How Shipping Container Homes Are Installed On-Site: Step-by-Step Guide

Have you been curious about shipping container houses? You’ve also browsed some designs on our website and seen that they can be quite stylish and less boxy. Now you’re wondering- how are container homes in Australia installed? What can I do to have one of these fantastic homes built for me and installed on my block of land?

While building and installing a shipping container home in Victoria or NSW can often be easier and cheaper than building a traditional home, there is still a lot of prep work and other considerations you need to understand.

If this article brings up more questions, feel free to contact the team any time to ask us questions and get some clarity.

Preparing For Installation

Before installing a shipping container home on your block, there are steps you need to follow to ensure easy and smooth delivery and set up. Let’s go through the steps for setting up your site.

Step 1. Level and Firm Ground

Shipping containers have flat undersides, naturally. This means they need flat ground to settle on. The more level the ground the less work needs to be done to support the shipping container to avoid tilting, sinking or slipping once it is delivered.

Professional tradies with earth moving equipment can prepare the ground and install the footings in accordance with engineering specifications before the delivery of a shipping container.

If it is too difficult to fully level the ground (e.g. steep slope), then pier footings can be designed to stabilise and level your container when it is being installed.

Step 2. No Pooling Water

Make sure there’s no pooling water either on the ground where the shipping containers are going to be laid, or nearby. Pooling water can damage the container itself, with rust and corrosion or mould over time. It can also significantly impact the soil, which can damage foundations and cause your home to sink.

Step 3. Minimal Vegetation

Vegetation, and trees in particular, with deep root systems, can make levelling ground difficult at the beginning. Over time as the trees grow, the roots can destabilise the soil your home sits upon, or even damage the plumbing.

Try to have a good clearance around your pending homesite from trees and vegetation. We recommend five to six metres of clearance around your home of tree coverage. Not only will this help prevent root damage, if you install solar panels on your roof, it assists with having no shadows and blockage of the sun to your panels.

Step 4. Permits

A shipping container home is considered a standard Class 1a dwelling under local building regulations which is a single, detached house or an attached dwelling, similar to a townhouse or terrace, separated by fire-resisting walls.

Local zoning needs to be checked to confirm if your new home may be installed. You will need to obtain a building permit or a development consent. You will also need structural certification to prove integrity of the container for when doors and windows are cut into it.

The council will need site details showing where the container home will be placed in relation to boundary lines. And you must adhere to building codes of compliance in terms of insulation, fire safety and plumbing standards.

Step 5. Choosing the Right Location

As per the above in regards to permits, you need to choose the right location for your container home. This involves finding level and well drained land, as mentioned in steps 1 & 2. You also need to consider access for heavy vehicles to deliver your home. Wanting your container at the top of a hill for the view is a great idea, but if a heavy vehicle cannot crane your home into location, you could be in some trouble.

Other things to consider when choosing your container location is the facing, where the sun rises and sets, for example. Do you want a sunrise bursting into your bedroom? Sunsets in your loungeroom?

Step 6. Determining Your Foundation

The type of foundation you use for your shipping container can depend on the soil type, engineering design or what you intend with your container home.

Concrete pads are durable and long-lasting foundations and perfect if your container home is going to be a permanent fixture. A concrete slab is not required as point loads are sufficient. The size of depth of concrete pads will be determined by the engineer based on the soil type.

Screw piles are high-strength steel foundations screwed into the ground - acting like large screws - to support the structure. They provide superior, immediate, and high-load bearing capacity in various soil types, offering a fast, clean, and often more cost-effective alternative to concrete piers.

Engineered footing systems (e.g. Surefoot): Surefoot is an innovative footing system that utilises a unique shape and high strength galvanized steel to form an efficient pile cap. The system works by driving piles into the ground, securing the cap, which effectively harnesses the opposing forces of multi-directional piles and skin friction.

Step 7. Preparing the Foundation.

The foundation needs to be in place before the shipping container home can be delivered and installed on site. Hiring professionals to do this will reduce the pain and frustration of doing it yourself.

The foundation needs to be levelled and strictly follow the engineering design.

Access to Your Site

Having the perfect location and preparing your site for your new shipping container home is great, but you also need to have good access to your site for the delivery and installation of the container.

The most common delivery method for a container is via a tilt-tray truck which needs a clearance of 3 metres in width and at least 5 meters in height. They also need 20 metres, at least, for maneuvering and getting into position.

What you need to do to guarantee access for delivery:

• Clearance. Check to ensure there is enough room to maneuver and reverse the tilt-truck. Generally you’re looking at twice the length of the container being delivered, as a rough guide.
• Ground Conditions. The ground needs to be flat and firm to handle the weight of the truck and the container. You can use temporary measures to help stabilise the ground if you need to.
• Obstructions. Check above for low-hanging trees and powerlines, and at ground level, gates and fences that might make delivery tricky.
• Alternatives. If delivery space is limited, you can have side loaders or even cranes to lift your shipping container into position. These may require more vertical space, so be aware.

How to Install Your Shipping Container Home

The site is flat and has good drainage and you’ve installed the foundations, now it’s ready to go. Here we go, installing your new shipping container home.

• Placement. Using a crane you can lift and place the container(s) onto the prepared foundation. This is done slowly and precisely to get it right. It is essential to continually check that they are level during installation. You don’t want a slightly tilted shipping container home.
• Secure container(s) to foundations: Your container home needs to be anchored and secured to the footings as per engineering specifications.
• Connecting to utility services: If you opt for an off-grid solar system, it will need to be turned on, otherwise, a qualified electrician will be required to connect the switchboard to the grid system. The waste outlets from the containers will also need to be connected to an articulated or an septic system by a licensed plumber. There are alternatives such as a worm farm and a greywater treatment system - however, they need to be an approved system by the local council.
• Decorate and Furnish. Now you can bring in your furnishings, such as your bed, kitchen appliances, chairs and tables. You can decorate with art, or paint the interior, and turn this container into your home.

Innovative Shipping Container Homes in Australia

Installing a shipping container home is a detailed and involved process but it is logical and manageable, especially with the professional help of Sonic Steel. We can help prepare your site, lay the foundations, design, deliver and install your container home in Victoria and NSW, and now in Perth. We will be with you from bare land to a beautiful, liveable home.

At Sonic Steel, we've been specialists in the shipping container industry since 2014, and we've helped Australians across Victoria, NSW, SA, and WA turn their container home ideas into reality.

We can custom design and build your perfect container home, or you can choose from the wonderful designs in our portfolio, Get in touch with us today to find out more.