/diy/ - Do It Yourself

There are 6 fucking threads about shipping containers right now.

>>39792
They're cheap.
Plentiful.
You can make almost anything out of them

>DIY

/diy/ - Shipping containers

how much does one cost?

how cheap can you get shipping containers?

>>39801
>>39803
Depends a lot on local pricing. You can sometimes get them free at the dock, but the cost to move them is non-trivial.

>You can sometimes get them free at the dock
really?
as in... stealing them?

>>39800
>/diy/ - shipping containers and hydroponics

>>39810
No, just claiming the cast-offs. Stealing one would be hard. They're a bit too big to discreetly slide down your pants.

Central Ky the avg cost we found was 40fters at $1200 and 20ft at $1900

40ft outnumber the 20fters 10:1 though

>>39826
sorry you'll have to excuse my ignorance but what do you mean by claiming the cast-offs?

>>39835
Forgot to add we bought 7 40ft for 6600 delivered to the site. If you're gonna be serious and buy, buy a few more and sell them if you don't need them

>>39836
the usa imports more than it exports. it is generally cheaper to just make new ones in china than to ship them the empties. we scrap them to make cars and shit.

tl;dr many crates are single use.

>>39826

Unless you have some big pants.

In all seriousness, though, do many people live in these storage crate houses that they build, or are they just like club houses or weekend homes? I can't imagine it would be easy to insulate them, heat them, wire electricity and everything and manage to make them look attractive without basically removing the thing that makes them unique.

>>39836
"cast-offs" is the same as "trash". Find ones that aren't deemed fit to ship with, and take them. The people who run the dock will be glad for you to take them away, and they won't be in too bad condition to use for housing.

>>39852
They make fantastic basement extensions for homes. Thats what 3 of ours is going to

>>39852
Not very many people live in them, but they're not too hard to heat or wire. There are some nice places made of them that I've seen posted here, but I haven't saved any.

>>39868

Are there any issues with them getting too hot inside? Living between thick metal walls seems like a death trap of heat in the summer.

>>39868
yeah i need to start saving all the good pictures and stuff i see of them on here...

here's one of my favorite ones

>>39906
If that's anything other than a "hunting lodge" or weekend cabin then it's fucking embarrassing

>>39918
The professional ones usually have better pain jobs.

>>39882
You have the same problem with any house in the summer, whether you make it yourself out of a shipping container, make it yourself out of something else, or pay rent to The Man. I imagine the easiest solution would be a window-mountable AC unit and white panels on the outside, but you could do the mass walls thing with piles of earth, cob, bricks, or what-have-you. Rigging a passivhaus air exchange would be straightforward too. But the window AC might be simplest; you're only talking about cooling a 320 sq foot space.

>>39918
what about it is embarrassing?

>>39930
i actually really like the paint job... its a nice mix between new and old with the addition that looks really new and the recycled containers that look weathered

>>39938
I think just the lack of paint job and finishing. It would look really nice otherwise.

>>39938
I agree, I don't see why its "embarrassing" to live modestly. Fuck this bourgeois consumerist bullshit. You are not your fucking house. Your worth is not measured in square feet of living space. You are not your million-dollar mortgage. It does not make you cool to live in a mass-produced McMansion that is inefficient as fuck, built on what used to be a forest, only to name the streets after the trees they bulldozed, and absent any sidewalks because LOL PEASANTS.

>>39946
It's not embarrassing because it's modest, it's embarrassing because it looks like it was just tacked together with no effort. Also that "foundation" looks like it would splinter and drop the whole building if a small tree hit the house. Although looking again, it could be concrete poles, in which case that part would be fine.

>>39826
Is that a shipping container in your pants or are you just happy to see me?

>>39946
Eat a cock. Theres nothing wrong with being proud enough of your dwelling to make it look nice. If you're proud of your Whirlpool washer/dryer box then more power to you, but even those of us in modest homes want them to not look like some South American shit hole shanty

>cos I didn't get enough of 30186...

>>39960
only on 4chom will someone tell you to eat a cock when they agree with you but are nitpicking the quality of the paintjob, which they cannot fathom others might enjoy

>>39965
only on 4chom will someone tell you that they enjoy rust as a paintjob

>smh

>>39970

Why not build with wood?.

1) it doesn't rust (couse' it's wood).
2) varnish is fucking awsome.
....
3) shipping containers support metal mining and the hazards that mining has
4) Wood supports plantation of trees.

think about it.

>>39980
Wood isn't as cheap or convenient to build with.

For those who don't build with containers as a 'political' statement, containers are great.

