Pics of my shipping container (Update page 5, page 9) (Page 10 of 13)
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All,
Here is a status report as of 5/5/2010: 1) I have been in touch with the OP and had some minor exchanges about my impending build. 2) I have had fifty ton of 1/2 rock delivered and have graded that out with a tractor. 3) The shipping container is scheduled for delivery tomorrow (Friday - 5/7/2010). Once set into place I will see how good a job I did of leveling the rock. A friend loaned me his transit a couple of weeks ago but I simply haven't had the time to "shoot it" to see about level. My plan is if it isn't level once set into place, I will level it and if there is a gap at any point around the base I will simply weld a hardware cloth skirt across that area and use a small portion of my next delivery of rock and back fill against the skirting. The previous description of the build has been slightly modified, but over the next few weeks I will start posting some pictures and step-by-step detail on how I am finishing it out. I'm pretty stoked about the delivery tomorrow!  I have been getting this all ready in fits and starts since purchase of the container in December. Rain, snow, ice, stuck rock trucks; it has already been an adventure and the thing isn't even here yet. 
Phil |
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Originally Posted By olwen:
Originally Posted By Former11BRAVO:
I hate to sound lazy . . . and, I did read the vast majority of this thread! Truly, I did!!! Yet, I can't find what you paid for the raw containers! Would you mind re-posting that info - and where you got them (from whom), and what it cost to have them delivered. A set up like that (or similar), could be the answer to my storage problems - leaving much-needed room in/under my place for . . . . more "valuable" stuff. (?) Thanks. Oh . . ! And, uh . . . super job! Congrat's!  container prices probably vary widely depending on how close youare to a port for used ones, to pretty similar +/- shipping for as new or new ones. I bought some pretty beat up but still weathertite (almost mostly) super cubes for 9000$ for two. pretty heavy, but lots of storage. and not really much more expensive than the little 28 footers. oh, i think the super cubes or high cubes are 8 wide by 48 long and they might even be a foot higher than normal. edit- they are 9.5 tall or 9ft 6 in number two- do some calling in your area for prices; http://www.buyerzone.com/local2/c/PA/Lancaster/Storage-Containers.html In New Orleans, across the street from where I work... They are selling from $1,200 to 2,400 depending on lenght two sizes.... May have to pick up one or two... |
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Originally Posted By SkyKing69:
All, Here is a status report as of 5/5/2010: 1) I have been in touch with the OP and had some minor exchanges about my impending build. 2) I have had fifty ton of 1/2 rock delivered and have graded that out with a tractor. 3) The shipping container is scheduled for delivery tomorrow (Friday - 5/7/2010). Once set into place I will see how good a job I did of leveling the rock. A friend loaned me his transit a couple of weeks ago but I simply haven't had the time to "shoot it" to see about level. My plan is if it isn't level once set into place, I will level it and if there is a gap at any point around the base I will simply weld a hardware cloth skirt across that area and use a small portion of my next delivery of rock and back fill against the skirting. The previous description of the build has been slightly modified, but over the next few weeks I will start posting some pictures and step-by-step detail on how I am finishing it out. I'm pretty stoked about the delivery tomorrow! I have been getting this all ready in fits and starts since purchase of the container in December. Rain, snow, ice, stuck rock trucks; it has already been an adventure and the thing isn't even here yet.
Phil I strongly encourage you to make time to check level. I di concrete work for years and it can make a HUGE difference. Since you have a transit it wont take but 15 minutes to do it so you know where you stand. Oh, wheres the pics? grin. |
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
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Tested,
Thanks for posting, it gigged me to follow up.  I leveled the rock fairly well, shot it quickly with the transit to help that, the shipping container was delivered and I leveled it. Funny story there... I asked the guy that delivered it how much it weighed? He said he did not know but guessed 6600 lbs. OK, I bought a 7500 lb High-Lift jack and figured I'd just "crank 'er up a little" and be done. Nope... After just a couple of clicks the jack just wouldn't lift any more. Harkening to my learned experience about leverage I put about a three foot long piece of pipe on the handle...and promptly starting bending the handle like it was taffy. Scratching my head I started looking at the numbers on one of the stickers. Hey, what does "TARE WEIGHT" mean? I Googled the word and it basically means the empty weight. Good news/bad news deal; the thing weighs 10,600 lbs. The guy was off on his guess and your guess is as good as mine why he didn't simply read the sticker. He hauls them all day so I would figure he would know what those numbers meant. Anyway, my bad, it weighs 10,600 lbs, I somewhat damaged the High-Lift jack, but a stubby 40 ton jack from Tractor Supply was bought and I was off to the races. It is level - I blocked and shimmed it all the way around.
