instructables
Tiny Shipping Container Home
by Disc Dog
Welcome to another kick-ass Instructable from Disc
Dog! Today I'm going to show you how to make the
most amazing tiny home from a shipping container.
But first, a disclaimer: I build these tiny homes for a
living, but not quite this simple. Mine all fold up in on
themselves for transportation to anywhere in the
world, where the ones I'm going to talk to you about
don't, but if you read on you will find how easy it is to
build a neat little tiny home out of a shipping container
with NO SPECIAL METAL WORKING SKILLS
REQUIRED! :-)
Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 1
completely understand what you need to do to make
the best darn tiny home imaginable. I promise not to
leave you hangin', so if anything is unclear, or you
have questions after reading through the Instructable
completely, get back to me. Also, be sure to read
through everyone else's questions before you send
me a repeat question; that will help me in my
response time.
I also won't go into a lot of detail for fabricating the
interior of this tiny home because - quite frankly-
that's the neat part of this tiny home...you can put any

Before I go into the nitty-gritty of this build I am
hoping that you have some good, basic carpentry,
plumbing, framing and roofing skills (the kind of skills
you'll need to build a home of any size). And if it
seems like I am skipping a lot of detail, I am. This
Instructable is long enough without going into all of
the detail you would need to completely fabricate a
tiny house inside and out, so this Instructable shows
you the basics for a really cool tiny home, but leaves
out a lot of steps for detail fabrication as well as
interior designs. For each room I suggest you gather
your ideas and wait for the step in this Instructable
where you can insert them.
Because I am not going to build an actual tiny home
like the one I am writing about here there won't be a
lot of photos and examples of what I want you to do,
but I will provide some sketches and dimensional
drawings as needed; I think you'll see why and
Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 2
that's the neat part of this tiny home...you can put any
kind of interior you want. You can run the plumbing
and electrical as you see fit after you finish this
Instructable (but I will show you what I did) so keep
that in mind as you start putting this tiny home
together. Also, there is a lot of good ideas about
insulation, interior finishes and storage for container
homes on line so don't be afraid to do some
homework before you start your build.
Final note: I build my tiny homes in shipping
containers because [as built] they are hurricane
proof. I'm probably the only tiny home fabricator in
Florida that makes an extreme-weather proof houses.
Later on I will give you my website to compare what
I'm doing to what you'll be doing (and a short-cut if
you want one). Now, time to pick up your bag of hand
tools and get crackin'!
Step 1: Find Yourself the Perfect 20' Shipping Container
You'll need to start looking for a particular type of 20'
container: it's referred to as a 'side loader'. This is a
factory built container that has a set of full-span bi-
fold doors on one side of the container. These won't
be easy to find used however, since most of them are
owned by individuals to haul their cars and SUV's
around, or by shipping companies to move individual
vehicles around the world; they don't take the beating
that most containers take by moving commodities
from China so they tend to stay in service a lot longer.
But I have seen them come up used every so often. If
you can find a well used one please LOOK BEFORE
YOU BUY.
Bottom line is that a new 20' SIDE LOADER will cost
you about $5-$7,000. A used seaworthy one (not beat
up and still serviceable) will cost about $3-$5,000,
and a non-serviceable one will cost you about $2-
$4,000. If you have the time (and patience) look for a
good, used seaworthy container. You won't need to
inspect it before you buy it. If you find a used, non-
rated container I would be very leery about buying it.
If the doors are sprung on their hinges, or the floor is
trashed beyond use, you easily spend the difference
in coin just to make it livable. Personally, I would just
buy a new one. After all, this is probably the most
important part of your investment in your house; why
be penny-wise but dollar-foolish? Besides, the factory
painting and anti-corrosion protection on new ones in
phenomenal. If you don't scratch or dent the surface
Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 3
one of these will last 30+ years.
When your done building your 8'x20' container tiny
home it will expand from less than 160 sq ft to about
200-250 sq ft of living space, depending on the side-
door configuration and how you use them. The
containers I use give me about 240 sq ft of living
space. Unique to them is that the inner bi-fold doors
are significantly larger than the outer bi-fold side
doors, hence the large increase in square footage.
Look around to see the differences.
I suppose you could just open up both doors to make
a 320 sq ft tiny home, but the roof for that wold have
to be more substantial that the roof I show in here.
Also, side-loaders come in both 20' and 40', but don't
be dissuaded into buying a 40' one. They are a
bugger to move around and cost an arm and a leg to
relocate them. (Why do you think they are so cheap?)
You can move a 20' container with a roll-back tow-
truck or a pickup and roll-back goose-neck trailer (like
I do), but a 40-footer need a semi and [usually] a
crane to hoist it off. If you absolutely want the room of
a 40 foot'er think about just getting (2) 20's and link
them together. The small difference in coin will
usually pay for itself in transportation, ESPECIALLY if
you have to move it later on.
Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 4
Step 2: Locating Your Tiny Home
It's not imperative that you set your container down
on it's final resting spot, but it would make things a