>>39980
It was cheaper to sink a steel container in the ground and pour cement around it as an extension to my brothers basement than building from scratch.

>>39980
4chan aspies would burn themselves to death if they used wood.

How would I keep the container from getting hot as fuck during the summer? I imagine spending time in there during the summer would be like a sweat lodge

>>39980
Wood supports clearcutting and deforestation. Just because something could be done sustainably doesn't mean it is.

>>39987
This is the future of this board sadly. Everytime someone wants to do something their own way or be meticulous with a project it's gonna be a flood of /b/ trolls shouting Asspie! or Assburgers shit.
I've enjoyed the first few days around here but I don't expect it to be up much longer

>>39998
Just ignore them, they only win if you let them, hurrah!

>>39995

In the same way a mine isn't more sustainable.

Wood makes you plant trees if you want it.
Iron makes you dig.
Reforestation is ocurring in lot of places in the world while deforestation ocurres at the same time in other places.

>>39980
Using shipping containers is a form of recycling that reduces the amount of industrial garbage piling up. They're inexpensive and do not rely on harvesting trees. Rust does become an issue that you must deal with by treating the material, but wood has similar issues with water, namely mold and rot. Wood is also vulnerable to termites.

Now why would a hippy recommend cutting down a tree? I don't understand libruls. I live in a librul enclave, The People's Republic of Davis, where teenagers stalk the groceries handing out "save the earth" literature, and every winter everyone heats their homes with food fires. Fucking tiny town in the middle of nowhere gets air pollution like Los Angeles. Makes no fucking sense.

>>40005
Re-using a shipping container does not increase the amount of mining. You are not contributing to the demand for containers. You are making what mining does occur more efficient. Compared to the amount of mining or deforestation that would occur for a McMansion, you are reducing the amount of mining and total resource consumption.

>>40016
*wood fires

>>40016
> they love trees so much that they burn food to keep warm

>>40016
>The People's Republic of Davis
Dixon here, corridor represent

Also I think you fail to realize how bad the polution is in LA.

>>40031
Burn wood for fires. Sorry for misspelling a word on the internet.

>>40038
Fair enough, I have not seen a side-by-side comparison of data, but I have lived here, and it gets bad. Really bad. People with respiratory illnesses can't leave the house. I have no such illnesses, and I can't leave the house without coughing and hacking and feeling like I'm going to die. Visibility is limited and a layer of fine ash settles on things. The smoke from the wood fires is particularly high in particulates and hangs particularly low, and gets exacerbated by winter fog. Coal and oil burn relatively clean compared to wood, to say nothing of natural gas. So unless LA is like the aftermath of Mount Saint Helens on a daily basis I'm gonna call this one "close enough."

>>39983

I always wanted a cool underground layer where my most signifigant belongings as well as a weather shelter would go. If I buried some shipping containers it would make for an easy layer

To anyone wondering how to keep the container cool maybe this might help

http://earthbagplans.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/desert-submarine/

>>40103
Shipping containers don't hold up well to burial. You're better off just making a regular basement.

>>40103
Lair.

>>40132
/thread

>>39946
I sold a house (that I had no trouble making payments on) to live in a trailer. I'm happy as a clam.

4 stack

>>40289
Want.
So much want

totally my style

mackin'

>>39777
How the fuck do you get shipping containers not to bake you during summer and hypothermia the fuck out of you during winter?

waterfront apartments

>>40299
Insulation bro.

You know they use them to ship frozen goods etc too right? Things like insulation are pretty high on the list of priorities.

If they didn't then on the high seas all the goods would be roasted under the sun.

>>40299
I mean, I ask you guys because I've worked unloading furniture out of these things and if it's 100 degrees outside, it'll feel like 180 inside.
And it's the exact opposite in winter.

>>40308
Thanks for your answer. I will now look for insulation related info.

>>40309
I expect not all of them are insulated, but some certainly are. Besides that you can just put the insulation in yourself :)

>>40289
Looks very nice but if you're going to put your shipping containers inside a portal frame style shed that would make it a lot more expensive.

Is this containerhouse-thing becoming the equivalent of /fa/'s WAYWT?

>>40289
The slab alone would be hugely expensive; ALTHOUGH - possibly to diy.

Constructing a shed that size to put containers in feels a bit counter productive; you could do way better using 80/20 and wood to create a modular environment you can change up.

>>40337
>>40362
Definitely a more expensive option but the amount of internal space within the structure is quite attractive. This does create a problem of keeping the place warm/cool but you could just maintain the temperatures within individual containers I suppose.

>>40300
I've designed something similar.

