Fairfield business using shipping containers to create homes

FAIRFIELD, Ohio (WXIX) – Have you heard of or seen a container home? They are made out of shipping containers and FOX19 NOW’s Rob Williams is giving you a look at them.

Sandra Whitley and her niece, Allison Lyons, launched House in a Box last summer in Fairfield.

They say container homes are becoming more popular because of their affordability.

Lyons recalls how House in a Box came to be:

“I have this great idea; We’re going to build houses out of shipping containers. I already have a business name, House in a Box. I just need some people to run it with me. But the real background of it is trying to make housing affordable or business ownership affordable and with houses being so expensive right now, running the cost of this, we realized we can get people under a roof for a reasonable price.”

The container home has a full-size kitchen with room for a washer and dryer.

The bedroom fits a queen size bed with durable and easy-to-clean vinyl flooring. They go up to 1,900 square feet that House in a Box will customize to fit your needs.

“We have floor plans that are starter home size or second home size, but we also have floor plans for the everyday family with four beds, 2.5 baths, and a loft space for the kids,” Whitley explains. “The shipping container concept is not a tiny home concept, it’s an affordable home concept.”

Whitley knows what she’s talking about.

She was a contractor for years in Georgia before moving to the area and launching the family business.

“Most people, who I think will be our customers, will see past that superficial side,” says Whitley. “They check the box of having a place to live. Why am I trying to spend the national average of 100s of thousands of dollars when I can do it under 200,000? And once they’re inside it, where you spend most of your time if you’re home oh wait it looks just like a house.”

Whitley and Lyons explained that container homes are mortgaged and financed differently. They say container homes can be treated as a house that appreciates in value instead of depreciating like mobile homes.

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