Guides / Container Houses
A container house is priced from a specification, not from a price list, and the specification is the part buyers control. This guide sets out the five inputs that set the number, what changes between a 20ft and a 40ft unit, what a quotation should itemise so two of them can be compared, and the items that stay on the buyer's side of the line. Every configuration is quoted on request and itemised, because prices follow steel and aluminium material cost.
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There is no single price for a container house, because a container house is not one product. The number is built from five inputs: the model and footprint, the wall and roof insulation specification, the doors, windows and glazing, the interior fit-out, and the order quantity. Change any one of them and the number moves, which is why the unit is quoted per project rather than sold from a fixed list.
What is easier to state is what a factory-fitted unit arrives with: the steel frame and insulated panels, the doors and windows to your specification, the flooring, the electrical distribution with pre-wired points, and the internal finish you selected. It leaves the works container-loaded so it can be lifted into position on site. The two halves of the question are therefore the same two halves as anywhere else on this site — what is in the unit, and what did you choose about it.
Work down the list and you can see which of your own decisions is moving the number before any quote arrives. This is the same logic published on the flat-pack and expandable container house page, where every configuration is priced on request.
| Input | What determines it |
|---|---|
| Model and footprint | 20ft or 40ft, single or two-storey, flat-pack, folding or expandable |
| Wall and roof insulation | Panel construction and thickness for your climate and energy requirement |
| Doors, windows and glazing | Count, size, frame material and glass specification |
| Interior fit-out | Wet areas, partitions, cabinetry and the fixture list you supply |
| Order quantity | A single unit against a multi-unit site layout |
The insulation and glazing rows are the two that surprise buyers most often, because they are the two that are decided by where the unit goes rather than by what it looks like.
The most common question behind the cost question is which length to order. The honest answer is that the floor area roughly doubles and the cost does not, because a large share of the build sits in the parts that do not double.
| Element | 20ft to 40ft |
|---|---|
| Floor area | Approximately doubles |
| End walls, doors and windows | Broadly unchanged — the same openings serve both lengths |
| Electrical distribution | Similar board and connection work, more points and runs |
| Packing and handling | One container and one lift either way |
| Insulation and internal finish | Scales with the surface area, so this part does rise |
That is the whole reason the useful comparison is cost per square metre rather than cost per unit — and the reason a single unit against a multi-unit layout is carried on the quotation as its own line rather than hidden inside a discount.
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Because the price is configured rather than listed, the useful comparison is not the total at the bottom of two quotations. It is whether the two quotations cover the same items. Ask for these as separate lines.
One thing to ask for in writing is what the quoted price assumes will happen on site. A container house arrives factory-fitted and container-loaded for fast placement, but the base it stands on, the connection to mains services and the local approvals are the buyer's side of the line.
This list costs nothing to state and saves a great deal of argument later. It is also the list that explains why two quotations for the same unit can differ by more than the unit itself.
Naming your market at enquiry stage is what lets the correct electrical standard and the right documentation pack be quoted the first time rather than corrected later.
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Three questions sit next to the cost question, and each is answered elsewhere on this site rather than being estimated here. How many units travel in one container is quoted per project specification, because it depends on the model and the packing layout — the shipping and unloading guide explains what that packing decision means once the container opens. How long production takes follows the same convention as every other modular order: quoted per project and counted from deposit and drawing sign-off, which the lead time guide sets out stage by stage. And the practical floor on a small order comes from the container rather than from a price list, which the MOQ guide explains.
If you are weighing the two main formats against each other, the detachable versus flat-pack comparison sets out where each one is the right answer, and the container shop cost guide covers the fitted retail version of the same box. The product page carries the technical specification, the certifications page lists the documents you can request, and the inspection process explains what is checked in-line during production.
There is no single price, because a container house is not a single product. The number is built from five inputs: the model and footprint, the wall and roof insulation specification, the doors, windows and glazing, the interior fit-out, and the order quantity. Each of those is priced against your requirement, so the unit is quoted per project. Prices also follow steel and aluminium material cost, which is the second reason a unit is not sold from a fixed list.
Because on a configured unit the specification is the product. Two units that look identical in a photograph can sit far apart once the insulation thickness, the glazing area and the fit-out are counted, and steel and aluminium move with the market. A number published today would be wrong by the time you ordered, so every configuration is quoted on request and itemised.
No, and that is the single most useful thing to understand about container house pricing. A 40ft unit carries about twice the floor area, but a large share of the cost sits in the parts that do not double: end walls, doors and windows, the electrical distribution, the packing, and the handling of the unit as a whole. The incremental cost of the extra length is therefore smaller than the headline area suggests.
The steel frame and the insulated wall and roof panels, the doors and windows to your specification, the floor, the electrical distribution with pre-wired points, and the internal finish you selected. The unit is container-loaded so it can be lifted into position on site. Electrical components are supplied to the standards and market requirements you name, with the certificates provided in the documentation pack.
The site works. Foundations, the base or plinth, connection to mains power and water, local permits and approvals, import duty and clearance, and delivery beyond the destination port are the buyer's side of the line. A quotation that is silent on these is not a cheaper quotation, it is a shorter one, so ask for them to be named even when they are excluded.
A standard flat-pack unit loads seven units in a 20ft container and 14–15 in a 40HQ container. Your own count is confirmed in the loading plan, because the model, the packed height and the packing layout all move it — see how many flat-pack units fit in a container for the assumptions.
Lead time is quoted per project and counted from deposit and drawing sign-off, the same convention used across the modular range. The drawing has to be agreed before production starts, so the drawing and the deposit are the two things in your control that start the clock.
A single unit is a configuration that can be quoted. On a small order the practical floor comes from the container rather than from a published minimum, because the shipping container is filled either way. The loading plan issued with your quotation is where the quantity question is answered for your specific order.