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Old 01-19-16, 11:41 AM   #1
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Default Shipping Container Homes

Are shipping container homes more eco-friendly than traditional buildings?






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Old 01-22-16, 01:15 PM   #2
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I don't really think so. In order to properly insulate the containers you either loose most your inside space or you have to spend a lot of money cutting and welding to make them usable. Plus now the price is going up more and more on them. Maybe good idea if you live in FL and want to paint in silver to reflect tons of light/heat. But you still need insulation.
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Old 01-23-16, 02:38 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MEMPHIS91 View Post
In order to properly insulate the containers you ... loose most your inside space...
"most" implies more than half of the inside space.

Do you really think that is true?

I have seen quite a few European projects, and they are all insulated on the interior with spray foam, and then the wall covering of your choice.

Any conversion that looks like a container on the outside is insulated on the inside. Just look at the examples in the first post of this thread.

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Old 01-23-16, 03:04 PM   #4
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Ac, ah yes the word most there is out of place. I had not considered spray foam due to the cost.
I guess I'm still to Americanized to think small space.
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Old 01-24-16, 01:27 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by MEMPHIS91 View Post
I don't really think so. In order to properly insulate the containers you either loose most your inside space or you have to spend a lot of money cutting and welding to make them usable. Plus now the price is going up more and more on them. Maybe good idea if you live in FL and want to paint in silver to reflect tons of light/heat. But you still need insulation.
I think it depends on the construction techniques used. Someone could set up a frame/insulation on the exterior instead of the interior. And if they did insulate the interior, the outside would make the perfect base for a solar thermal hot water system. I guess like most things, it depends on what you do with it.
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Old 01-23-16, 09:37 AM   #6
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I disagree completely. Container homes can be made very eco-friendly. It all depends on the upfront planning and design work. As with any home, good plans are essential to sound construction and ensure a lot less trial and error later.

As far as material goes, much of the superstructure can be made from recycled containers. There is no shortage of containers, there are literally millions Of used containers being traded every year. Finding a suitable used container is merely a matter of inspection. In general, even an aged shipping container is at least as durable as a normal wood and plastic stick built home.

As far as finishing and aesthetics go, container homes are favored by people who like an industrial or modern style over a more traditional look. With both types of homes, insulation, plumbing, heating, and ventilation must be added to the structure. Different sites and climates will require different solutions. Within the same locality, these needs will be very similar. Again, more planning invested prior to the build pays off big time.

As far as time to build goes, a container home has a distinct advantage or few. Being a previously manufactured product, the container does not need to be built from the ground up. An average stick home takes around six months to build, and dozens of workers of many disciplines. A container home can be built by half a dozen people in a month easy. With both types of construction, custom work takes longer, but with most container homes, the skin is the exterior finish. With a stick built home, once the sheathing is on, there are still a few layers of exterior to finish.

As far as money goes, lots of elements between the two types of construction are nearly the same. Insulation, heating and cooling, interior fixtures, planning, windows, doors, etc. are comparable in price. Finding items to reuse or recycle can save oodles of costs. The superstructure is not that far apart between methods, either. A major difference is finding financing and zoning or building approvals. Due to the "abnormal" construction, the container home has an enormous disadvantage.

Designing eco-friendly elements into the home can be done on both types of structures. Again, costs are comparable. When all is said and done, what you put into the project is what you get from it. With a stick built home, you may or may not add much resale value by adding these options. Same thing with a container. As long as you are happy with the end product, and are proud enough to live in it, why should it matter?
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Old 01-23-16, 11:18 AM   #7
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I should have given more details than what I did. I have helped build one before. So here is what we ran into. First they must be sat on blocks or something else to keep them off the ground because the floors are wood. Crazy thick wood that you have to awesome die in order to get your 4" PVC plumbing into. Next big issue is the walls are not flat, they are beveled and are a pain to cut windows into as well as try to seal from water. Most containers are 7 feet 8-10 inches wide. With 6" stud walls for the needed insulation from the massive metal thermal bridge you loose another foot. Add dry wall and you loose anther 1" or more. You loose 8" on the ceiling. So already you have a tight tight tiny long box to live in. That is barely insulated to a mid climate standard.
Let's say you want to put serveral of them together to make it bigger, that's fine as long as you are making it wider but now you better weld those seems good or its going to leak. You also must keep the top painted because it rust quickly.
My body used 5 to make his place, and every day he wishes he would have jaw built a normal sick house. He spent just as much on the contained home as he would have a sick home that would have been better insulated. They MUST be shaded in the summer or they will run your cooling bull crazy heigh.

I guess if it's just one or two people and you can live in a one container tiny home, then it might really be best, but the time and effort it takes to cut and line up and reweld massive pieces of steel in my experience is a huge waster of torch gas, money and time.
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Old 01-23-16, 12:55 PM   #8
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Steve, I guess I didn't think of adding the insulation to the outside. I guess you could use magnets to hang pictures and things. And the deck on top is another good idea.
Do you think building like this is cheaper than the wood it would take to build a stick home?
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Old 01-23-16, 11:00 AM   #9
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I just finished work with an architect here in Oklahoma City who is doing modular homes with shipping containers. He only uses what he calls "mega containers" that have just over a nine foot interior headroom.

To maximize interior space, we are leaving the inside as the "raw" metal. All wiring, plumbing, ducts, etc are on the outside. Then we foam the outside and put an exterior finish (metal, wood, brick, stone etc) over that. The last is the roof that can also be a deck.

The costs are amazing. In today's market, costs of less than $50 per square foot are easily done (lot not included) including kitchen (and appliances). I find this simply astounding as kitchens are typically very expensive ($10-15/sq foot of total house).

The containers come out of Houston and shipping them up here is almost as costly as the container (total of ~ $3500). However, a lot of truckers want to avoid a dead head return to OKC so they will put on a contained for the return at a low cost.

The low total cost is because of the ease of putting in utilities (electric, potable water, gray and black water and some air ducting (ERV), the several hour application of foam insulation (R30) and then the use of steel panel exterior. Three of these containers are easily handled by a two ton (24 K BTU) heat pump and conditioned interior air (ERV) are also necessary.

I can't WAIT to do a pressure test as the steel boxes are essentially air tight to start with.

For people that like the urban "industrial" look, these are perfect.

Not only that, but the zoning, permitting and building boards in Oklahoma City are excited to have them put in. Now THAT is a distinct change!

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Old 01-23-16, 04:46 PM   #10
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It's all about the planning, I'm tellin ya.


quick and simple


little more custom


ultimately awesomely popout

Last edited by jeff5may; 01-23-16 at 05:16 PM..
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