Can you build a home out of a large storage container?

It is possible to build houses from large storage crates or shipping containers, and such homes cost about half the price of conventional construction. The shipping containers used in these homes are built in a controlled environment with almost no wood.

At the construction site, the builder stacks the containers like building blocks to configure the home. Some companies offer factory customization of the crates and then ship them to the building site for final assembly. One such home, built in North Charleston, South Carolina, consists of four 40-foot by 8-foot by 8-foot containers, assembled in a side-by-side configuration to provide 1280 square feet of living space.