building container home in Pahoa

[mitchie777]

I'm in the middle of the first container home that has been bonded, permitted, contracted and granted a loan for. There are some challenges as it is a case study home. I was hoping to get some feed back on a specific issue regarding furring the inside to prep for a plywood finnish application. We are welding metal furring to the inside walls but the high heat of the weld leaves scars on the surface finish of the exposed walls of the container which I want to keep pristine. The containers do have that 'slightly used container character but I dont want to make any more than it already has. Any ideas on this would be a huge help.

[Rob Tucker]

Steel has a lot of very positive properties but thermal is not one of them. Steel is very heat and cold sensitive. What you need to do is NOT weld furring strips to the container. Go for a 1-1/2" light gauge steel track and stud interior wall and, if possible. place some rigid insulation between the stud wall and the exterior steel.

Set the tracks on the floor and ceiling. DO NOT have the light gauge steel touch the container walls unless you want to build a very large radiator (that issue could be less important if direct sun will not hit your container).

Good luck.

[gtill]

This might sound a little wild, but paint the walls with a non impervious, rust coating, all sides, top and ends. Now lay the unit on one side, apply masonry bonding agent to both out and inside walls. Now pour a levelling coat of lightweight concrete to both sides.
Flip over and treat the other side the same. Should give two bulletproof, insulated walls.
For the ends, pieces could be precast, and actually, with mold release, the whole unit could be precast as individual strips and applied in the field.
For horizontal holding, mabe cheap strapping tape applied with a spot welder for minimum damage to container. I think spot welding could be the one for most lighteight holding.

[Carey]

The C channel idea of Robs' is the best, just make the walls as if you are doing interior steel stud walls (Bob Villa has some great tips on metal stud walls, as does the e-how site)...

I have a ??? why are you putting plywood up on the interior? (for stable attachment or for looks, or...?) Not sure I would go with it, unless very well treated for termite (you should see what the buggers did to plywood in this house!) (I know some think we are a little over the top, but it is very impressive to see the damage they do in a couple of decades, left unchecked, even 8 years is enough for noticeable chewing on the untreated wood of most exterior door frames... we have learned a lot in 3 years! )

With a container, I think I would go with a non mold/mildew growing interior surface...

A good radiant barrier is a must - there are exterior paints & Reflectix foil that are both good..

[Royall]

Cary, who would thing THAT??[][]

Royall

What goes around comes around!

[MarkP]

I have a container and I have slept in it. It gets very cold at night but some of that is because I prop the doors open so I can't get locked in. I am usually up and out with the sun so I can't comment on the heat in the day I have entered in the day of course to retrieve tools and I can't say that it is all that bad although I am only in and out. The conclusion I have come to is that the single most important thing to do is put on a roof with as large an overhang as possible. Keep the sun off of as much of it as possible. This also helps with the cold at night. Further insulation would be good but go to the source of the problem first, the radiant heating and cooling of the metal.

[MarkP]

I am planning to furnish the above container and make it liveable. Now it is a dark cave but that will be fixed by putting in windows. I also plan to put up 3" metal studs recessed into the low spots and put up sheetrock. I don't plan to spend much time or effort insulating. The sheetrock will add thermal mass which with our average temperatures here will go a long ways towards ensuring a comfortable living space. Insulation will require a certain thickness which I feel I can't afford due to the narrowness of the container and the required clearances for everything, and I really think it will be OK if I keep the sun off of it.

[rosek]

I am planning on buying a couple containers to put on my acre. Anyone know what the footing requirements are? Also, where is the best place to get a generator?
I appreciate any info or input you might have. Thanks

[David M]

I intend to finish out a container. Haven't done it yet, but was thinking of using Hardi panel, using an adhesive bond to the high ribs. I'm concerned that any type of furring plus 1/2" sheetrock will take up precious inches. I figure the electrical can be done in a chase at the intersection of wall/ceiling and dropping in the recess behind the hardi panel. This container is totally under a separate roof so I'm not too concerned with the sun exposure.

Rosek - you can get generators at any of the big box stores, Whitecap, from the generator shop in Shipman, off Craigslist or ebay or individual installers. Perhaps asking about a specific generator with result in a better answer. Personally, I've bought 1 @ HD (7500watt), 2 off ebay - Honda EU3000, New Holland 24kw.

David


Ninole Resident

[tada]

Are you the Mitch from fabprefab? If so I'm happy to see you didn't disappear off the side of the earth and given up on your dreams since that means u might pave the way for my dream house![]

The timing is interesting since I called affordableportablehousing on Thursday about buying a container but when I made a very preliminary inquiry about a container house plan Mr affordableportable went into his spiel:

He said every container house plan submitted by everybody else was rejected by the county but every one of his plans been approved.

I asked how much it cost to submit a plan so he tick off cost for drafting and applications- I didn't know what he was talking about and you wouldn't want to interupt him as he is quite passionate about this stuff though he did say the total cost about $2500- does that sound right?

He said financing is difficult this project.

I mentioned I had the hi-cube container with the 10foot ceiling and that I needed the square footage so would it be possible to lay the container on it's side for max sq footage then he shot me down saying he had a good relationship with the county and wasn't going to jeopardize it by submitting anything funny.

Good thing I didn't mention my other idea- to use one side of a container to wall off a berm sort like Hobbitville but then I don't know what this property looks like yet since I don't have it- another good reason not to place an application now.

My other idea was to place a chemtainer on top of the container for figuratively not literally "green" gravity fed water but I do understand it need to be reinforced. Plan B is sit the chemtainer on the berm so he don't hang up on me next time I call.

Other people want to make friends- I just want to make money.
James Cramer