To recap - This is going to be a temporary shop. It is set next to a run down barn. To get all of my tools nearby I next leased a 40' standard shipping container and have moved all of my tools from my truck back seat (filled nearly to the roof of the cab...), the house, the barn, a storage building and I still have to get some things out of the old farm house that is also on the property. Tools were all over God's green Earth out here.  Now they're close by so they can be used yet kept weather tight and away from people interested in appropriating them for their own use. All trespassers have to do now is transit the free fire zone and use a torch and they can have it all.  Once it is finished out and all of the stuff moved into it the leased container will be hauled off and the old barn will be taken down, removed and then replaced with a permanent shop. Once the permanent shop is then built and the contents transferred from our temporary shop to it, the temporary shop will be relocated to where we plan to formally put in a shooting range where we do much of our shooting.
I have been chasing after a guy with Overhead Door Company to come out and give me a bid to install an overhead door on the thing. I really need to get that done first because the rest of the finish out will have to take it into account. I started out planning on cutting a 12' door into the side to facilitate driving two four-wheelers and a riding mower in from the side but ran into a snag - The thing is only about 8' wide inside. Our four-wheelers with winches and drop baskets are about 8'6"...  I have two options I am considering at this point and when I get that more firmed up I will follow up with everybody. One option under consideration is to remove the double doors on the end and install an overhead door there. Again, I will get back on this one.
I was also pretty set on my design for single thickness foam insulation on both sides and double-thickness on the ceiling. After doing a lot of review of other people's designs I am now considering a drop-ceiling configuration to allow like 6" of insulation due to the summer heat here in Texas. That will be somewhat affected by the overhead door solution, so that part of the basic design is still in flux. Here are a few pictures of the preliminary setup: 
Once it was set into place I noticed it had swiveled about a foot when the guy drove out from under it. Twenty feet of chain tied between the left corner in the pictures above and my 3/4 ton Dodge 4X4 truck and it was pulled right where I wanted it. My next update will include some exterior pictures showing the leased container's location and some interior pictures of the owned one. If anybody has any questions, observations and/or suggestions I will certainly welcome them. Let me say one additional thing - The overhead door will instantly become the vulnerable point for entry. Do not worry, I have an extensive security background and while I will divulge some of the security features of this build, some of them will not be disclosed for obvious reasons. Basic points - Redundant video, audio, door sensors, motion sensors and backup electrical will all be featured. 
Phil |
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Originally Posted By Pacu44:
In New Orleans, across the street from where I work... They are selling from $1,200 to 2,400 depending on lenght two sizes.... May have to pick up one or two... I just drove by the depot in Cincinnati, Ohio and they have really small ones too. Just googled and found - 10' x 8.5' x 8' http://www.azteccontainer.com/storagecontainer10a.htm *not the same place I think I might be able to talk the wife into one that size.
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All,
A few more details - I am going to try very hard to keep this build as cool as the OP's. That is a tough hill to climb, but that is my goal. I have been working with a friend to get some ideas from paper into Google SketchUp. Here is a gif of a 3D we are working on. 
Again, questions, comments, input, etc., please feel free to post or drop me a PM. Take care, Phil |
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Wight_Hat,
Thanks, there are, and the starting point in this one is from there. After spending an evening going through several dozen I didn't find one that was exactly right, so I downloaded one that was acceptable as far as basic corrugated sidewalls and roof structure and we have been working on it to get to where we are. This one being 45' is longer than most and at 9'6" it is also not the most common size. But, your point was spot on and anybody else contemplating this should know about the resource. Thanks for making sure I knew about it.
Phil |
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Originally Posted By SkyKing69:
Wight_Hat, Thanks, there are, and the starting point in this one is from there. After spending an evening going through several dozen I didn't find one that was exactly right, so I downloaded one that was acceptable as far as basic corrugated sidewalls and roof structure and we have been working on it to get to where we are. This one being 45' is longer than most and at 9'6" it is also not the most common size. But, your point was spot on and anybody else contemplating this should know about the resource. Thanks for making sure I knew about it.