whole lot easier. The bottom line is that you will be
building a roof, a floor and 2 door frames/structure for
your container home and it is best to build them on, in
or around the container after it is located. And what
you want those structures to look like will depend on
where you put your tiny home, so consider sight
location before you consider cutting wood.
Also PLEASE look into zoning regulations before you
make the final location decision; not all areas are
modular or shipping container home friendly. Do not
put it somewhere where it will need to be moved later
on.
The cool part of shipping container homes is that they
are considered 'modular' homes, and not 'mobile
homes, and they already come on a permanent
foundation, the skirt. If your building codes require
that the home be set up on a permanent foundation
then a simple 10'x22'x4" thk concrete pad will do you
just fine. Locating modular homes is far less
restrictive than tiny homes on wheels.
The other piece of information you might be able to
use is that the dwelling is less than 320 sq ft. This is
important because many cities, counties and states
do not have restrictions on dwellings less than 320 sg
ft.
If you want to anchor the container down in the event
Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 5
of tornadoes you can also sink four 1-1/2" - 2"
diameter think-walled steel pipes in the concrete in
the location of the stacking lugs. (The container is
already Cat 3 hurricane proof just sitting on the
ground). See the sketch for exact location
dimensions. Before you set the pipes in the concrete
be sure to screw a bolt or two in the bottom of the
pipe or (if it's a threaded nipple) screw a cap on the
end; this will give the concrete something to hold on
to and not pull out. Also, put a 1/2" diameter (or
larger) thru-hole near the top (this will give you a
feature to put something into to anchor it down with).
Set them in the concrete foundation with no more
than 2"-3" sticking up; anymore higher than that could
prove difficult to drive the delivery truck over.
Just make sure you have a level patch of 25' x 15'
earth to put your container on. In a pinch even some
undisturbed earth or a grass field will do. But if you do
not put it on a concrete pad, just use a couple of
those 3" thick 3'x3' concrete pads you can pick up in
the garden center at Lowes or Home Depot to set
your container on. They will make it easier to find
'level' that just grass. You can set it up on just grass,
but it may sink a little over time and that may prove
unfavorable later on down the road.
Or, if your patch of earth isn't too level, then just pour
a few level concrete pads and set it down on that.
You only need to set it down on the corners. If you
don't have the skill or patience to do that. a local
contractor can do it for you on the cheap.
Step 3: Start With the Building the Platform Floor
To build this floor you will need some rudimentary
carpentry skills and maybe a few good power tools.
You will be building an 'outdoor' style deck/floor
supported on deck blocks. If you've never built a
simple house floor or outdoor deck be sure to study
up on it or find a good buddy who has. You should
build it to code (minimum size 8x floor joists on 16"
centers w/3/4" OSB/plywood flooring). You should
also stuff it full of insulation between the floor joists.
You can do this after you build the floor; flip it over,
insulate it, seal it up and flip it back over. (Here's
where it's helpful to have a buddy or two help you
move the Platform Floor around.) It's a simple step
but you should be as exacting and detailed in your
construction as you can be. Attention to detail here
will pay off in the long run.
After the container is set up permanently open up just
the inside doors of the (4) Side Doors to be straight
out. Leave the outside Side Doors locked shut. Try to
this dimension measure is pretty simple: measure to
the inside surfaces of the 2 Side Doors and add 4"
(each lip seal is about 2" out from the inside edge of
the doors). Using a permanent marker draw a small
line on the lip of the container for a center line
between the doors (and also write it down in case you
wipe off the centerline).
The length of the Platform Floor (the distance away
from the container) is going to be the length of the
door(s) plus about 12". That will give you a good lip to
hang out past the front doors.
Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 6
get them exactly 90 deg out, but if your not exact
don't sweat it. Now you will measure for the Platform
Floor that you will build that the Side Doors sit on.
As stated above, this Platform Floor will be built just
like a regular floor using 2x8 floor joist on 16" centers
with 3/4" flooring over insulation between the joists.
The Side Doors will sit on top of the Platform Floor
with enough overhang to take advantage of the
double-lip seals on the Side Doors. You can also lay
down some tongue-n-grove floor panels on the
plywood if you want a finished, wood floor.
To get these measurements you need to start by
measuring the inside-to-inside dimension between
the doors near the lip of the container. IMPORTANT:
If you look you will see a double-lip seal along the
periphery of the Side Doors you have opened. You
want to know the dimension between the side doors
up to BUT NOT BEYOND the exterior seal. To get
I'll go over what I recommend after you build the
Entrance Door Wall. I'll also go over how to attach the
Side Doors to the platform floor permanently a little
later on, but for now just finish up your Platform Floor
to your personal level of comfort for form, fit and
function.
Later on we will also cover ways to get rid of that
small lip you will end up where the floor meets the
container as well.
You can build the floor in place by just swinging the
Side Doors out wide enough to get access to the
container, but before you do that be sure to measure
and mark center on the container lip so you know
where to locate the floor. It helps to build this in place
because you will probably have to creep up on the
right floor height.

