20FT expandable container houses open into a full living space from one transportable unit — suited to residential living, staff accommodation, site offices and prefab housing projects worldwide.
A 20FT expandable container house is a factory-built steel-frame unit that ships folded and opens into a full living space on site: folded it measures 5900L x 2200W x 2480H mm, and two units load into a single 40HQ container, while once expanded the same unit measures 5900L x 6320W x 2480H mm and provides roughly 38 m² of usable floor area.
A 20FT expandable container house is a factory-built steel-frame unit that ships folded and opens into a full living space on site: folded it measures 5900L x 2200W x 2480H mm, and two units load into a single 40HQ container, while once expanded the same unit measures 5900L x 6320W x 2480H mm and provides roughly 38 m² of usable floor area. Inside, the standard two-bedroom layout gives two separate bedrooms, a full kitchen and a complete bathroom with a spacious shower, finished to a modern standard throughout, with enhanced insulation keeping the interior comfortable year-round and the wiring, sockets and distribution board installed and tested at the factory before the unit is packed. It suits small families, shared living and anyone who simply needs extra space, as well as staff accommodation, site offices and prefab housing projects — and because the unit travels folded, the freight cost per square metre stays low, which is what makes it practical for projects that need several units delivered at once.
HUIYANG
Explore Our 20FT Expandable Container House Series
Expandable container house that ships folded and opens on site in hours — a finished living space at a fraction of the freight cost. Both wings fold out to double the floor area.
Expandable container house that ships folded and opens on site in hours — a finished living space at a fraction of the freight cost. Folds to container width for shipping and unfolds with a small crew.
Expandable container house that ships folded and opens on site in hours — a finished living space at a fraction of the freight cost. Fitted out as office space, with partitions and services already in place. Finishes and layout are specced for hospitality use.
Expandable container house that ships folded and opens on site in hours — a finished living space at a fraction of the freight cost. Both wings fold out to double the floor area. Folds to container width for shipping and unfolds with a small crew.
Expandable container house that ships folded and opens on site in hours — a finished living space at a fraction of the freight cost. Fitted out as office space, with partitions and services already in place. Finishes and layout are specced for hospitality use.
Expandable container house that ships folded and opens on site in hours — a finished living space at a fraction of the freight cost. Finishes and layout are specced for hospitality use.
Flexible 20FT Expandable Container House Floor Plan Options
Two-Bedroom, Open Living
Kitchen and shower room along the back wall, two equal bedrooms down the right-hand side, and a living area with sofa and coffee table facing the glass front.
Folded to 5900 x 2200 x 2480 mm, one unit occupies roughly a third of the footprint it needs once open — simple to store and easy to position on a tight site.
Two Units Per Container
Two units ship inside a single 40HQ container, which roughly halves the freight cost per unit compared with moving them fully assembled.
Fast Deployment Ready
The fold-out structure means transport and on-site setup are measured in hours rather than days — typically 2 to 3 hours with a small crew.
Efficient Multi-Unit Use
Built for projects that need several units at once — staff camps, temporary housing and resort annexes — where consistent delivery and repeatable quality matter.
Engineered, Not Assembled
Welded in a jig rather than bolted together on site: a galvanised square-tube frame rated for 200 kg/m² floor load, Class A fire resistance, magnitude 8.0 seismic and Grade 13 wind resistance.
Built for the Long Run
A 20-year service life on a galvanised frame, on top of two-units-per-40HQ loading and a 2 to 3 hour install — which is what keeps total project cost predictable from quote to handover.
Shipping Efficiency
Two Units Per Container
The 20FT expandable container house is built around shipping efficiency. Folded to 5900 x 2200 x 2480 mm, two complete units load into a single 40HQ container — which roughly halves the freight cost per unit compared with moving them fully assembled.
That density matters most on projects that need several units at once, such as staff camps or temporary housing, where packing efficiency is what decides the logistics budget. Planning is also simpler: one container in, two buildings out.
