the container house from cracking and splitting. Considering the requirements of the region you live in, pier foundations, slab foundations, and pile foundations are some kinds of foundations you can use for placing your container house.
Clean rust and dirt regularly
Proper and thorough cleaning of dirt and rust is of utmost importance. Make sure that you clean off any residue of dirt or rust as soon as possible. For this, you have to make sure that you clean all the hinges, locks, and joints of all parts of the container house at regular intervals. This will help in maximizing the lifespan of your container house by reducing any or all possibilities of corrosion. You can use bleach or some other simple cleaning agent to get rid of surface rust issues and dirt particles.
Lubricate doors, windows, and handles
Shipping containers are made out of strong weathering steel also known as COR-TEN steel. This is a fine quality alloy of steel which has the capability to withstand extreme weather conditions. However, this is subject to proper maintenance. It is quite unlikely that a part of your shipping container home will be damaged beyond repair but if there is a place for trouble to begin, it is the windows, doors, and handles as these are potential weak points. Keep the windows, doors, and handles clean, well-lubricated, and greased to avoid problems.
Avoid moisture and condensation
To avoid condensation issues, you would need to install vents in your container house. These ensure proper airflow and also remove excess moisture that can be the root cause of corrosion-related issues. In addition to this, you should make sure that you keep dry goods inside your container house and avoid bringing in moist and wet things. Also, ensure that during rainy and humid days you close the doors, windows, and other outlets securely so as to not let any water content in.
You should also look to replace the rubber seals that are implanted on the doors and windows of a container house. These have an average lifespan of about 8-10 years. If you live in a region where storms and heavy rains are frequent, be very vigilant in regard to the maintenance of these seals. If these look even slightly worn out make sure you change them on a priority basis.
Avoid placing weight on the roof
Shipping containers are built in a way that their corners get to bear almost all of the weight. The corners of a shipping container are extremely strong and durable as these are built to bear enormous weights. Thanks to these well built and inviolable corners, a shipping container can carry up to seven fully loaded containers on top of it.
However, the middle portion of the roof of the container is not very strong. In order to ensure that there are no issues with the roof, you have to make sure that you take off any debris that may land on the roof. This would also include brushing off the snow as snow can also cause the roof to bend inwards if left to sit for an extended period of time.
Conclusion
Container houses come with their own set of challenges. However, with proper vigilant care and maintenance, you can easily stay out of trouble and enjoy your container house for an extensive period of time. We hope we have been able to address some of the key issues you might have been facing in regard to the care, conservation, and service of your shipping container house.