As you build the Platform Floor and size the support

blocks for it, the floor height should be about 1/2"
below the bottom of the Side Doors and about 1/2"
higher than the lip of the container floor.

You will see that the lip of the container floor has a
slight drop in it (about 1/4"). If you make the floor
height the same as the lip height your Side Doors will
not 'sit' properly on the Platform Floor and there may
be a gap between them.

Complete the Platform Floor and be sure to put a

precise center location line on the edge of the floor
that butts against the container lip. When you move
the Platform Floor in place for the last time lining up
these center marks will ensure your Side Door seals
mate up perfectly to the outside of the Platform Floor.

After you build the floor you should be able to swing

the Side Doors over the floor with minimal effort,
however you want to see good compression of the
inner door seal against the top platform floor and the
outer door seal lay flush against the edges of the
floor. Like I said, the Floor should be about 1/2" below
the bottom of the Side Doors. This also should also
allow you to put down some type of flooring (but you
don't want to put it on at this step).

1. You'll want to measure the dimension between these two

doors

Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 7

Step 4: Building the Front Entrance Door Frame
Like the last step discussed, it helps to have some
basic 2x4 framing skills, insulation and siding skills
for this wall. Now is the time to plan for windows too if
you want a more traditional front entrance.
First, pick out the front door you plan on using. If you
haven't done so, now is a good time to go to some
lumber liquidators or building surplus store and pick
out a floor model or last year's model...or maybe you
came across a closeout on a really cool door and
bought it some time ago. If you're going to put a
window in the Entrance Door frame buy the window
first as well so you can make the frame to match.
Now's the time to by first and cut lumber second.
I recommend a Home Depot Series 50 sliding glass
door. Why a sliding glass door? Your container home
is going to be naturally dark (since it doesn't have any
Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 8
skylights or other exterior doors/windows) so a sliding
glass door really helps. If you visit my website you
will see that the particular container I use allows for 2
standard 72"x80" sliding glass doors, so I use 2 of
them. It's a big selling point in my tiny homes. Why
Series 50? They can be put in place in pieces; first
you assemble the frame and put it in place and then
you slip the doors in. And they have a large selection
of doors and screens. If you ever tried to put an
assembled sliding glass door in a door frame you will
know what I am taking about when I say "It ain't a
cake walk, that's for sure".
To start framing your Entrance Door frame take some
more measurements of the opening between the
inside surfaces of the Side Doors snug up against the
Platform Floor you now have located in place.
(Depending on how square you made the Platform
Floor this dimension may be a little different that the
dims you took in step 1). Now, subtract about 1/2"
from that dim; this will allow for some foam-strip
insulation between the Entrance Door frame and the
Side Doors.
After you have those dims you'll measure the
distance between the top of the Side Door(s) to the
Platform Floor. If it's a standard container the height
should be 85" from top to bottom, and your floor
should be about 1/2' below the bottom of the Side
Door, so you should see about 85-1/2". But you'll
want to measure it to be sure.
Write both dims down and frame up your Entrance
Door wall with 2x4's. I would frame it up in a
workshop (or garage floor). (You can do it in place if
you don't have somewhere else close by to frame it
up.). Give yourself about 1/4" clearance on all sides
for both the door and window frames so they are a
good, slip fit.
After your done framing it up, locate the Entrance
Door Frame by centering it on the Platform Floor with
about 3" of inset from the edge of the Side Door(s);
attach it to the Platform Floor with nails or screws. Be
sure not to let the frame tilt over; use braces as
necessary.
Then, with the Door Frame secured to the floor,
attach it to the Side Door Frames with 4 hefty
construction angles, one near the top and near the
base of each side. See the sketch.
The reason I recommend using angles is that once
you fastened the Entrance Door frame in place is that
you can still unfasten it to open the Side Doors and
open them up if need be. And it makes it a lot easier
to put insulation in place along the edges of your
finished entrance door wall. It never hurts to think
about leaving your options open during your next
building step.
you go along, but for now they will serve to secure the
Side Doors, Platform Floor and Entrance Door Frame
in place while you finish the door frame.
Now finish off the Entrance Door Frame in place by
putting the outside siding in place, insulation and then
the inside siding too.
Put the exterior siding and edge trim right over the
angle clips attached to the frame but leave the part of
the clips screwed to the Side Doors exposed. That
way you can un-secure them if needed.
After that you can put the Entrance Door and any
windows in and finish off the Entrance Door Wall
completely.
If it's easier you can unscrew on Side Door at a time
to work on the Entrance Door Wall. However, IF YOU
ARE GOING TO UN-SECURE both Side Doors from
the Front Wall at the same time BE SURE to brace or
support it from falling over!
After you're all done with the Platform Floor and
Entrance Door Frame you need to secure the
Platform Floor to the Side Doors. To do this you'll
need 4 ea. 3/8" U-bolts. (You can also use 5/16" if
they come in a narrow, longer length). Secure the
Side Door latching posts to the Platform Floor from
underneath by using the u-bolts to go around the
latching posts and above the latching pawls as shown
in the sketch. Use Loctite or a jam nut to secure the
nuts in place; tighten all nuts down very to a good,
snug fit.

Using 1-1/2" long [min] screws secure the angles into

the wood of the Entrance Door frame first, then use
some 3/4" to 1" long self-drilling/tapping hex head
screws to secure to the Side Doors. Like I wrote
above, after you have screwed them in you can take
the self taping screws out and put them back in as

Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 9

Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 10
Step 5: Putting a Roof On, the Fit

Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 11

There are probably a hundred ways to put a good roof down the metal roofing to shorter lengths but it is no
over this tiny home, but keep in mind the joint work fun [but I can tell you how to do it if you want]).
from the roof you're gonna build to the container roof
has to be not only water-tight but have enough roof You might want to check the notch dimensions (the 2"
angle to get the water to run off. That's why a flat roof x 3-3/4" cutout in the sketch) over the rain lip that I
across the Side Doors is not my recommendation. drew in; there's no guarantee that your rain lip is the
exact same as mine, but you can get the gist of the
The Roof design is the basic metal barn-style need for the notch for it. The goal is to get the notch
insulated roof. You can buy all of the materials at to fit around the rain lip and butt up against the face of
Lowe's, Home Depot or most other large lumber the container under the lip of the container. Make a
supply houses. If you've never built a metal roof few test fits on your first Edge Support. Note that the
check out Youtube or just Google it. It's pretty simple. Edge Support fits down in between the Side Door
Or you can simple shingle roof it if you want, but seals. If you can cut the notch to be a close fit even
IMHO it won't look as good, be as easy and will take over the droop even better.
longer.
You will also want to make sure the cut/notched end
For this roof design you'll build 4 roof perimeter of the Support (that overhangs the roof) is flush on
support members, 2 [tapered] Roof Edge Supports top of the roof and DOES NOT OVERHANG OR SIT
that run along the top of the Side Doors, 1 End Cap ON TOP OF THE CORRUGATED SECTION OF
that runs along the roof of the container above the lip, THE ROOF. You will see that the roof is corrugated
and 1 along the top of the Entrance Door wall. Then along the top to keep water from sitting on it, however
you'll put several purlings between the Edge Supports the corrugation ends about 3"-5" before the rain lip so
to nail the plywood to. There is a rudimentary sketch make sure that the end of the Support Edge does not
of what to expect above. go into this corrugated section; your End Cap will
need to sit flush AND SEAL against the roof under
I dimension'ed this roof to fit over a containers with the End Cap. If you cut your Support to the dims I
the larger middle Side Doors (about 82" long/wide). If have shown, and it is too long, cut it down until it sits
your container has the shorter Side Doors (like 50"- right.
55") you can use this roof but you'll have a lot of
overhang over the Entrance door. Don't be afraid to Once you're comfortable with how your first Edge
cut it short (on the tapered end over the Entrance Support fits, duplicate it for the other side and test fit
Door) if you want to, but if it was me I would just them up on the container roof and the Side Doors.
leave the overhang; it will save you from cutting You want to make sure they lay flat inside the Side
metal. Door seals, flat on the container roof and are snug up
against the container under the container roof lip.
For this first step you'll need:
Now measure the distance across them (outside to
2 pcs of STRAIGHT 8'x2"x8" boards for the Side outside). Add 6"-12" of over hang for each side and
Door Edge Supports. divide by 48". This will tell you how many 4x8 boards
you'll need, and how many liner feet of roofing you
First cut down (2) 8' 2x8's to the dims in the sketch will need. Be sure to write this dim down; it's too easy
above. Those Supports are based on using 96" long to forget or transpose two of the numbers and end up
roofing metal with about 8" of overhang over the front short.
of the roof trusses and 4" of overhang over the
container roof. (You can normally buy the roofing Next step is piecing the roof together.
metal in 8' lengths so I want to design the roof on
those common dims. If you really want to you can cut

Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 12

Step 6: Finishing the Roof Sturcture
The cross-sectional sketch above gives you the basic
stacking order of a metal roof. I didn't put overhang
dimensions in this view but you should have 6"-12"
on both sides. Design the width of your roof to only
cut the plywood to width, not the metal. If you metal
roofing is 24" wide, make you roof width a multiple of
24"; if it's 36" wide (most common) then make you
roof width a multiple of 36". Since you know the width
between the Edge Supports you will start from there.
This is the longest step so read through it carefully
first and ask questions before you start cutting if need
be.
Materials; You'll need the following to make this roof:
3-4 sheets of 3/4" 4'x8' plywood/OSB; it all depends
on how wide your roof is over the Side Doors.
6 pcs of 12' 2"x4" STRAIGHT boards; these are the
purlings
3-4 sheets of 1/2" rigid insulation foam board (4'x8');
IF you use thicker insulation be sure to get LONGER
Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 13
construction screws.
You'll note that construction screws have drill bits in
the end of them so no pre-drilling necessary. This
also helps keep the wood from splitting, especially if
you are screwing into the ends of purlings.
Keep the purlings and End Cap vertical and on 16"
(or less) centers even if the last one [at the tapered
end] is a bit closer. You may need to rip down the top
edge of the End Cap and one of the purlings to fit
flush with the Support Edges and not rest on top of
the inner seals of the Side Doors. Use only two
construction screws for each side (least you split the
wood). You should end up with a framed roof support
truss structure that looks like the sketch.
You may wish to stain or paint the interior and
exterior of the roof truss structure if you don' plan on
putting siding on it (or an interior roof on it)
afterwards.
From here you'll need to get the help of a friend or
two to help you put it back on top of the Side Doors.
roofing screws than 1-1/2"
1 roll of vapor barrier (15# roofing felt); use thicker for
better noise suppression.
4-5 pieces of 36' wide x 96" (8') long metal roofing.
(36" is the most common. If what you are using is
less than 36" of coverage you'll need to buy enough
to cover overall roof width)
3 pcs of metal roof edging (or drip rail). You'll put
those over the container roof edge and the two outer
edges.
Box of Roofing screws w/seals
A box of 3" construction screws
A box of 1-1/2" long wood screws
A roll of Perforated Galvanized Steel Duct Strap
A tube or two of window, door and siding sealant.
A tube of construction adhesive (like Liquid Nails or
something similar)
Start by taking a measurement between the Edge
Supports: Drop them both down in the Side Door
seals (as shown in the sketches) and butt them up
against the container. Tape them down to the top the
Side Doors for now. From there you'll need to climb
up a small ladder and take a decent measurement
between the inside surfaces at the ends of the Edge
Support sitting ON THE CONTAINER ROOF. (Don't
trust the Side Doors to be square to each other just
yet.)
Write it down; you'll be duplicating it exactly for your
purlings and End Cap. (If you have a container with
the big Inner Side doors it will probably be
somewhere around 159 1/2" or so.)
Pull the Edge Supports back off and lay them in
position on a large, flat surface.
Cut up your End Cap and 4-5 purlings to the same
exact length and then secure them to the inside, and
FLUSH to the top surface, of the Edge Support (as
shown in the dimensional sketch) with the 3"
Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 14
Put some sealant on the end notch that butts up
