Expandable Container House with Stacked-Stone Cladding, Steel Entry Door and Awning Windows

An expandable container house finished in stacked-stone cladding on a black steel frame, with a black steel entry door, top-hung awning windows and a completed interior — grey wall panels, white doors, a bathroom pod with a glass shower enclosure, vanity, WC and electric water heater.

This is the solid-wall version of the expandable range. Instead of a glass frontage, the long elevations carry a deep-grey stacked-stone panel that reads as dry-stone walling, the openings are narrow awning windows in black frames, and the only full-height element is the entry door. The result is a building that looks like it belongs against a garden wall or a stone boundary rather than a site cabin — and one that does not need curtains on the street side.

It folds to 2200 mm for transport, opens without welding or a concrete slab, and — because the wet room and the electrics are fitted at the factory — is usable the day it is levelled and connected.

The expandable range is built in four lengths on the same 2480 mm section, so the internal height, the wall build-up and the folding mechanism are identical whichever length you order. Two 20ft units load into a single 40HQ in the folded state, which is the figure that decides the freight for most buyers.

The table below is the standard range. The unit shown here is built in the 20ft length — confirm the length on your order against the drawing, because the floor area, the loading count and the weight all follow from it.

Weight is for the standard configuration. A bathroom pod, internal partitions and fit-out change the figure, so the shipping weight on your order is issued with the drawing.

The cladding is a deep-grey stacked-stone panel — irregular courses, pronounced shadow joints, a mix of charcoal, grey and warm brown faces. It is a steel-faced composite panel with the stone pattern built into the finish, not a stone slip and not a brick carrier system, so the wall stays at sandwich-panel thickness and the insulation value is unchanged.

Every junction is picked up in black: the corner posts, the top and bottom rails, the window frames, the entry door. That contrast is what makes the panel read as a wall rather than a wrap — the stone stops at a hard black line instead of fading out at the corner. If you want the frame in another colour the same unit is available, but the black is the combination that carries the stone.

The entrance is a single black steel door with a multi-point lock and a lever handle, set in the black frame with no step at the threshold. On the elevations, the openings are top-hung awning windows: the sash hinges at the top and pushes out at the bottom, which keeps rain off the opening when it is partly open.

Front elevation at the factory: black steel door flanked by awning windows set into the stacked-stone panels.

Awning windows rather than sliding ones for three reasons: they can stay open in rain, they give more glass per opening because there is no fixed overlap, and the black outer frame matches the door and the module frame. Each opening is a sealed factory unit, glazed and fitted before the module is packed.

Inside, the walls are light grey panels with a black trim line at the ceiling and skirting level, which continues the frame colour inward and makes the room read as one volume rather than a box with panels. The ceiling is a flat panel with surface-mounted LED lights. The floor is a pale wood-look sheet laid continuous across the module joints.

Interior: light grey panels, black trim, white doors, wood-look floor and surface-mounted LED lighting.

The doors are white with a fine vertical rib, and the bathroom door carries a glazed panel so the wet room borrows daylight. Sockets and switches are already fitted and the circuits are brought out to a single connection point on the outside of the module, so the electrical work on site is a connection rather than a first fix. Lighting pendants are left with a drop of cable for the buyer's own fittings; the surface LED lights are wired and working.

The bathroom is a complete pod: a glass shower enclosure with a thermostatic mixer and a hand shower on a riser, a close-coupled WC, a vanity unit with a ceramic basin and a mirror cabinet, an electric water heater on the wall, and marble-pattern wall panels throughout with a moulded tray.

Bathroom pod: glass shower enclosure, vanity with basin and mirror cabinet, WC, electric water heater.

Fitting the wet room in the factory is the part that saves the most site time, and the part that is hardest to get right on site: the tray is set into the floor structure, the falls are formed, and the waterproofing is done before the panels go on. The trade-off is layout — the pod takes a corner, so tell us at quotation stage where you want it and the room is drawn around it.

The structure is a Q235 hot-dip galvanised steel frame in 2.5–3.0 mm material with 6 mm liner plates at the corner castings. External walls are 75 mm EPS sandwich panels with rock wool available where a fire rating is needed; internal partitions are 50 mm EPS. The roof is 0.35 mm corrugated colour steel over 50 mm EPS with a 200-type ceiling panel below, and the floor is 18 mm fireproof magnesite board with 2.0 mm PVC, or 4.0 mm SPC as an upgrade.

1. The folded module is lifted off the truck or out of the container by forklift or crane and set on piers, blocks or a prepared hardstanding.
2. The roof sections are raised and locked, giving the unit its full width at the top.
3. The side sections are pushed out on their tracks until the floor panels drop in and the walls are vertical.
4. Joints closed, trims fitted, water and power connected. Two or three people, a few hours, no wet trades.

Garden annexe or granny flat — the stacked stone sits against a boundary wall or planting, and the wet room makes it self-contained.
Holiday let — finished interior, bathroom and a frontage that does not look temporary.
Site or estate office — solid walls for privacy, awning windows for ventilation without rain ingress.
Staff or key-worker accommodation — one room plus wet room, stackable where ground is tight.
Studio or workshop office — solid walls for equipment, one glazed door for access.

Two 20ft units per 40HQ folded, wrapped and braced for the sea leg, with the glazed and door units protected separately. The packing list, assembly drawing, electrical diagram and material certificates ship with the unit, and we can run a video inspection before loading. If you are buying against a tender or a planning condition, send the clause and we will mark it up line by line and say where our standard differs before you order.

Is the stone wall real stone?
No. It is a steel-faced composite panel with a stacked-stone finish. It gives the depth and shadow lines of dry-stone walling at sandwich-panel weight, and a damaged panel is replaced on its own.

Is the bathroom included?
Yes — glass shower enclosure, WC, vanity with basin, mirror cabinet and electric water heater are part of this configuration. A second wet room or a kitchen run is quoted from a drawing.

Why awning windows instead of sliding?
They can stay open in rain, they give more glass per opening, and the black outer frame matches the door and the module frame.

Does it need a concrete slab?
No. Piers, blocks or a prepared hardstanding, levelled, with bearing under the corner castings. The foundation layout ships with the order.

Can it be used in a cold climate?
Yes, with rock wool walls and upgraded glazing. Tell us the location and the lowest expected temperature and we will specify to it.

Can two units be joined?
Yes. Units bolt side by side or end to end with the dividing panels removed at the factory, to make a larger room.

Can it be stacked?
The frame and corner castings take a second level, and we quote two-storey arrangements regularly. Stacking is checked against your wind and seismic load first.

Can we inspect the factory?
Yes. You or a third-party inspector are welcome at the plant at the stage you choose — frame, panelled shell, or finished and fitted out.