2x40ft containers, burried/eartshipped on the sides with doors on both ends open, with sun-tunnels along the roof. Cost about 9k to build.

part-way through designing my shiphouse. ignore the dodgy colours, they're easier on my eyes.

more pics will be added as i get more done

>>40991
pic number 2

>>40994
Good show, brah. I've got a similar design in the works. Earthshipped on three sides, and a split level greenhouse and sunroom/patio in the enclave.

I'm using 53' containers on the bottom, and 40' on the top. Probably going to end up reinforcing the upper level with I beams.

My entrances will be through an underground garage on the backside, and a gazebo on the roof. Where are your entrances?

>mfw this thread

Seems nice, but wouldn't it get extremely cold during the winter?
How does it hold up against extreme heat or cold?

>>41055
Its been asked and answered about 5 times in the thread.

The answer is insulation, just like any other enclosed structure.

>>41055
The same way it handles burglars. You're fucked,

this thread needs less wild speculation by anons with no experiences or training in engineering, architecture or construction and instead needs more pics :3

Great pics, great thread, very creative stuff...
>dowant.jpg

My question is:

How do you know it wasn't carrying lead or some carcinogenic materials before you repurposed it?

>>41162
Wash it.

>>41165
>>41162
Really, just wash it. I can carry rolls of lead in the trailer, then go pick up a load of onions with no fucks given by anyone. Its isn't like we carry lead or uranium blown into the back in powder form.

>>41021
planning on using the original doors of the containers as the lower-floor doors, and the upstairs balconys will be accessed through a door i'm gonna have to cut out of the sides.

updated:

>>41177
Even if it was filled with powdered uranium up to the brim, a pressure washer will take care of that. Of course, I wouldn't want the uranium powder washed into the area that I would make into a veggie garden, but that's not likely anyway.

>>41184
That's why when you're getting them delivered you pay an extra $40 for them to take it to a trailer washout first before it gets dropped off.

>>41181
Really? How are you going to modify the trailer doors? They're a bitch to close from the outside, and impossible to operate from the inside.

>>41189
tbh, it'll probably boil down to BFI(brute force and ignorance), but im a fairly skilled general handyman so i'm thinking a simple locking mechanism that works with the existing mech. i don't want to have to keep the doors open permanently and fit a standard doorframe

>>41203
It'd probably be easier to just weld the doors shut and cut out a door frame so you don't have to worry about door swing, hinge sag, weather stripping, insulating a moving wall, etc.

>>39865

>basement extensions for homes. Thats what 3 of ours is going to

Previous thread discussed how they would be bad for basements. They are strong on the sides, and the weight of the soil would make the walls bend.

>>41212

yeah, it just seems like a bit of a shame really. just had a thought though, and i'll see if i can implement it in Sketchup now

>>41212
also, just dug up the picture of the location i'm aiming for.

>>41213
We've done it before and they've done fine. They're being reinforced as well so we have no worries about it. We had considered pouring on top to make a second back porch but scrapped it.

>>41234
What size lot is it? and what city.
>inb4 Detroit

Here's a simple question that I never saw addressed in the many threads:

I see a lot of shipping containers that are on some sort of posts or otherwise above the ground in some way. How do you do that part? Don't you need a crane or something to lift it? Why not have it right on the ground?

>>41234
>container home
>within city limits

Good luck with that, man. I'm building mine on an 80 acre farm.

>>41239

it's about a 16-hour flight away from america, so not detroit :P further than that, i can't reveal 'cause it's too close to my present house. And it's about 2 acres i think. been up for sale for years so i've decided to start looking into it.

>>41240

The reason you don't sit them directly on the ground i would assume is due to rot. keeping water away from metal is a good idea if you don't want a million and one rot issues later in life.

How wide/tall are these 40' containers?

>>41240
Yeah, you do need a crane.

People like having multi-level homes.

Also, not having them flood in a heavy rain is nice.

>>41248
They're usually 8'6" tall, and between 98" and 102" wide.

>>41257
>those are interior sizes

>>41243

i live in a small town in northern england, so in all honesty i don't see any major issues with it. but before i actually invest any real money into this i'm speaking to the planning department and bank and a couple of lawyers to check, double check and triple check that they'll actually allow me to build this fucker :D

op here, glad this thread survived over night.

so is the general consensus that burying these would be a bad idea? for example using them to build a "hobbit house" type thing.


>>40994
this looks pretty great, thanks for sharing. what program is that you're using?

>>41260
Hey truckerfag. Nice anon from that DIY house thread. Any other areas you know with cheap land. I'm really not a fan of Detroit. Preferably something further south that isn't Arizona.

>>41257
>>41257
Wow. You guys are awesome and inspiring.

