You need a home office, but you don’t have enough space inside your house for one. You do happen to have a lot of space in your backyard. If only you could set up your office out there.
You can! You can take a shipping container and convert it into a comfortable home office. Here’s how.
Get Your Shipping Container
First things first, you’ll want to go to an online shipping container portal to find and purchase a shipping container that’s in good condition. At the very least, you’ll want the grade of your container to be wind and watertight. This means that it will have the structural integrity to protect the interior from outdoor elements like wind, rain, and snow.
After purchasing and inspecting your container, you’ll need to arrange to have it delivered to your home.
Prepare the Site
You’ll want to prepare your yard for the big delivery day. Clear the site so that nothing is in the way. If you have trees or shrubs that are too close to the site, you’ll need to dig them up and transplant them somewhere else.
Do your best to prepare the lawn so that it’s level. You don’t want your container to be tilted. This will be difficult to remedy without professional equipment.
Make Openings
You’ll not likely want to use the massive shipping container door to walk in and out of your office. You’ll want to cut openings for simple exterior doors into the structure. While you’re cutting openings for entrance doors, you’ll also want to cut openings for windows, too. Windows will give you access to natural light and ventilation. It will also make the shipping container feel like a home office — not a big box.
Once those openings are cut, you’ll want to insert your entrance doors and windows.
Add Insulation
While a wind and watertight container will protect you from bad weather, it won’t protect you from extreme temperatures. Without proper insulation, you’re going to sweat in your home office in the summer and freeze in the winter. Extreme temperatures can also do some serious damage to your expensive electronics. You don’t want to put those office essentials at risk.
Add insulation to the walls, ceiling, and floor. Then, apply interior floor and wall finishes over it.
Get Power
You will want to connect your shipping container to your home’s electrical grid. Otherwise, you won’t be able to do much work there. You won’t be able to connect to your Wi-Fi, and your tech will run out of batteries within a few hours.
Contact a professional electrician to help you complete this important task. You’ll also need their help with installing outlets, light switches, and light fixtures.
Grab the Paint
Now that the most important elements are covered, you’ll want to paint your shipping container so that it doesn’t look like it belongs in the back of a shipyard. A fresh coat of paint can do wonders!
Increase Security
Now that your shipping container looks like a professional home office and not a big metal box, you’ll want to add some security. Add strong locks to the doors. Put shades behind your windows so strangers can’t peek inside. Install motion-sensor lights on the exterior to ward off anyone at night.
After you follow all of these steps, the only thing you have to do is move in your office supplies!
