Update on the Containerized shop

Got any pictures?

Jon

1st on the list- if you go in and close the door (to keep the heat in, etc.) make sure there's a way to keep someone on the outside from locking you in. 2nd- emergency air vent?

Insulation that won't burn, even if exposed, might be worth a little extra effort.

Maybe a small (but you can fit through it) emergency hatch at the rear is in order.

Dave

Cars fit in them fine too...

Oops.

Exercise.

They last a long time. I'm not sure what vintage my 40' is, but it is in pretty much mint condition, barely a ding.

The four corners is all you need, and all that is normally supported on these things when fully loaded.

Nice. Mine came with a fresh coat of industrial gray, my favorite color.

Not unless you think they look cool or expect to have it shipped internationally.

The cam locks and individual conductors (type W?) are generally the way to go with anything over about 60A as complete cables become a bear to handle.

Yep. Might want to consider LP for heat though, unless your electric rates are real low.

Yep, no reason to skimp. Install a nice 20-32 space panel in the container.

Good.

My suggestion would be to skip framing and instead glue thick insulboard (like 2" EPS) to the inside of the container and then glue FRP panels on top of that (with the nice trim strips between them. FRPs are commercial grade, fire resistant, washable (food prep area rated), and quite durable. They're expensive in 1s and 2s at the big box places, but ordering enough for a container from a real building supply place should be a lot better.

Best route on this is to cut a hole in the side of the container and weld in a regular commercial door frame (and install the door of course). Use this normal door for access and leave the end doors locked. You can probably get such a door used at a salvage place cheap. Don't skip this as it's a safety issue.

Pictures, we want lots of pictures :)

That and the fact that you can't fully close the doors from the inside without leaving the lock bars where a slight bump could lock them without any malicious assistance.

RV type vents will install easily and inexpensively. Can't stack other containers on top after that, but I don't expect that will be an issue.

As noted above

RV vent / escape hatch again.

Have fun :)

Pete C.

Brent wrote: [snip]

When it is time to ship the container, how hard is it for a shipper to pick it up off the concrete pads? Is this a "standard procedure" or "time to rent a special crane" or "something else"?

[snip]

Thanks,

-Wayne

Easy to pick up. For non port pickup and delivery of containers hydraulic tilting flatbed trailers with big winches are the norm. They could very easily drag the container onto the trailer as is, or for a little more refinement jack the container off the blocks and onto some pipe rollers first.

Pete:

I have never seen a container pickup, so I did not know what is involved.

Thanks,

-Wayne

Yes and no, I'm finishing setting up my website rather than cluttering the dropbox

To save interior space, could the insulation not be placed on the outside? Built into removable panels, that can be unbolted for transport.

Suggest pay attention to roof, "out of sight, out of mind". Annoying when they leak. A good coat of paint on top.

For easy door fitment: Mark position, cut area near hinges with 9 inch angle grinder, fit hinges, then cut rest of door out - perfect alignment and free door! Removing the inner closing device on the right hand door makes for easier access. Can be refitted as required.

Transporting will likely cause some damage to thing inside, unless all well bolted in place. I once packed a shipping container full of furniture, so tight it was like a sardine can - could just close the doors. When opened again after transport, there was a foot space away from the doors! The tilt-tray trucks drop containers with a thud. Could always use trucks with built in cranes for gentler handling, if there's access space to pull up alongside - more expensive though.

You might end up needing a second container for storage :) Put it parallel to the first one, 10 feet apart. Roof over the lot - cheap carport!

Now, that's a *great* idea.

As long as it didn't say NCC-1701

Gunner

You will discover that the water is condensing on the metal and thus

*inside* of your container. You'll have rust and humidity *inside*. Isolate it on the outside and care for good ventilation between the isolation and the metal.

Maybe you can have a look at containers that are rent for temporary offices (at construction sites) and see how they did it.

Nick

The walkin door is only ONE exit since the big end hatch will be dogged down, you need the vent/escape hatch (w/ladder) at the other end from the door

Free men own guns - www(dot)geocities(dot)com/CapitolHill/5357/

Absolutely. You'd use one of the Mr. Heater vented garage heaters, or perhaps an RV heater. Absolutely never use one of the unvented heaters.

If you're gluing extruded polystyrene foam to the inside of the container and then FRP panels on top of that with staggered joints, I think you have all the vapor barrier you'd need.

Yes, and if you find a suitable salvage place, used commercial metal frame doors should be very cheap. Commercial space gets demod and rebuilt constantly and these days they're pretty good about reclaiming a lot of the materials.

Pete C.

Or just a second door. I can't imagine a used salvage commercial steel frame door to weld in will cost very much.

False floor??? The container floor is already 25mm hardwood plywood over steel C channel on about 12" centers. Bolt directly through that floor, can use big washers or load plates underneath as well.

Worse comes to worse i'll do the classic plastic and tuck tape vapor barrier too, for the amount it costs

I am a big fan of overbuilding and already i'm not looking forward to the budget preventing me form putting in windows this winter

I'll have to investigate that line because so far i was looking at residential exterior door prices and it hurt to look

Nick, I visited a company that does the conversions and they seem to have done a 2 inch inner wall of unspecified material and then chipboard as an exterior cover. Chipboard being glued wood flakes was not suitable in a shop where welding and sparks would be present. but for the most part here they do not use many ISO continers as offices they use little trailers that are constructed in a similar wat to RV's and motorhomes

I'll be bolting everything big down and everyting medium sized or on wheels will be strapped i there is shifting that occurs i'll make sure i have some squishable space with no critical stuff like a row of milk crates

Extruded polystyrene isn't permeable, and it has a slight tongue and groove edge that is easily sealed with adhesive when installing it. The FRP panels aren't permeable either, and if the joints are staggered and you run adhesive lines top to bottom, they will be very few potential leaks. If you really want to go nuts, after gluing the EPS in place, get a big pack of expanding foam, drill holes top and bottom of the EPS aligned with the deeper waves in the container and fill those spaces as well, before applying the FRP.

Look for a commercial building material salvage place where you should be able to get good materials cheap that just need a little touch up paint. I've got several similar places near me and I last got a 6' wide double door set for my shop for less than half of the cost from Depot or Lowe's.

Even a regular basic residential steel entry door is like $120 (US) new, but unfortunately it's wood framed. You want the commercial steel framed ones so you can just cut a hole and weld it in place in the container. With the way commercial office space is constantly remodeled and current recycling efforts, there is a lot of used stuff available.