As a welder, I could imagine that using some .045 dual shield would be enough to make these things nearly indestructible in combination. And an oxygen lance would slice em apart like butter.

I'm curious though about zoning, etc.

>>41274
>>41274
Also, the types of paint that would make them resistant to oxidation/corrosion.

Maybe auto paint?

>>41273
I don't really care for cities, but farmland prices are booming right now. Texas and oklahoma land is still dirt cheap because of the drought. A lot of farms are in foreclosure, and the sellers are desperate enough to parcel out land.

I've got a double plot of land in champaign IL i'd be willing to part with for $15,000 that's big enough for one of these things and is walking distance from the shopping district.

>>41291
Just kind of hoping these trends last until I get the cash and job security to buy a plot of land. I'd be cool with IL or TX.

>>41282
>auto paint
Cars rust like a motherfucker.

I'd personally do two coats of POR-15 under a coat of spray in bed liner. It'd probably last 30 years at most.

latest concept shot! changed the upstairs windows and i finally feel like i'm getting somewhere

>>41315
I'd put in a sky light on that upstairs portion.

>>41272

>so is the general consensus that burying these would be a bad idea? for example using them to build a "hobbit house" type thing.

Yes. I saved a previous thread:

>engineer here with some back of the envelope estimations:

>If the container were buried under under grade, the sides would almost certainly need to be reinforced to prevent bowing. This is especially important if you intend to inhabit the container. If you intend to load the roof with soil, it would almost certainly need to be reinforced as well. Methods of reinforcement vary.

>When burying anything metallic underground, one should also consider the impact of galvanic corrosion. Unless the container was properly sealed from the outside, it's unlikely that the super structure would last more than a couple of years. To me, the whole container would need to be sprayed with some kind of sealant that would probably cost as much as the container did -- that is, to do it "right".

>Footings and drainage are also important, depending on the depth of the water table. Otherwise, you could end up with a couple inches of water in your container. Or, the container could settle unevenly into the soil. Frost heaving probably wouldn't be an issue if the container was placed completely below grade (unless you're in some kind of crazy-cold climate).

>Intake and exhaust air, when buried, are also crucially important both from a "not-suffocate-to-death" and a humidity perspective. Realistically, unless you put a lot of thought into it, expect everything to seem damp.

>.. There's a huge amount to consider, especially if you want to bury the container underground AND live in it. Permanent, and unoccupied, storage is a different story and you could probably cut a lot more corners.

>>41322

i'm thinking about it, but a lot of the roofs of the containers i'm planning to use as either balconies or gardens. Effecient use of space, instead of buying a massive plot of land to have a garden, just chuck it on the roof :P

>>41282
For the ultimate anti-rust paint, you want POR15.

>>41326
Modern hanging gardens. I like it.

>>41325
thats exactly the information i was looking for, thanks.

that's a bummer though. i always assumed the shipping containers would be strong enough to withstand the weight of dirt on top of them.

>>41336
>>41336

as stated in the thread, they're designed to be sacked, the structural members in the container are around the perimeter. If you center-load the corrugated flashing/siding of the container it will almost certainly bow. I'm not saying it'll collapse, but it *will* bow. Then, good luck framing it out and having a reasonable place to habitate.

Consider 1 cubic-yard of soil. It has a wet-weight of approximately 3000 lbs. On the superstructure, this isn't a big deal -- but in the center of a 8' foot span made of corrugated steel flashing, you will have a problem. Expect several cubic yards of soil to load the container, even if it's only a foot-or-two under grade.

>>41315
>mail slot on door

srs tho you need more windows. Where are you getting the specs for the windows anyway they are gonna be prefab vynl so you shouldnt spend to long coming up with your own dimensions if its just gonna cost more for custom. Also, as an architectural critique; im already confused, where is the front door at? You said you are going to use the existing door but you have three of those on the ground floor. As a guest/pizza guy/FBIvann im not going to have any clue how to get into this place. It almost looks like two separate homes(?) the way you have it arranged And if I wanna get to the far side do I walk outside or do I have to go over the bridge and up and down and all that. Also you really should be mapping out the sq.ft' and number of rooms and shit you want before you start doing all this exterior work on the windows because the interior dictates the exterior not the other way around (normally). Not hatin just sayin'

one of my critiques with most of these shipping container plans is you either have to cut them up so much to open the spaces that they no longer look like shipping containers or you keep them as is and its like living in a train car. You cant really do open floor plans with these things and seriously fuck hallways

>>41346

as i've been saying all along: these are concept images. i can pull out the original concept image to show you how it's been developing if you want me to.

and at present; the window and door models are being pulled off the sketchup models website. i can get custom windows, glass, doors etc at trade price through my contacts, as well as the shipping containers, timbers etc. i'll start working on the bottom floor now, as i'm fairly happy with the upstairs (and i could probably do with working on the bottom floor :P )

latest update: keep the stairs, or put something more simple in?

