# Homes constructed from Shipping Containers



## Uncle Bob (Oct 5, 2010)

These are homes built from shipping containers;

http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/shipping-container-homes-460309

They are used for all types of commercial buildings also.  They seem to be accepted in many AHJs.

Uncle Bob


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## conarb (Oct 5, 2010)

Interesting that there must be a surplus of shipping containers in the world, shipping containers are reused many times and taken out of service only when too rusty or otherwise lose some kind of structural integrity, I'd say if they aren't good enough for shipping containers they aren't good enough for permanent  buildings. I would think that this is the call for 1) A structural engineer, and 2) A Planning or Design Review Commission. I've rented them for storage of jobsite tools and equipment, and they are hot in the summer.Uncle Bob's Office..Sue reading her code book Code anyone? The new America.

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## smeismer (Oct 5, 2010)

It would seem that in order to meet the minimum square footage for a dwelling, it would take two or more put together (as is shown in some of the photographs).  It would take structural design (especially where all of those holes are cut.  It would take considerable modification to meet cold climate (or I would assume hot climate) energy code requirements.  From appearances, the use of materials is in many cases greater than that of conventional construction, I'm not sure that's at all "green", but if cheap enough, might be competitive, and certainly lends to mass production of the basic box.


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## JBI (Oct 5, 2010)

I've seen these before, maybe on the old board. One of the guys from PA was asking about them because he was seeing them in conjunction with gas drilling operations being used as 'dwellings' for transient workers. I sent my son a link to the website and told him it was going to be my next house. LOL


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## conarb (Oct 5, 2010)

They certainly don't fall within the prescriptive code, review the engineering and approve or reject accordingly, as with any other unusual structure.


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## Inspector 102 (Oct 6, 2010)

I have been using these to create a training facility for the local fire department. After seeing these picture it is obvious that I need to expand my thinking on what I can do with them. Perhaps I can rent them out when they are not being used for training and re-copp some of the expense. Agree with conarb about being hot in the summer and they turn into freezers in the winter. The pics were great through.


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## pyrguy (Oct 6, 2010)

I read somewhere a while back the cost of shipping the containers back to point of origin was more than making a new one.

Thus the glut of containers and the need to make mon..., er use of the excess.


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## Robert Ellenberg (Oct 6, 2010)

ALL—I started a long thread on the Welcome Forum to introduce what I was working on (houses built from ISBUs) and discuss if from a code perspective.  I think one of the administrators plans to move it here but Uncle Bob went ahead and got it started under this section.  There is already quite a bit of discussion on that thread.

AVAILABILITY AND CONDITION—Conarb is right that they are reused many times.  In fact there has been a shortage in recent months and production has cranked up in China and prices have gone up.  The perception that there is a huge surplus is related to older units no longer certified to be in the international shipping system and they eventually get absorbed as storage units, etc.  Some companies building houses and other residential structures such as SG Blocks take used ones and modify them extensively and their final finish covers all the dents etc.  New ones (have made one boat trip here from China) are also readily available.  Either type needs engineering in order to be used in code compliant construction.  There are a number of engineers that have worked with them quite a bit related to modifications and structural requirements.

THERMAL ENVELOPE—Approaches to insulation have varied from as little as spraying them with so called ceramic paint (I hope that wasn’t approved by any of you) to framing them out and fully and correctly insulating them.  The biggest difference as opposed to wood framing is you cannot have any thermal bridging or it will have a huge negative impact on the performance.

SMEISMER—You said quite a lot and it is all correct.  To overcome all of those obstacles requires a lot of design and detail but it can be done and if done on a production basis, can be cost effective.  What you are more likely to encounter as inspectors are the “one offs”.  There is a lot of misinformation out there telling people that building houses with them is cheap, easy and they are so strong you can do anything with them.  Quite a few DIYs have tried to build with them (some successful) but most of the one-off projects have been under the supervision of an engineer or architect.  They usually turn out OK but definitely not cheap.

EXAMPLES—Here is an example of one built recently in Houston that has better detail photos than most http://www.jetsongreen.com/2009/09/houston-shipping-container-cordell-house.html

This website probably has the best overall collection of photos and includes examples of houses built in the US , oversees, multifamily and backwoods cabins. http://www.materialicious.com/tags/shipping%20containers

Keep code related questions coming.


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## dbrown (Oct 6, 2010)

There was one built/installed in a neighboring jurisdiction, we were invited to see it at the framing/trades installed stage. We went back a couple of weeks after final, the house looked like any other house in the neighborhood. This was about 3 years ago, I doubt I would be able to pick it out today.


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## Alias (Oct 6, 2010)

conarb said:
			
		

> Interesting that there must be a surplus of shipping containers in the world, shipping containers are reused many times and taken out of service only when too rusty or otherwise lose some kind of structural integrity, I'd say if they aren't good enough for shipping containers they aren't good enough for permanent buildings. I would think that this is the call for 1) A structural engineer, and 2) A Planning or Design Review Commission. I've rented them for storage of jobsite tools and equipment, and they are hot in the
> 
> summer.
> 
> Uncle Bob's Office..Sue reading her code book Code anyone? The new America.


ConArb -

Not me reading, not warm enough 3/4 of the year.  

Sue, fall anyone?


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## GHRoberts (Oct 6, 2010)

I agree with Robert Ellenberg.

I suspect any business that was serious about using containers would do some general engineering and produce their own "code" for using them.


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## JBI (Oct 6, 2010)

Robert E - Thanks for the links. Just scanned over the first one - not your average shipping container by any stretch. Incorporating containers, or even components from containers, is an interesting concept and would likely satify most of the codes requirements. Instead of looking at each container individually for structural integrity, it's now a new type of pre-fab panel that is part of a larger system. Few here would consider slapping a couple of 2x4s together to span a 24' roof as rafters a good idea, but add web members and rigid connections at key points - engineer a truss - and most would agree it is a viable option.

Obviously climatic conditions vary widely around the country and each area will need to look at the most restrictive requirements for those local conditions. While significant portions of NYS can use precriptive design methods, there are some parts of the state that cannot, ranging from wind issues on Long Island to snow load (and even a small area of seismic concern) in the Adirondack Mountains, and that's just one state.

Reusing existing materials in innovative ways is one of the best ways to reduce both waste going into landfills (or on our back roads...) but energy consumption as well. Processing used metal back into a new product not only uses huge amounts of energy, transporting the scrap out to be processed and then transporting it back as the new product uses tons of fossil fuels. Reinventing the existing product, with little energy investment in the shipping or processing sides would be one of the greenest ways to build I can think of. Of course in the long run, they will need to be an economical product as well. Not just 'cheap', but provide true value - more bang for the buck.


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## Robert Ellenberg (Oct 8, 2010)

JBI--I've actually seen the house in the first link.  They used one-use ISBUs and the photos show how well the the interior can finish out.  On the negative side they "bought" the claims of an unscrupulous coating manufacturer so it is not properly insulated to code.  However, it is located in Houston and will probably perform fine except on rare cold days.

If you insulate with foam and finish to the exterior it is not difficult to meet the requirements for any of the climate zones.

I didn't address the "green" issue earlier as I didn't see it as a code issue but I guess it will be soon.  Reuse without recycling (they call it repurposing) does get high marks and it is much easier to make a very tight building envelope.  If it is properly insulated you can create a structure that will have very low energy consumption and be extremely durable.


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