Unfolded, the 20FT gives 38 m² arranged as two separate bedrooms, a full kitchen and a complete bathroom with a spacious shower — a finished home rather than a converted box.
Enhanced insulation keeps the interior comfortable year-round, and the wiring, sockets and distribution board are installed and tested at the factory, so the unit is ready to connect the day it lands.
At 38 m² the 20FT is the natural size for an accessory dwelling unit — large enough for two bedrooms, a full kitchen and a bathroom, small enough to sit in a garden without dominating it.
It arrives folded, needs only a level pad, and connects to power and water at a single point. If the household changes, the unit can be lifted and sold on rather than demolished.
HUIYANG follows internationally recognized manufacturing standards, with ISO 9001 certification and complete internal quality control processes. We use standardized production and professional team training to make sure every expandable container house is built stably and accurately. Our CE and other company certificates show we take safety, reliability, and international standards seriously.
Once we confirm all the details, we start production in our factory using standard procedures. This makes sure every expandable unit is built with consistent quality.
The expandable container house arrives folded. It is lifted by crane onto a prepared base, then unfolded and fixed into place. Final sealing, trims and utility hook-ups complete the on-site installation — typically within 2 to 3 hours with a small crew.
Crane Lifting Installation
Each unit ships with ISO corner blocks and lifting points marked at the factory, so a standard crane can set it down onto prepared foundations or footings in a single controlled lift. No site welding and no temporary scaffolding are needed for placement.
The unit is delivered folded inside a 40HQ container and set down on a level base. Both sides are unfolded and locked with support legs, then sealing strips and trims go on, followed by the electrical and plumbing connections. The interior is finished at the factory, so nothing has to be built on site.
Get detailed specifications, factory pricing, and shipping solutions for your expandable container house. We’ll reply quickly and give you advice based on your needs.
Specifications, the fittings that ship with every unit, and the support that follows delivery.
Structure
Main frame
Galvanised steel, powder-coated white
Corner blocks
8 ISO corner blocks with lifting and forklift points
Wall panels
50 mm insulated sandwich panel — EPS, Rock Wool or PU
Roof
Galvanised and painted steel sheet over insulated panel
Floor
Cement board over a steel base frame
External cladding
Painted steel as standard; timber-style cladding optional
Openings
Entry door
Lockable aluminium door with glazed panel
Windows
Aluminium sliding windows with fly screens
Internal doors
Bedroom doors with factory-fitted frames
Shower door
Sliding glass door
Interior
Floor covering
Timber-look vinyl plank
Ceiling
Flat ceiling with coving
Partitions
Factory-set layout; 1–4 bedrooms depending on model
Lighting
LED oyster ceiling lights
Kitchen
Cabinetry
Soft-close base and wall cabinets
Benchtop
Stone-look benchtop with upstand
Sink
Stainless steel sink and mixer tap
Bathroom
Toilet
Flushing toilet with soft-close seat
Basin
Bathroom sink and mixer
Shower
Dual showerheads
Plumbing
Connections brought to a single point
Electrics & performance
Wiring
Pre-wired and tested at the factory
Outlets
Power sockets and light switches to the layout
Distribution
Switchboard included
Floor load
200 kg/m²
Impact load
150 kg/m²
Wind load
0.65 kN/m² (Grade 13)
Seismic
Magnitude 8.0
Fire rating
Class A
Service life
15–20 years
Window
Sliding Windows
Lockable Doors
Bedroom Doors
Coving
Floor
Light
Light Switches
Power Socket
Switchbox
Faucet
Sink
Benchtop & Cupboards
Flushing Toilet
Bathroom Sink & Mixer
Dual Showerheads
Sliding Shower Door
Plumbing Connections
Container Style Feet
Timber Style Cladding (Optional)
Every unit ships with an installation manual and a step-by-step video covering the fold-out sequence, sealing and utility connections. Our technical team stays reachable by email and phone throughout the installation and can walk your crew through any step on a video call.