>>41366
Stairs take up too much space. Go with a ladder against the side

How exactly do you cut them open for windows, doors, etc?

>>41376
Angle grinder/oxy-acetylene cutting torch/oxygen lance... there's a plethora of ways to cut steel

>>41369
a ladder would make it seem more like a clubhouse than a house. but making stairs fit and not be a eyesore would be a doozy...

if i were you i would honestly just completely remove the stairs and not use the top of that highest container.

>>41380
also... not sure if this has been brought up but: the design seems cool but at the same time dont you think itd be weird and really annoying to have to walk outside (especially in the winter months) to get to that other ground floor container?
unless you have some plan to add an addition or roof like this example: >>41136

>>41387
stairs to the top container in each side. that, and the single container on the right hand side is going to be more of a workshop/store room than anything, with the upstairs being a bedroom/bathroom and the downstairs being general living.

>>41346

It's not far off living on a boat in terms of the 'hallway' nature of things, especially in the UK where we have narrowboats. You can get around this in your designs.

>>41391

So your front door would open into your bedroom? Doesn't seem like a great idea. I'd stick with a ground-level entrance.

>>41394

the downstairs is the entrance :P at the minute, just been working on getting placeholders in to see how it'll look. then, the real shit when i actually start fucking about with things

>>39826

Not my pants. I could make room for them.

'bootin..
This photo is from Iraq, but they are doing something similar in Afghanistan for cheap housing...

From what I saw in Bagram, certain branches of the military had better accommodations than others, esp when they were the ones doing the construction..Building connex barracks that looked like they belonged in Martha Stewarts War zone collection of houses. (shit looked SO CASH!)

>>41315
I would definitely put a pool in the center of that

I've wanted one of these for the past few years. Cheap to make but still requires a substantial sum of money because you ARE building a structure so it's not like it's gonna be free or anything...just way cheaper. Also you gotta find a large enough plot of land for it so it rules out lots of the narrower lots in the city.

I really dig the one that was in the new Tron movie. Once I get enough money saved up that's basically the way I'll want mine built.

>>41471
btw here it is in concept art form

>>41482
>Tron concept art
mahnigga.png

>>41417
im not sure if im making this up or not but i think those are prefab at a factory to fit the size of a shipping container but are not actually made FROM shipping containers, if that makes sense.

1000 shipping container houses
http://sightbywalk.blogspot.com/2011/02/keetwonen-biggest-container-housing.html

>>41471
compare the £20,000-£50,000 to buy the land and fully build a shipping container home vs the £120,000 to buy a terraced house (2 bedrooms upstairs, 2 rooms downstairs, maybe an extension if you're lucky), and suddenly it seems a lot more doable.

>>41544
Nope, they started as containers...

http://www.aed.usace.army.mil/extrememakeover/index1.html

My idea of a perfect house has shifted from beach front property to the boonies, living in something like this >>41104
Why do you do this to me /diy/?

>>39835
Kentuckyfag here, thanks for the price quote!

>>41315
What program is that?

>>41822
it fucking says it on the goddamn picture

>>41822
SketchUp, google's free thing.

>>41326
They only problem I see with that is, when you water the plants, and the water pools ontop of the steel, what happens when the steel starts to rust?

>>41881
pond liner on top of it, mate

Couldn't you rent a backhoe or something to dig a big hole and just put another one under what you're already planing for an easy basement?

>>41961
The sides would bow like a motherfucker.

>>41961
Just had this thought a second ago.
I'm no engineer and I don't know how well the side walls of the container will handle side loading from surrounding soil.

>>41881
If it rusts, you scrape, grind, sand, or sandblast the rust away and paint it again.
Or just get an aluminum shipping container and not worry about that.

>>41366
Got any more progress shots?

>>41482
Shit, I wish I wasn't imagining my life-as-a-hermit in this container house right now.

It's going to be in my head for days.

Here's my question. Say that you did the very basics to make a 40 ft container into a modern living quarter, how much would it cost per foot?

And by modern living quarter, I mean doing some framing with 2x4's, running electricity, insulating, drywalling, and putting a sheeted deck and cheap tile floor down. I know that it'll vary based on the cost of materials, and the quality of the work. I'm thinking of the cheapest shit you can do to make it seem like you're not living in a corrugated steel box. Also, I have some idea of what a bathroom and kitchen cost, and can factor that in afterwards.

