We hope you are enjoying this summer without any restrictions, the beach, the sea, and why not the nearest pool to you. Either way you should have fun a way or another and why not have fun in your back yard, rather than going to a public or community pool. We will continue our article where we left it, talking about building a shipping container pool, and will leave all other questions towards the end of the post.
You might be wondering is there a way I can do this myself? Well we would advise to do so, but to be cautious and do your homework really well before starting on it. You would need special equipment and materials related to pool construction, and some potential areas could be difficult to understand or even make, like sizing the pump correctly, figure out the plumbing system for a good water drainage and circulation, applying and choosing the best surface and inside water proofing, sizing and installing structural reinforcements. So if you are not a stranger to all of the above, you could start thinking about DIY shipping container, otherwise we strongly recommend reaching out to a team or builder in your area, talk to them, and then do your math and estimate your budget based on the information you can find online or from the builder. From what we read in multiple articles the cost of DIY could be between $10K to 20K depending on what materials you use, container size and grade, and of course the quality and costs of all other materials that you will use.
Frequently Asked Questions about Shipping Container Pools
How do you buy a shipping container? – Well, if you choose to make it yourself, you will also have to buy it yourself. You can buy a shipping container with our partner USA Containers HERE, they will deliver it to your property you want to start working on it. We do recommend to buy a new / one trip unit for this project.
How is the delivery made? – If you’re not doing it onsite, most of the builders will make them offsite at their facility and have them delivered to your property. Make sure you are going to put this somewhere accessible for the truck and most of the time crane, they or you hire for offloading and precision placement. Make sure there are no trees, fences, underground pipes or septic tanks, wires or other things that might stand in the way of you having a great swimming pool in your back yard!
How long will they last, is it going to rust? – The units are made out of COR-Ten steel, a special alloy moisture that causes them to quickly form a thin layer of oxidation/rust. Thinking of this, you should give it a coat of protection , but most of the times, the units that are built by the manufacturer, they will come with inside and outside corrosion protection, or at least you should ask them if they do. There are some high-quality coating that they use, it might need some maintenance or just to check form time to time if everything is ok
Do I need a permit or approval to have the Shipping Container Pool? – If you live in a city or community , the local officials and neighbors would like to know about this, and if you think you need to build a pad or foundation where it’s going to sit on, you might need some sort of permit from the city or county, it’s always good to ask.
What sizes do they come in? – Since the regular shipping containers that are being made out of are either 20ft long or 40ft long, you have to choose between these two. They are all 8 ft wide and now depending on the depth you want or choose, you could have 3-5 feet deep or leave it as is and have 8’6” or 9’6” ( if you choose the High Cube Container ). There is a possibility to put 2 units together, but most of the time it is uncommon and expensive.
Do I need a pad or foundation to put the container on? – YES! You should consider a shipping container full of water it is really heavy, so to prevent your pool to sink or be uneven in your back yard, there is mandatory to build a foundation, a thick pad of grave, cement, tarmac or pour a concrete pad would be the safest.
Where should I place my Shipping Container Pool? – Depending on the size and of course options you have around your house or property, could be your back yard, or under a tent, or build it as an extension of your deck or terrace. These could be set either as an inground pool or above ground, it all takes some space and imagination
Are there any cool features for these container pools? – Yes there are a few: either have a side window so you can see inside or outside the pool, add a divider and turn part of the pool into a jacuzzi, and of course the regular salt water system, water heater, lighting and make it smart, by hooking all up to a smartphone through a dedicated app from the manufacturer.
Now that we got all these questions covered, all you need are the steps you need to follow to make this happen ( if you will buy it from a manufacturer, you might need to skip some steps, or at least they will help you with some of them ):
1 – Find the prefect location
2 – Get local permits and permission
3 – Hookup all the required untilities
4 – Build the fundation
5 – Purchase the container
6 – Modify and reinforce the Shipping Container
7 – Add the waterproof coating
8 – Install the filtering system to keep the water clean and healthy
9 – Add your desired accessories ( windows, heaters, coolers, lights, jacuzzi nozzles, and others )
10 – Make it safe and welcoming
So if you’re interested in a swimming pool, but you are looking for other options besides the classic regular ground pool, shipping container pools are a good choice. We’ve gone over a few details and steps you need to make before having these units bought or start to work on, with the hope that will help you make the final decision. Do your searches online, see what other options there might be, since we are all trying to save the environment and are lots of building materials out there, waiting to be given a purpose.
