Using shipping containers to build a multi-unit complex has some advantages that we can benefit from. Let’s take a look at those advantages and explore what makes one better than others.
Shipping containers used for multiple guest houses provides pre-built structural shells that needs only as much alteration as you desire. They also can easily be stacked safely just as they are design to do while on ships.
I wrote a blog post that explores how to design a single guest house with a 20 foot shipping container at guest house. Now, let’s explore how a similar guest house can be stacked and serve several guests at the same time.
Doing this, we can build a hotel, motel, or a hostel for several paying guests.
The Floor Plan of a Shipping Container Hotel
This is how we an use the single guest house and build a multi-unit complex of many guest houses.
The Basic Shell of the Hotel
Shipping containers are modular. The most common sizes of shipping containers used for dwellings are the 8 ft. wide x 9’-6” high x 20’-0” and 40’-0”long. Let’s look at what can be done with 20’-0” long containers.
A shipping container is already designed and built to withstand vertical and lateral loads upon them. They can be opened up to have additional doors and windows with the correct additional structure.
Stacking the Guest Houses
Shipping containers are made to stack onto ships to carry cargo across the seas. Some are stacked 7, 8, or 9 containers high. They can also stack for your multi-guest house complex.
The way shipping containers are connected when stacked is by inserting a item called a “twist lock” in between the two stacked containers. Then, a lever in this lock is actually twisted to lock the two containers together. Simple, right?
The twist locks are also used when connected to the foundation too. Sometimes, the lever has to be welded so the local officials will view your stacked guest house creation is not something that is built today and gone tomorrow. They often want it to be a permanent construction.
Insulation: Keeping the Hotel Guests Comfortable
You will want to help your guest stay warm and cozy during the cold nights while keeping the heat out on sunny summer days.
The right type of insulation is depending upon the climate you are building your multi-guest houses.
For most container guest homes, you will want to use closed cell spray foam for their insulation. Although this type is one of the most expensive types of insulation, it give a lot more insulation with the less amount of space needed to building walls that surround it. That means, there will be more remaining space for the guest to live and play in.
If you want to learn more about other types of insulation you can use, go to this article about insulation.
Heating and Cooling Your Hotel
A split system is recommenced for the cooling and the heating of these guest houses. The company, LG, makes a wall mounted mini-split system that costs a little over $2000.00 US. After installation, it would cost around $5,000.00 US per guest house.
Plumbing Fixtures in Your Hotel
Every well designed guest house has a comfortable and complete bathroom. Some have a shower or bathtub or Jacuzzi. All have one or two sinks (or lavatories) and a water closet (toilet). You might want other things like a fireplace, heated floors and towel racks, cabinetry, and a great sound system.
The design that best fit inside a typical 20 ft container has a shower, sink in a cabinet, and a water closet and this is what is shown with the design in this study.
The pipes are running from one unit up to all the other units above it through the exterior walls.
If you run pipes in the exterior walls, be sure to allow extra thickness in the wall for the insulation to continue uninterrupted all around the building. The pipes should run next to the insulation (on the inside –side) and then cover it up with gypsum board that is moisture or water resistant.
Paint the gypsum board in the bathroom or add ceramic tile as you will see in this design example.
Most hotel rooms do not have a full kitchen. For this design study, a simple space for a coffee maker or a tea water kettle will do just fine. So, plumbing is not necessary in the area for the refreshments.
Be sure to build another structure using a shipping container restaurant so you can feed your guests all of their meals by giving them a continued container experience. The design of a shipping container restaurant is not part of the study for this article.
Bedroom/Living Room Hotel Combo
As mentioned earlier, a similar 20 ft. container guest house was explored in another article.
So, without repeating all the discussion about how and why a murphy bed was used in this area, just take a look at what we did with a single guest house. The Murphy Bed that was used in the design can be found at the my product review page here.
We are simply repeating this to build two towers that are 3 high for a multiple guest house complex.
Here is my product page about a great coffee table that is doesn’t take up much space and is very multi-functional for small living rooms like these.
Outdoor Deck: Hotel Guest’s Private Space
Each unit can still have a deck. But, smaller than the one for a single guest house. This deck would be outside of the glass sliding door. Be sure to provide a guard rail that meets the local code requirements.
Building codes will dictate how much lateral pressure it needs to resist and usually will require the guardrails to be around 3’6”.
If you are going to have spindles between the top guardrail and the bottom railing, the code may also require that a sphere that is 4” in diameter cannot pass between any of those gaps. The code was written to prevent children from passing between them.
Living Room and Refreshment Area in Your Hotel Room
The same single guest house has the similar living room and refreshment area in it too. This is the space the front door enters into.
The difference between the single guest house and the multi-unit complex is that the multi-unit is entered from a stair landing at the upper level units.
So, let’s explore some things to consider when building a stair tower that is connected to all of the upper guest homes.
The front door would be approached from a common walk way or corridor that serves all of the units on the same flow.
Stairs can be placed on both ends of the complex to give the visitors two ways to leave the units. This might also be required by code in your municipality because some building codes require two mean of egress from every unit in case of a fire or other types of emergencies that would cause the visitors to vacate the units quickly.
Stair tread and riser dimensions are also controlled by local building codes. Check with your own municipality for their requirements. But, a rule of thumb is the 7-11 rule. Most codes will allow for the risers to be a maximum of 7” (4” minimum) and 11” maximum toe to toe between each step for the treads.
Foundation: What Your Hotel is Built Upon
The foundation that you choose to build under your multi-unit shipping container guest complex will be determined by the type of soil you will be building upon, materials and skilled work force available, and your budget.
For more information about foundations, check out this article about foundations.
5 Success Tips for Hotels to Thrive
If you are planning to build your own multi-unit guest houses using shipping containers, here are five success tips that you will want to consider:
- Location: Choose a site that is where guests will want to visit.
- Amenities: Provide the extra touches that will make the experience of the guests so pleasant that they will want to come back and recommend your place to their friends and family members.
- Budget: Plan before you build. Be sure that the money you spend will be returned back to you with profits in a reasonable amount of time.
- Support Facilities: Having several guest houses will require other buildings that this study has not explored. Be sure to include them in your overall planning. Some of these support facilities would include a place for the guests to dine, a laundry area, an office, and other recreational areas like a gym, pool, playground, and a lounge.
- Safety: This is the most important tip of all. Be sure to create a safe environment that everyone will feel comfortable spending time during their visit.
Removing Uncertainties One Step at a Time
Designing and building your shipping container dream home has many issues you will need to address. When launching your shipping container home journey, it can be overwhelming while thinking of all the obstacles that are in front of you. It doesn’t have to be that way. Watch the free 90 minute seminar title, “6 Step Formula to Design and Build Your Own Shipping Container” and take the uncertainties away one step at a time.