I've been carefully considering the problem of container houses in the northern hemisphere, namely, that of heat in the summer.

Suddenly, it occurred to me that the best possible solution would be to construct a combination of solar panels in conjunction with modular hydroponic systems designed to produce food on the roof.

Or maybe just modular hydroponic systems. This could be used in combination with geothermal and wind power.

The plants would absorb much of the heat in the summer. In the winter the snow would help to insulate. There would be plenty of room for a patio up on the roof too, if one were to construct a container house like >>40289
>>40289

Anyway, that's what I would do.

>>41262
im also from northern england, well north eastern i suppose.. nice to see other people round here using these ideas

>>41938
belgian or dutchfag?
Do you have more information about the legality of this? (i'm belgian)

Would I be able to just buy a piece of land and put one of those things on it.

Also: what's the resell value of this after 20-30 years?

This thread is not done yet...

..this thread is

What U.S. state would one have the least amount of hassle with trying to build one of these???

Are there states that have zoning laws that prohibit these in smaller cities or in suburban areas?? or do you basically just rely on building these on land you buy in the country??

Biggest problem is corrosion.

This is why you do NOT want to bury them, even if you do reinforce them...the walls will rot out slowly.

With that being said, if you're above ground, a 5 gal bucket of Rustoleum paint with a sprayer goes a long way.

>>42803

Texas. I shit you not.

In an eight-foot wide container, there isn't a lot of interior room; insulation and tacking in drywall would take a bit of planning.

I'm thinking you could weld pieces of threaded rod to the inside walls to attach studs (you'd probably have to do something like 2"x4"s the short way, with the 4" side parallel to the wall). Alternately, you could do metal studs, but I don't know how hard those would be to weld to the wall of the shipping container.

Either way, you could hang drywall off of that, and blow in some foam insulation.

>>42856
The spray expanding foam stuff works great. 2x4 wood spacers, then put drywall over that.

housing crisis look what you have done

>>42803
Most states, provided you're not building in city limits. You have to check building codes to see how far they extend from the city limit.

bump for the bump gods

>>42874
personally i was thinking of insulating the exterior. instead of putting drywall inside (And lowering the usable space), put marine ply outside, then fill with the expanding foam. as well, it'll help solve rot problems as long as the exterior construction is fairly watertight. I know a lot about wood, but not as much about steel, so why not surround my steel with wood?

i can imagine with the amount of modification to the containers in OP's pic, it would be easier and cheaper to have built it from scratch - probably with SIPS for example.
it's often a false economy to modify something which isn't right just to save on materials, when actually you're losing far more in labour costs.

>>44325

1) this is diy so there are no labor costs
2) wether this is viable or not depends on the area where you live and if there are plenty of cheap containers

in most places I imagine a quahog set would be cheaper

Like I give a fuck about the environment, i just want a cheap serviceable house thats efficient. Compared to a earth ship (look it up, a recycled home built into a hill) what is the total price for a simple 700 sq foot buiding?

>>39826
It would be smaller than the other thing down there...

>>40289
That doesn't even look like a home. If I lived there it would fee like I lived in a workshop or rec center...

>>42815
That's where I live and I feel like it's almost impossible climate and space wise. (Houston)

>>44450
Better than virginia. We have draconian building laws. Why the land value is so high.

>>44456
Try south Florida son.

>>42856

you could also hang foam panels on the outside, and stucco over them. i saw that shit done on brick houses in europe and shit. then for the interior just make a real basic frame for the drywall (1x1 spacers 16 inches o.c. i guess)

Dunno if I'd like living in one but it'd be a nice detached workshop or lumber drying shack. Question is where the hell you'd put it in a major city.

Think docks would be amenable to you renting out a container kept on the wharf?

If you are using an insulated container and want windows, how do you cut the metal without seriously messing with the insulation?

>>45551
Remove the insulation before cutting or cut before you insulate. If it's blown insulation, good luck. Most likely it will be something on a roll, so just roll it back, move it out of the way, cut, grind, etc.

>>44349
true that it's DIY - but it's still unlikely that anyone would build a house entirely on their own. i've fitted out several (they were re-fits, so the brick structure was walls/floors/stairs/roof but nothing else) right up to final fix, and with a team, it still took quite a while. there's a limit to what you can do by yourself within a reasonable time period. and time is money, depending on how you've financed the project. it might quickly end up being your only home if you had to sell where you lived to finance it.

also, the initial costs for getting these things shipped/in position is going to be much greater. many of the more adventurous designs here (stacked at right angles, one end on steel supports, etc) would involve a crane being on site for a while until all the welding/structural work was complete, since these things don't just float in mid-air... pretty costly.

not dissing containers - just mentioning a few things that you'd need to consider before taking them on as a project.

