"Including renovation, everything will be $10,000 at the current rate." How a Minsk resident builds a house from a shipping container
When the prices for building materials and work start to bite, many people think about daring experiments. Minsk resident Igor decided not to get involved in traditional construction, but instead to create a country house from a 12-meter shipping container. Although such an idea is not yet common for Belarus, the man is confident in his choice, Onliner reports .
The plot in the village of Lyubyachka near Maryina Horka was chosen for a reason: relatives of his wife live there, and this place became a real khutor (isolated farmstead) for the family.
In 2016, when the couple had twins, it became clear that they no longer wanted to stay in their apartment in Kamennaya Gorka, so Igor bought fifteen hundredths of a hectare of land for only $500 at the then-current exchange rate through the village council.
Initially, the territory was overgrown with weeds, which had to be cleared for a long time with chainsaws, leveled with a tractor, and even additional soil had to be brought in.
The first object on the plot was a small frame house with an area of 38 square meters. Later, a bathhouse and an outbuilding appeared, which caused problems due to the poor work of local builders.
After this incident, Igor, who works as a site foreman at a state enterprise, decided to undertake the construction himself, although he previously had no experience in electricity or plumbing.
The idea to use a shipping container came when a place was needed to store numerous pieces of equipment: bicycles, a scooter, and an ATV.
Igor found an advertisement for the sale of a container that came with goods from China and bought it for 2900 rubles. Another 1050 rubles were needed for logistics – delivery and unloading with a crane.
It was decided to divide the 30-square-meter container into two parts: 17.5 square meters were allocated for a living area for guests, and the rest for a utility block.
During the work, Igor cut openings for windows and doors in the metal body, reinforcing them with profiles to prevent the walls from warping.
Panoramic glazing was rejected due to high cost and risk of cracks, so they settled on windows measuring 1.2 by 1.2 meters.
One of the main tasks was to create proper ventilation so that the house would not turn into a "thermos" in summer. For this, an intake valve and an exhaust fan were installed in the bathroom.
Igor independently insulated the walls and ceiling with polyurethane foam, and the floor with extruded polystyrene foam.
The interior finishing includes a plasterboard frame, which will later be covered with fiberglass wallpaper – this will help avoid cracks if the structure "flexes" a little.
In the bathroom, ceramic granite has already been laid, a toilet and a sink have been installed. Utilities are connected: water comes from a well, and sewage is organized through a septic tank. Heating will be provided by a underfloor heating system.
Externally, the house will be painted with a special gray paint for marine vessels, which will protect the metal from corrosion.
According to the owner, such a house has a 50-year warranty and does not require registration, as it is considered movable property.
The entire project, including renovation and furniture, will cost approximately 30,000 rubles (about $10,000), which is significantly cheaper than ready-made analogues on the market.
Igor plans to finish the work by early summer and, in the future, does not rule out the possibility of opening his own glamping site based on such houses.
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