Guides / Modular buildings
A flat-pack container house has no list price, and the reason is not secrecy. The same footprint can be built to specifications that differ in every material that carries the cost, so the honest answer to “how much” is a specification and a loading plan. Here is what moves the number, and the list to compare two quotations against.
Five factors decide the unit price, and only one of them is the size of the building: panel core and thickness (EPS, rock wool or glass wool at 50, 75 or 100mm), frame steel gauge and galvanizing (main frame 2.5–3.0mm, corner posts 4mm, hot-dip or electro-galvanized), floor material (18mm MgO board with PVC, or another finish), doors, windows and electrical specification, and quantity with destination port, which sets the container loading plan and the freight terms.
Prices therefore follow steel and aluminium material cost and are quoted per project, which is what our flat-pack product page states in place of a rate table. If you are comparing suppliers, ask each one to quote against the same written specification, and the differences between the numbers become readable.
A rate table is useful when the thing being priced is standardised. A container house is assembled from choices: the sandwich panel core decides insulation and fire behaviour, the panel thickness decides wall strength and weight, the frame gauge and whether it is hot-dip or electro-galvanized decides how the unit survives a coastal site, and the floor finish decides what the unit can be used for. Two units sharing a 5950×3000mm footprint can be built far apart on all four.
There is a second reason: material cost. Steel and aluminium move, and a rate published in one quarter describes a market that no longer exists in the next. The number that matters is the one on your quotation, tied to the specification and the port you actually ship to.
These are the pricing factors listed on our own flat-pack page, expanded with the question worth asking about each one.
| Factor | Options we build | What to ask before you compare quotes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Panel core & thickness | EPS, rock wool or glass wool sandwich panel, 50 / 75 / 100mm | Which core, which thickness, and what fire behaviour is required where the unit will stand |
| 2. Frame steel & galvanizing | Main frame 2.5–3.0mm, corner posts 4mm; hot-dip or electro-galvanized | Whether the quote says hot-dip or electro-galvanized, because the two behave differently outdoors |
| 3. Floor | 18mm MgO board with PVC, or alternative finishes | What the floor is, since a cheaper quote often trims it first |
| 4. Doors, windows & electrical | Steel or aluminium doors, sliding windows, wiring, sockets, lighting, distribution box | Whether the electrical scope stops at the wall or includes the distribution box and fittings |
| 5. Quantity & destination port | Order volume, container loading efficiency, FOB or CIF terms | How many units per 40HQ the supplier is claiming, and on what packing plan |
Options and thicknesses listed here are the ones published on our flat-pack and detachable-container product pages; the final specification is confirmed against your drawing at quotation stage.
This is the list to hold a quotation against. It is the same list on our product page, and it is what a price is being paid for.
| Item | Published specification |
|---|---|
| Standard sizes | 5950×3000×2800mm / 6055×2438×2896mm, both customisable |
| Frame | 2.5–3.0mm galvanized frame; corner posts 4mm |
| Wall panel | 50 / 75 / 100mm sandwich panel, 0.326–0.5mm steel skin |
| Floor | 18mm MgO board + PVC |
| Door | Steel / aluminium door, 900×2000mm |
| Window | Aluminium sliding window with insulated glass |
| Electrical | Wiring, sockets, lighting, distribution box |
| Load rating | Per project specification (kN/m²) |
The sub-model matters as much as the specification inside it. Our range runs from the detachable flat-pack container through folding, slide-folding, expandable, trailer-expandable and K-model units, and each one trades something: unfolding time, layout freedom, transport volume. The differences between sub-models are set out in the detachable versus flat-pack comparison, and the detachable container page covers the bolted variant.
Five things on a quotation have no fixed number, and knowing why makes the document easier to read.
What we do publish is the specification and the process: our inspection process describes what is checked before a unit is loaded, and the certifications page lists the documentation we can provide, both before a deposit is paid rather than after.
Two quotations for the same building can differ for reasons that never appear in the unit price. These are the lines to budget for, and to confirm which side of the Incoterm they sit on.
None of those are hidden fees. They are simply outside the unit price, which is why a comparison made on unit price alone tends to pick the wrong supplier and then discover it at the port.
Five inputs are enough for a quotation that can be compared with anyone else’s: the target size, the quantity, the specification you want (or the use it will be put to, if you would rather we propose one), the destination port, and your drawing if you have one. Send those and the answer comes back as a quotation with the loading plan and the specification confirmed line by line, rather than as a range.
Send your requirement and get a quotation
If you are still choosing between systems, the detachable versus flat-pack guide answers that question first, and the space capsule and light-steel villa pages cover the other two product families.
We quote per project rather than publish a list price, because the unit price follows steel and aluminium material cost and the specification you choose. Five factors decide the number: panel core and thickness, frame steel gauge and galvanizing, floor material, doors, windows and electrical specification, and quantity with destination port. Send the target size, quantity, specification and port and the quotation comes back with the container loading plan.
Because two units with the same footprint can be built to specifications that differ in panel core, panel thickness, frame gauge, floor and glazing, and a single rate cannot describe both. A published number also ages badly when material cost moves, and it misleads the next reader who compares it against a current quotation. What we publish instead is the specification, so a quotation can be checked line by line against it.
One: panel core and thickness, EPS, rock wool or glass wool sandwich panel at 50, 75 or 100mm. Two: frame steel gauge and galvanizing, main frame 2.5 to 3.0mm with 4mm corner posts, hot-dip or electro-galvanized. Three: floor material, 18mm MgO board with PVC or an alternative finish. Four: doors, windows and electrical specification, including door type, sliding windows, and wiring, sockets and lighting grade. Five: quantity and destination port, which sets order volume, container loading efficiency and whether the terms are FOB or CIF.
Our published flat-pack specification is: standard sizes 5950x3000x2800mm and 6055x2438x2896mm, both customisable; galvanized frame 2.5 to 3.0mm with 4mm corner posts; wall panel 50, 75 or 100mm sandwich panel with 0.326 to 0.5mm steel skin; floor of 18mm MgO board with PVC; steel or aluminium door 900x2000mm; aluminium sliding window with insulated glass; wiring, sockets, lighting and distribution box included; load rating per project specification. Ask any supplier to quote against that list, and the differences between two prices become visible.
The quotation is issued with the container loading plan for your quantity, priced per project per 40HQ. Minimum order quantity is quoted per project for a standard export order rather than fixed for every destination. Lead time is counted after deposit and drawing sign-off. Warranty terms are stated on your quotation, and the documentation we can provide is listed on the certifications page before a deposit is paid.
Freight depends on the destination port and on how many units fit in a container, which is why quantity and destination port are the fifth pricing factor rather than an afterthought. A folding or slide-folding unit packs differently from a knocked-down flat-pack set, so the loading plan changes the freight element of the total. Tell us the port and we quote the terms you are working to.
Yes. Both published standard sizes are marked customisable, and the range covers detachable flat-pack, folding, slide-folding, expandable, trailer-expandable and K-model units. Customisation interacts with the sub-model: a folding or slide-folding unit trades some layout freedom for transport volume, so if the floor plan is fixed by your client, tell us that before we propose a sub-model.
Check four things. The specification, line by line, against the published list above. The loading plan, so the freight element is not a surprise later. Who assembles the unit on site, because bolted assembly still needs a crew working from a drawing even though no welding is required. And the documentation: what certificates and test reports you will receive, and whether they are listed before payment rather than promised after it.