>>45551
in my experience, a plasma cutter will cause the least amount of stray heat and mess. if you're doing lots of cutting, they're also much quicker and less tiring to use than a gas-axe or worse still, a grinder.

I live very close to many major ports but...

I have never had any experience with architecture, welding, carpentry, etc.

Don't have enough money for it.

Does anyone know where to buy them and be able to have them delivered in the south-east Washington area?

>>46077
Check the ports in Tri-cities and Umatilla. Umatilla probably has next to none, but it's worth a phone call.

Also:
http://www.shipping-container-housing.com/used-shipping-container.html

Do cheap apartment complexes made out of these exist in any US cities?

would move there

Bamp

>>46268
this.
anyone know?

Here's My idea for a shipping house container. Thoughts?

>>46839
That's a huge house bro. The small ones are 20 feet long by 8 wide. The long ones are 40 feet long.

Second part, how they'd fit (As I imagine.

>>46845
Yup. Already thought of that. I'd like a fairly large house.
21 containers @ 4000$ each (Yes, they're cheaper than that, but that's what I imagine adding utilities would cost per.) +/-20k = 100k or less to finish the whole thing.

>>46839
so many walls! why not knock some out for a big family room or something?

>>46874
I never thought of using them upright before. That might make some really awesome high ceilings.

I could think of using about 8 of these.

2 for the bedroom, 1 for the bathroom, 3 for the living room, and two more for the kitchen.

engineer here:

I think a lot of the appeal of a shipping container house comes from the fact that it's like "grown-up-lego". But really, from a cost effectiveness standpoint, it's going to be really difficult to exceed some of the values of traditional construction.

You're going to end up with a much better product buy utilizing time-tested methods of building. Look at a scenario where you're trying to construct a 40'x40'x10' room. You could stack together eight shipping containers and achieve this, hypothetically. But, in reality it's not so simple. Consider the realities: Accurate positioning, Sealing, Fastening them together, Foundation, Drainage, Corrosion, Structural reinforcements, access, overall cost, AND, your bodged-together-result even if everything goes well.

Compare that to a standard, trussed structure on a reinforced concrete slab. Simple. Time tested. Cheap. Flexible.

And, this is *just* for a simple 40'x40'x10' room. Where, normally a shipping-container based solution *should* work best. To me, it seems like an architectural and structural nightmare to push it any further than this.

Now, where do modular shipping containers perform best? In my opinion: Portable, temporary living quarters. Buy a 40', frame it out, insulate it, run electrical, whatever. Spend 15k doing it absolutely right. Then, live in it while you're on site, in the middle of fucking nowhere, building a *real* home.

I was thinking of making something simple like this.

I'd also have domes on the property.

>>46889
lol 15k

>>46875
Because that would take out a lot of structural integrity. I intend for this thing to be a bunker... and underground. >_>

>>46909

I love people like you. Smug, but for no reason. Next time, before pressing "Submit", re-read what you wrote and figure out if it has any real value. Opposition and constructive criticism are one thing, but you're not backing up your opinion with any sort of rationale.

>>46910

>underground bunker
well that isn't going to be cheap why not just try to dig a hole and stuff some reinforced concrete down there?

>>46935
Then let me spell it out for you retard.

DURR HURRR HHHGGRURRRRR GRUP GRUP GRUP

Or in people language, its not gonna cost that much to supe up a shipping container.

>>46985
>its not gonna cost that much to supe up a shipping container.

It is if you pay some douche whose hobby is pretending to be an engineer on 4chan.

>>46935
My 2c. If someone wants to build a hobo castle mansion out of 40ft shipping containers, it means they don't want humming or hawing or "it-seems-to-me" that they should be doing something else than what they specifically wanted to do.

love the water.

modest little home

forest escape

I think the reason I want a shipping container house is because I used to live in a trailer half my life. Going back to those years, but making it more elegant, would be one of the best things ever to happen to be.

interesting design

>>47039

I'll keep my comments to myself, then. Clearly you're better off without. Haha. Have fun, kids :)

>>47250
Yea, im the smug one.

>>47039

fyi: i work in construction administration, a lot of companies sell prefab shipping containers built to be site offices. usually theyre 20' units though. But they sell for around 15k. Id guess a 40' unit would be more.

>>47281
>implying anyone here isn't going to buy a basic used one

How good are these things at hiding meth labs if one wanted to start one in a bunch of landlocked woods? Are they safe for this type of thing?

