[MasterGunner01]

What you do with the Intermodals is join them together (or stack them) to give you the space you need — much the same way double-wide house trailers do. If you join five 40x8-foot containers to a single 40x8-foot container (each one is 320 square feet) together, you get a rather nice 1,920 square foot (40x48-foot) living space. Another idea is arrange four 40x8-foot containers in a square with an open center. The containers can be the living areas off the center courtyard that can be totally enclosed and arranged internally to suit the owner's taste.

Now, I'll grant the containers are homely as all get out, but they are designed to go together and stack on each other or side-by-side or end-to-end. I think that there's a real and untapped market to recycle these containers into sturdy and available housing.

[MasterGunner01]

You are quite right about corrosion damage. One of the reasons the Intermodals get retired is they live in a very corrosive environment at sea. That's why the shippers consider they have a life of so many years or voyages and then they are retired. However, the basic structure of the container remains sound and that's what you're buying.

If one container is badly damaged from corrosion or outside physical damage, then you just select a better one. Heavily damaged or otherwise unserviceable containers are recycled in any event. What's left are very sturdy aluminum or steel containers you can put together and customize at an affordable price.

I looked into this customization and there are several web-based companies that deal with all aspects of Intermodal container conversion into housing. It's not for everyone, but there are opportunities to be had here.

[Pipe Dog]

You may be on to something. People are erecting steel buildings and making homes out of them now. We're seeing more of that in our area lately. Garage and house together in one structure. Which was something the wife and I considered.

But I'm glad we made the command decision to build the basement house. We're dug in to the hill tighter than a tick on a dog. Virtually no exterior maintenance with two thirds being underground, easy to heat and cool and all one level. We're not getting any younger.