I have another business outside my every day job. I moved all my packing/shipping from my house to my dad's shop, but now he needs the space back. I was thinking about getting a small building, but around here I'm looking at $800+ a month for some **** hole.

My dad told me people take shipping containers and turn them into offices, with A/C, electricity, etc.

I really like this idea. I have the space for it in the back yard and I would essentially have no overhead. I would eventually grow out of it, but could still use it and move it to wherever I need it as a standalone office.


do any of you guys have experience with these. What I should be paying, what to look for, what not to do, etc.?

 

We have two for all the atvs/tractors/etc. paid around $1000 each plus delivery for em. Both are 40' long. Would definitely take some work to get it into office shape, but could be done pretty cheap. Not sure what delivery was on the first one but just got the second one a few months ago and it was $500 to deliver it 3 hours out of state, and wasn't easy for them to get it where we wanted it. So I'd guess for ~$1500 you could get one to start with.

 

Cool, thanks for the info. I'm 2 hours from the port of Long Beach, so I should be able to expect similar pricing.

 

Believe it or not, people are now using these containers as a form of a house. Obviously theyre retrofitting them entirely, but theres a specially made clamp to keep the containers together.. saw it in some home and garden magazine a while back. It actually look pretty cool. So I imagine if you grew out of one, you could just get an 'addition' of another one.

 

Watch the first 20 minutes of Tron Legacy to see a cool sea can shop. One thing to consider, I'm about 90% sure a cell phone wouldn't work inside a closed metal container. That's something you'd have to check out first.

 

Thanks for the input.

I've come to the conclusion that this is not the best move for me.

I originally thought about this to avoid the overhead of renting a building. Plus it's a second job and I don't need a 3rd location to drive to every day

I also was looking at large utility sheds to convert, but the size I would need, needs a concrete foundation.

I decided the most feasible way to go is to convert my garage. If I do it right, I can still park my wife's car in there everyday and work on the truck when I need too.

The walls are already finished. I will be insulating the garage door (just had to put a new door, motor and track in and I declined the insulated door, go figure), and edges/corners wherever they need to be sealed up. Walls will be painted and I am going to add an A/C unit. Overhead shelving for all our household stuff. All new shelving will go above an 8 foot bench and new cabinets to the right of that.

My tetris skills will come in handy, it will be a tight fit.

My wife will be helping with the business and she's 4 months pregnant. I figured this way it will be the easiest way to get her to help and will be the most comfortable option for her, to be able to stay home and not in a shed or driving across town.