>>50214
good at setting up the place fast and moving it quickly I guess

just do this
http://dornob.com/suburban-camouflage-crazy-cool-green-mobile-home/

13 designs of $1000 dollar homes

http://web.mit.edu/1khouse/designs.htm

Here is a link to a guy who made a small recording studio out of two shipping
containers. Definitely something I'd like to trey out in the future.

http://johnlsayers.com/Studio/Mainpage/MP-Mark.htm

The update 2 link on the left shows the finished studio.

>>46889

fancy engineer didnt think to place two 40' containers 24 feet apart with a roof over it to create a 40'x40' living space

if you want to create a large living space you only need 2 containers and spend some money on a large industrial roof to cover it

>>51585

... and then live without complete walls, or a floor? good idea.

>>50353
I just picked one (hexa) and I don't believe at all that design would cost as little as 1k$, for just the materials. Looks to be the same for other designs.

Prefabricated garden sheds a lot smaller than those houses cost more than a grand.

what do you guys think about rendering the walls of the containers

>is it possible?
>if it is it will add asthetic apeal
>stability
>prevent rust
>helps with insulation

do you guys reckon its worth it

>>39800
shipping containers are to /diy/ what dragon dildos are to /v/

Also an engineer.

This might be a good idea for housing people in third world or war ravaged countries where the alternative might be "thatched roof," but that's about it.

>>46889
Dude, why would you make a 40'x40'x10' room out of shipping containers? the entire point of them is to minimalize the amount of area you're using. if you notice, the designs i've posted have a total square footage of 960 square feet, according to my numbers of (8*4)*3. if you want a large house, don't even think about piling a load of shipping containers together. it's just not cost-effective for large homes. Bachelor pads/small houses, perfect.

>>51818

That's my point, exactly.

> Bachelor pads/small houses, perfect.

The problem I've outlined apply to *anything* wider than 8 feet because you're stuck affixing two, or more containers together. I chose 40' x 40' simply because it's nominal. The same points apply to a 40'x20' unit.

You're stuck living in a width of 8' feet unless my points are addressed. Square footage aside, it's not an ideal width for any sort of architecture.

>>40005
>>40005
Don't criticize what you can't understand.

Here's my early design I came up with last night.

1280sqft pad (32x40)
1152sqft inside
128sqft porch

>>52624
nice

what progrma did you use to make that?
what's the material used for the front part?
are concerned about the sun heating the containers?

here are some links I like to watch for inspiration

http://dornob.com/living-on-waterworld-floating-future-ready-eco-home/
http://www.prefabcompacthome.com/
I was thinking of making mine like the cabin series

http://www.cabinfever.us.com/home.html

>>52693

http://sketchup.google.com/

The front part would just be wood framing

I'm not worried about them heating up, especially with a roof over them and the inside being part of the house... some insulation and a light color would keep them fine.

bump

Well you're slowly getting my sold on this idea /diy/.
As a carpenter, I kind of like the idea actually. They're pretty much prefabbed framing units - adult lego's like the engineer was saying.
And really, not only could you mix them with traditional building methods, I think the results of doing just that is what makes this idea interesting.
For instance, want to stucco your shipping containers for a sweet looking exterior finish? Why the hell couldn't you?
One question I really would want to look into is what the effects of cutting off an entire side would be - leaving the steel framework intact. How that would effect the structure's strength. Open-sided containers could be sweet in a variety of situations.

Gimps

>>55355
as long as you don't touch the frame it'll be fine

the sides are really there to protect against the environment and from stuff falling out

They are also great for live fire evolutions.

b

these is so cool

Some of the more creative ideas are small stores. Maybe if you have a small restaurant or sell shit like juice and coffee.

So... paint them white. They'll still need insulation against the heat, but white should reflect the heat better than any color.

>>46851
Is this with labor and transportation factored in?

>>46897
Simple, but it seems pretty awesome.

Man, there is a whole lot of not reading the thread ITT. People: read the thread before asking a question. It's pretty long, but many questions have already been asked 2 or 3 time already.

long thread is long.

In all honesty tho, I'm trying to figure out if getting an education for building with shit like this is worth while...I am planning on joining the navy reserves as a BU (seabee builder) and I know that they use shipping containers for housing over in the sand box. (and stick building and cinder block construction)


If the housing market would support something like this state side and there was a viable job market...

what do my fellow mc/diy/vers think?

EVERYBODY, SHUT THE FUCK UP AND WATCH. CHEAP-ASS CONSTRUCTION.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3EAJex1RVo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53gBoINp2TE

Also.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DJZrrh8AVc&feature=related