Spare parts — sealing strips, window and door hardware, electrical fittings — stay available after delivery, so a damaged component does not mean replacing a panel. Distributors and project customers also get layout drawings and support through the first unit on site.
Installation manual & video
Remote technical support
Spare parts after delivery
Support through first install
Typical Use
How Our Houses Are Used
What each type of buyer tends to ask for, grouped by how the unit is used.
Residential
Most single-unit buyers are putting a house in a garden or on land beside an existing home, and they ask for the interior first — flooring, kitchen and bathroom in place — because they are moving in rather than building on. The 20FT suits this best: two bedrooms without taking over the plot.
Private homeownersGarden plots and family land
Hospitality
Rental operators usually buy several units at once, and care less about floor area than about turnaround: independent access, a private bathroom, and an interior that still looks new after a season of guests. The 30FT is the common pick here, since it takes a corridor layout with two or three rooms.
Short-term rental operatorsMulti-unit sites
Distribution
Distributors buy on repeatability: the same panel set, the same fittings and the same packing list on every order, so their install crews do not have to relearn the product. Packed volume matters as much as the unit itself, because freight is charged on the space taken inside the container.
Prefab distributorsRepeat and project orders
What a Prefab Container House Is
A prefab container house is built on a galvanised steel frame and finished in a factory before it ships. Depending on the type it either travels flat-packed as panels, unfolds from container width on site, or stacks as two storeys — but in every case walls, insulation, wiring and fittings are complete before the container is opened.
The range runs from a single 16 m² module or a self-contained bathroom unit, up to a 72 m² expandable house with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Footprints and room counts vary by model, and the sections above give the figures for this one.
Because there is no second fit-out stage on site, only sealing, trims and the utility connection remain after delivery. That is what keeps installation to hours rather than weeks, and what makes these units practical for remote sites and staged projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
A prefab container house is built on a galvanised steel frame and finished in a factory before it ships. It travels either flat-packed as panels or folded to container width, then becomes a finished room or house on site. Walls, insulation, wiring and fittings are all complete before the container is opened.
From a single self-contained bathroom unit up to a four-bedroom house with three bathrooms. Standard layouts pair bedrooms with a kitchen, a bathroom and a living area. The exact count depends on the footprint, and the sections above list what this model takes.
A detachable container module closes in about 3 hours with four workers — no welding, crane or forklift needed. An expandable unit unfolds and is fixed in place in 2 to 3 hours with a small crew and a crane or forklift. A two-storey house is two modules, so allow about 3 hours per level plus the lift of the upper module. Knock-down bathroom units take about an hour with two people.
Detachable container modules flat-pack 17 to a 40HQ or 7 to a 20GP — that is 8 complete two-storey houses per 40HQ. Expandable units ship 1 to 2 per 40HQ depending on size, and quick-assemble toilets ship 65 single cubicles knock-down or 18 fully assembled per 40HQ.
Residential living, staff and worker accommodation, site offices, rental cabins, guest houses, temporary housing and sanitation for camps and events. The same structure serves all of them; only the internal layout and fit-out change.
Partitions are set at the factory, so the layout is agreed before production rather than changed on site. Tell us the bedroom and bathroom count you need and we will confirm which footprint takes it. Within the same frame, finishes, bench positions and window placement can be adjusted.
ISO 9001 for quality management (GB/T19001-2016), CE marking under the Construction Products Regulation with EN 1090 steelwork verification, and RoHS compliance for restricted substances. Certificates and test reports are available on request.
Every order includes a written installation manual and a video covering the assembly or fold-out sequence, sealing and utility connections. Our technical team stays reachable by email or phone during installation, and spare parts - sealing strips, window and door hardware, electrical fittings - remain available after delivery.
Quick Quote
Send Inquiry Now
Tell us the quantity, the layout and where it ships — we reply with pricing and lead time within one working day.