against the container and under the End Cap (that
goes over the Container roof) first, then locate the
truss on the Side Doors (between the Side Door
seals as shown) and slide it back until it has firm
contact with the container's exterior. Use the
Perforated Galvanized Steel Duct Strap as Hurricane
Strap to pull down and secure the roof to the
container's Side Doors as shown. (Here you can use
some 1-1/2" wood screws in the Edge Supports and
some self-tapping metal screws in the container Side
Doors). Put at least strap one per side along the front
of the roof and one per side along the back of the roof
as shown in the sketch(s).
Put some more construction sealant along the mating
surface of the roof truss End Cap and the roof of the
container and then use at least 3 construction angles
to secure the roof truss End Caps to the roof of the
container; 2 near the ends of the Edge Cap and one
in the middle. Look for good squeeze out of the
sealant so you won't have roof leaks inside after
you're done. Seal off all edges along the container
roof and roof truss structure. The double door seals
on the Side Door will keep water from getting inside
the Side Doors.
Once your roof truss structure is secure go ahead and
start placing the 4x8 3/4" sheathing down. Leave
about 4"-6" of overhang over the container roof.
Don't forget: it is best to keep the overall width of the
roof a multiple of the same width (or slightly less) as
your metal roofing so you don't have to rip one of
them down to size. Be sure to leave about a 1/8" gap
between the 4x8's to allow for expansion.
Start by securing one 4x8 with the desired amount of
overhang on one side of the Side Doors Edge
Supports and lay them out until you have only one
4x8 to rip down to size if need be. Use the 1-1/2"
wood screws to secure the 3/4" plywood to the Edge
Support joists and the purlings; use a screw every
12"-16".
After you're done putting the sheathing down be sure
to finish up the exterior of the roof truss structure
before you go any further. If you're going to paint, side
or stain the structure now is a good time to put it in
place.

Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 15

Step 7: Putting on the Roofing Metal

After you have finished the roof truss structure and picture on how to screw the roofing down. Note: try to
have the plywood in decide what kind of roofing you hit the purlings to secure the roof; it will keep the tips
want. Like I wrote earlier, I instruct on using a metal of the screws from showing underneath on the
roof but now is as good as time as any to go to underside of the roof. Also, as shown above, make
shingles or fiberglass. sure you go through the crown of the metal roof
corrugation as shown above, and not the trough.
For this step you will also need 1 each 5 Gal.
Siliconized and Microcell Elastomeric White Finish up with the metal roofing edge caps and
Reflective Roof Coating sealing the roof against the container, even under the
container roof lip. You don't want any water migrating
Use a little construction adhesive (or a staple gun) to under this joint.
tack the roofing felt down as well as the rigid
insulation boards before you screw the metal roofingWash the roof of the container thoroughly before
down. you put down the rubber roof coating. Apply the
coating to the manufacturer's recommendation. The 5
You will need a power driver (drill) and a hex-head gallon pail will have more than enough to put down
driver bit for the metal roofing screws. one or two good coats, and I would definitely use it all
up because in this case 'the more the better'.
Be sure to secure the metal roofing down squarely
and with proper overlap between each panel. See the

Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 16

Step 8: End Wall and Door
I have included a drawing of a frame and a few
pictures for the End Wall and Door that I use on my
containers. You will see from the pictures that it's a
good place to put in all of your utility connections,
such as power, water and sewer. I also use this wall
design because my bathroom is just on the other
side, and the kitchen is attached to the bathroom wall
for reasons of easy, concealed plumbing. I stuck a
screen shot of my CAD drawing to give you and idea
of how my bathroom and kitchen are arranged. (Go to
my website bbpods.com if you want to see a 3-D
representation of this bathroom)
If you want to duplicate what I did you'll want to build
your wall as I did.
First, measure the inside dimensions of your End
Door opening. (It should be real close to what I have
drawn.) Frame up your End Wall to go flush with the
inside frame of the container. You will use 2" long
1. Good place to hang a 'tankless' instant hot water heater
2. 32" shower base
3. There's a 3.1 Cu Ft mini fridge under the propane cooktop
Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 17
wood screws to secure it to the floor and a few
construction angles along the side and top to secure
it to the container. Then, just use some sealant along
the joinery work to keep the drafts and bugs at bay.
You will note that I put a 16"x32" window in my End
Walls because it's a great place to have one if you
put a full-size bathroom on the other side.
I also framed my End Wall up to accept a standard
32" wide storm door. If you make you bathroom
skinnier you can use a wider door but I'd rather have
a larger bathroom than larger side door.
To make this frame duplicate the framing steps in
Step 5. Put the exterior siding on place but don't
finish the interior of the wall until you get your
bathroom designed and fabricated in place.
 1

1. Here is where I come out of the container for power, water and sewer.

1
2
1. I built my bathroom on 2x8 joists so I didn't have 1. I built the plumbing for the bathroom on the 3/4" plywood floor upside down first then dropped
to cut the floor. All of the plumbing goes under it it in between the 2x8 floor joists.
and out the end
2. This is where all of the plumbing for the kitchen
and shower comes out

Step 9: Interior Features and Planning for Neat Things to Have (like a Bathroom and
Kitchen)

You will probably want to put some interior features in studs in the cavity created by the corrugated walls.

Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 18

next, such as insulation, electrical, interior walls, etc.
before we call this Instructable quit, so here are some
good tips and ideas. Also, read the next step first
before you start thinking about this step; it may give
you some good ideas.
After you finish framing the End Wall you should
insulate the interior and then put some walls up on
the inside of the container before you finish the End
Wall and put the rest of your house together. Here is
what I have learned:
You can use the spray-on foam insulation but it's
expensive (and messy) so I like to use rigid board
insulation. You can also use fiberglass roll-out
insulation too, but if you do space your studs for the
width of insulation that you buy (it comes in both 24"
width as well as 16"). ALSO, if you use fiberglass roll-
out insulation PUT YOUR STUDS on edge instead of
flush (as pictured). If you don't it's darn near
impossible to compress even R13 insulation down
enough to screw the walls to them.
The rubber roof you put on a few steps ago will serve
well as roof insulation; it will keep it cool in the
summer and provide a reasonable amount of
insulation in the winter. You can glue up some rigid
insulation boards on the roof and/or also put a drop-
down ceiling on the inside for the ultimate in
insulation. It's up to you.
About them studs....
Before I put up the insulation I put up a few wall
studs, but I put them in the horizontal [instead of the
vertical]. I then cut down the rigid foam board to fit
between them. And if you use 3/8" bead board like I
do then you only need two along the interior; one
about 1' up from the floor and another about 7' up
from the floor (you will see a lot more that than in the
photo above...this was one of my first builds and
afterwards I figured I really didn't need all of those
studs for 3/8" unfinished bead-board; it's stiff enough
to get by with just two.) If you're going to use sheet
rock for your interior walls then you might want to put
4 instead of just two. Put them on 24" centers and
use 24" wide insulation.
The studs are easy to install if you follow these steps:
Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 19
Those spaces are a great place to run electric and
plumbing because you can insulate right over them
and they are shielded by the studs if you drill into the
studs with a 1-1/2" or shorter drill bit.
Electrical:
If you have never wired up a house you should really
call in a friend or expert for this step. Of every build
section of this tiny home that you can make mistakes
on, this part of the build is not one of them. Please
run your wiring to electrical standards for wire gauge,
breaker size and outlet type.
I didn't relish the idea of hooking up to 220 Volt/100
amp residential service to a 240 sq ft tiny home, so I
wire up mine for 110V/50 amp service. But that also
means no 220 V appliances.
Now here are some tips and ideas about finishing up
the interior of your tiny home:
Vent your bathroom plumbing up to one of the 4
exterior vents you will find along the top of the
backside of the container so your tiny home doesn't
smell like the boy's locker room after 'Burrito Night'
every time you use the head. You can just glue an
electrical outlet box around it and plumb 1/2" PVC to
it and to the plumbing off of the bathroom sink.
Seal up the Side Door hinges with a couple of
finished (stained and/or painted) 1"x5" boards cut
down to about 85" and glued in the gap between the
large Side Doors and the small Side Doors [you left
shut]. You can also Velcro these board in place but
they won't be air-tight. (I use a flexible rubber seal on
my joints but my tiny homes are designed to be open
and closed repeatedly.) You can also position a piece
of plastic 3"x5" gutter down-spout cut down to a snug
fit and then just frame around it. That will keep the
weather of the inside framing and provide some
insulation as well. I've also used Hyperlon (inflatable
boat material) to form a type of Freezer Seal around
them.
Don't be afraid to use your imagination when it comes
to sealing up these gaps, and if you come up with a
novel or clever way let us all know!
On to the bathroom...
1) Pencil a few marks at each end of the inside walls As you saw in the previous step I fabricate my
at the height you want your studs at; for two sets of bathrooms like they do for mobile homes: modular,
studs 1' and 7' work good. (the 7' stud is a good placeupside down and on a work-bench. Depending on
to hang murphy beds, heavy cupboards and shelves how you run your plumbing and electrical you can
from). finish up the entire floor for the bathroom floor and
just hook up the electrical, plumbing and sewer as
2) Snap a chalk line between the marks and drill out a you slide the module in place.
set 3/16" holes along the chalk lines on every third
interior-protruding ridge. You'll know you're drilling Look to your local RV store for hook-ups and just
on the right surface because it will be the only one mimic how they do it. I use a 50-amp plug and
with a chalk line on it. standard RV sewer connections for mine.

3) Have a buddy hold the studs against the wall from Hang a propane powered 'tankless' instant hot water
the inside and [using the same metal roofing screws] heater on the back wall of the bathroom wall and
secure the studs from the outside. Using the sealing plumb it to the kitchen sink, the shower and the
screws so they will seal up the exterior surface. bathroom sink.

4) Plan out your electrical and plumbing before your
go any further, then run your electrical and plumbing
along the backside of the studs before you insulate
and seal up the walls. I ran all of my electrical along
the top stud and just dropped electric lines behind the
The floor:
Just clean up the floor, sand out the rough spots and
throw a couple coats of outdoor decking water seal

on it. A 1 gallon pail give you years of coatings.

The kitchen:

Tuck a 3.1 cu ft mini fridge under a gas cook top

(converted to propane) mounted on a standard 24" x
48" counter top;, then plumb the cook top & hot water
heater to a full-size propane bottle you keep under
the kitchen sink.

Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 20

Step 10: Your Finished Product

Here I will showcase one of the typical 'IKEA' style
interiors. (This was for a tiny cabin) You can always
go to them for ideas but don't be afraid to think
outside the box. If you visit my website
(www.bbpods.com) you will see all types of
arrangements and get a lot of ideas of how you can
make your tiny home one cozy place.
And thank you for visiting my latest Instructable. If
you like what you read vote for me in the Tiny Home
Cotest!

1. Look! A full size bathroom! (I hear that a lot at tiny home shows I 1. This is the tankless instant hot water heater
attend)

1. This interior was for a tiny hunting cabin

Tiny Shipping Container Home: Page 21