Immitation Shipping Container Homes Being Advertised
Consumer Beware!
We have received many complaints of this ad and other similar ads which appear to be ISO shipping container based housing. However, they are NOT made from either new or recycled shipping containers. They are not CSA approved.
Only the metel corners are “ISO standard” corners, …just the 4 metal corners have been added to make them appear to be ISO containers. The shipping companies and logistics services have warned these are not ISO shipping containers, only the corners look official, and they warn that these units cannot be shipped the same as a genuine ISBU or ISO shipping container. “They do not have sufficient strength to withstand the loads in either shipping or natural disasters in the same way as a genuine ISO shipping container”.
What does this mean to you? We are seeing many companies promoting these cheaper container structures from China but they are much weaker; cannot be shipped and stacked normally; are not made of the strong Cor-Ten steel and are simply NOT the same in any way. We know these metal structures very well and have investigated them thoroughly for over a year and actually been to the factories.
Also, we have some of our own ISBU Association members who have asked us to promote them, some not fully realizing their danger or non-ISO standard construction. Even though these certain ISBA members are not happy, we cannot, and will not promote any product that is not either a “true”, “genuine” ISO standard new or used shipping container or ISBU module.
These poly-metal prefabs are nice and usually more durable than a conventional home, but very far from the strength and recyclability of an ISO shipping container module. They also do not conform to housing code acceptance in most areas due to their materials.
We are not trying to hurt any company, but we have an obligation to protect buyers and these prefab homes are clearly NOT what people are expecting. If these websites and companies will post “these are not made from ISO shipping containers and do not have the same high strength” then we would not be so concerned.
Tags: construction, homes, house in a box, ISBU, iso, shipping container