You don’t have enough space inside your house for a remote office. But you do have enough space in your backyard for one. You’ve decided that you’re going to purchase a shipping container and convert it into a convenient and compact office just steps away from your house’s back door.
What Does Your Container Office Need?
Insulation
Shipping containers aren’t built with wall insulation. There will be nothing behind your container’s corrugated steel walls when it’s offloaded onto your property.
You will have to add insulation behind those walls. For an office, you can apply layers of batt insulation, rigid foam board insulation or spray foam insulation to the interior walls. Your ideal choice will depend on the local area’s climate and your construction budget. Once the insulation is applied, you can cover it with a layer of drywall or paneling.
If you’d rather not reduce the square footage of the container’s interior, you can add insulation to the exterior walls and then cover that with a layer of cladding. That way, you’ll have more room for your office.
Why does your container office need to have insulation?
- It can protect your office from extreme outdoor temperatures.
- It can reduce humidity indoors. Too much humidity can create mold and mildew, and it can damage your office electronics.
- It can muffle outdoor noise, which can be distracting while you work.
Big Windows
One of the worst parts about working in a corporate office is sitting in a cubicle far away from any windows. You have to sit under fluorescent lights all day long, and by the time you clock out to go home, there’s hardly any daylight left — if any at all. You don’t have to mimic that experience with your backyard office. Don’t keep your shipping container as a dark box. Make it nice and bright.
The best way to do that is to add openings for windows and glass doors to the container. Before you start this renovation, you should know that making a lot of openings in your container will reduce the structural integrity of the walls. So, the more shipping container windows you get, the more you’ll impact your backyard office’s overall strength. To make sure that the office remains safe and stable, you should hire a professional contractor to reinforce the interior with steel beams.
What about the sun’s glare? Of course, the sun’s glare coming through windows can be distracting when you’re working on a computer. There is a simple solution for this. You can install window treatments that are semi-transparent. These will stop any harsh glare from getting in the way of your progress, all while allowing warm, naturing light to fill up the space.
Electrical Connections
Your container office won’t be very useful if it’s not connected to your home’s electricity. You will need electricity to power up your computer equipment. You will need electricity to set up an internet connection. And you will definitely need electricity to light up the interior of your container — you can’t always depend on the sunshine to brighten up the office.
Proper Lighting
You’ll want to have a well-lit workspace whenever the weather outside is cloudy, or whenever you decide to work late into the evening. To accomplish this, you’ll want to install recessed lights (like pot lights) along the ceiling of your home office. Recessed lights sit flush against the ceiling, which is convenient when you’re in a compact office space. In addition to ceiling lights, you’ll want to have plenty of task lighting on and around your desk so that you can see your work clearly.
Before you start thinking about what ergonomic office chair you want to buy for your container office, focus on these things. Your container office will need insulation, big windows, electrical connections, and proper lighting. You can’t forget these steps in construction!
