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The Big Sky Country of Montana calls out to many people who yearn for its incredible natural beauty. With only one city of over 100,000 people, it's not a state for those who thrive in dense urban environments. But Montana does have more culture and amenities than some might expect.
Montana has had a steadily increasing population as the secret has gotten out about the benefits of the state. The thing most people think of when they hear about Montana is the mountains, and there are a lot of them.
In fact, Montana has over 100 mountain ranges! Most of them are concentrated in the western part of the state and are actually part of the larger Rocky Mountain range. Montana also has the distinction of being home to the Triple Divide Peak which is essentially one of only a few three-way continental divides in the world.
But Montana actually has a lot of non-mountainous regions as well. You may not know that about 60 percent of the state is flat prairie land, which is why it is such a large producer of cereal grains and other crops.
Approximately 35% of Montana's population lives in just seven cities and towns: Billings, Missoula, Great Falls, Bozeman, Butte, Helena, and Kalispell. But almost double that are in the counties that hold those cities, meaning a majority of the population is at least close to the major urban areas.
The economy of Montana where all those people work is concentrated in the agricultural and natural resources sectors. But tourism is a strong contributor as well, with several major national parks (Glacier National Park and part of Yellowstone National Park) as well as numerous lakes and rivers, ski resorts, and historical sites.
There is no doubt that there is a lot to see and do in Montana. But what makes container homes such a good fit?
The modular nature of shipping container homes matches well with Montana. In a state with a small population and many rural homesites that can be difficult to access and far from population centers, being able to transport your container house on trucks with minimal needed site work is a great advantage. And the durability and resilience of container homes is a great feature when you need security and strength from the weather, animals, and other factors.
Shipping Container Homes are completely legal and permissible in Montana. There are no specific regulations that forbid them, and others have already built container homes in Montana already.
However, Montana does have a state-wide building code that you'll need to comply with in order to legally construct a container house. We'll discuss that more in the next section.
If you're excited about Montana container homes but confused about how to actually get one built, we'll try to help! Both professionals and do-it-yourselfers will typically need to get government permission before undertaking a significant construction project like a container house.
A good place to start is the Montana Building Codes Program, part of the Building & Commercial Measurements Bureau within the Montana Department of Labor & Industry’s Business Standards Division. Unlike some other states, Montana centralized most of the building code creation and enforcement activity at the state level.
As expected, Montana's building codes are primarily taken from the ICC's model codes like the International Residential Code and International Building Code. The state does modify the model codes with Montana-specific adjustments within Title 24, Chapter 301 of the Administrative Rules of Montana.
Cities, towns, and counties are able to locally enforce building codes in Montana, but these local codes must be the same codes that were adopted by the state. And the local building officials and entire code enforcement program must be certified by the state as well.
Local jurisdictions that choose not to enforce building codes themselves instead fall under state jurisdiction. So really, either way, the state is running the show for building codes. The main difference is if your point of contact for permission and enforcement is local or not.
Given Montana's northern latitude and elevation, thermal insulation, snow accumulation, and foundation frost depth are all significant construction concerns. These aren't exclusively container home issues as they affect all types of construction, but you'll need to ensure that your container home is designed with these issues in mind.
In addition, you also may need need to plan for elevated wind speeds. Both cold fronts out of Canada and so-called Chinook winds both contribute to strong wind movements in some Montana locations that could cause problems for container homes that aren't designed to take them into account.
We already touched on a few weather-related issues in Montana that your container home needs to be designed for, all of which may have cost implications. Deeper foundations, stronger roofs and accessories, and thicker insulation can all affect the price of your container home in Montana.
The specific impact of these factors is a little tough to gauge and depends on a lot of site-specific variables, given the diversity of Montana's geography. For that reason, we can't give a clear cost breakdown of a Montana container home here for you.
But, we can offer you something almost as good. Click over to our free Container Home Calculator where you'll be able to get a rough cost estimate for your project by answering a few quick questions about your build.
Below are some of our favorite Montana shipping container homes, restaurants, apartments, offices, and other container projects.