Phil Roger that. I looked around at the models a while back and noticed that they weren't particularly detailed, either. They would have been fine for design concepts, but not actual "engineering" or build plans. It depends on your end use. Of course if you come up with a really bitchin' model yourself, you might share.
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Wight_Hat,
The OP suggested I look into Google SketchUp so I did. It is easy to use from a CAD standpoint, but the learning curve is still steep. I spent an entire evening doing the tutorial and practicing some, then looked at the library, downloaded some samples to experiment with and spent another whole evening doing that. I quickly figured out I was going to spend entirely too much time learning all the ins and outs to warrant the investment if I really wanted a great end product. I'm a "computer guy" but it does take some effort to learn the program. I kept running across a guy that had done some interesting work with it so I dropped him a note. Luis is in the Canary Islands of all places, but he has done some architectural design work on shipping containers. I gather he mostly uses Autocad or some other professional type of CAD program, but he is pretty good with SketchUp too. Not surprising I guess, if you get your mind around something as complex as Autocad something like SketchUp is pretty elementary. Anyway, we struggle a little with his English (He's Spanish.) but for $20 an hour US he'll do whatever I want with it. Considering I spent probably fifteen to twenty hours in the evening on business trips fiddling with it, that is cheap for something that is quick and right.  Using his talents allows me that time to work on material lists and design issues.
I finally got the Overhead Door Company guy on the phone this morning and tentatively have him set for Wednesday next week (6/16/2010). Assuming he shows up I will discuss my thoughts with him. I am starting to think the end install would be best, but I have to think on it some more and see what he says. If one of the hundreds of people reading this thread each day has any experience with such things I will hope for them to chime in. Once the door type and location is settled on I will send that information to Luis for inclusion with the 3'0" door into the SketchUp model so those elements can be viewed. When I get to that point I will see if I can attach the file to subsequent posts so if anybody wants to download SketchUp and work off our homework that will be just fine with me.
At this point the biggest issue is working in the thing will be like working in an oven. I have been getting out there at about 0530 each day, working on getting the storage/rental unit organized and all and by about 1100 it is miserable.  Northern Tool has a great scaffold I had been keeping an eye on and I ran across the identical unit on sale at Tractor Supply for $149.99. It is simply perfect for working on the ceiling and upper sidewalls and I strongly urge anybody considering one of these projects to look into buying one. I am also going to order the side safety rails drop shipped to the Northern store closest to me to save on shipping costs because the store nearest me doesn't stock them. After fooling around on mine I can see how that would be an important feature when I'm MIG welding on the ceiling. 
I have to go earn my keep so everybody take care, Phil |
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Possible stupid question here...... I don't really know my way around these containers.
I've gathered that just dropping one in the ground and covering with dirt is a no. I'm in FL, so hanging out in a steel box without a generous dose of A/C is a no as well. Now I'm assuming the floor on these things are built stout. Can a container be flipped upside down and allow the floor to carry enough soil to support bushy vegetation? (1.5'-2' or more) I'm thinking dig out 2' of ground, place container in, bolt some RXR ties to the exterior to stiffen the walls, berm up the sides with dirt, and cover the top with dirt. Once that's all done, push some palmettos up and over it. Does this sound like a feasible plan so far? |
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LiveFreeOrDie1775,
Where are you? If you are in North Texas I can supply some companies. I can suggest whom to consider and whom not to consider based on my experience with them. If you are elsewhere just Google "shipping containers" and your state and you will be started on your search. They have varying qualities ranging from new or once used to ones that are not even weather-tight. If you look at the ones that are mid-grade on quality, 40' standard height to 45' "high-cube" they will typically run from $1500-$2500 delivered. The larger the unit and/or longer the delivery distance, the more they cost. Regards, Phil |
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NoFnNamesLeft,
The bottom of mine has trusses and on the inside there is one metal deck plate at the end opposite the double-doors that covers like 8' long by 3' wide, the balance of the floor is some sort of plywood screwed down to the trusses. I plan on insulating and air conditioning mine. Numerous people have posted about these units being put in the ground and opining that is not smart. I won't get into a debate on whether it is smart or not, and I know it is long, but look back through the thread and you can see what others have said about it. In your application, with the water table as high as it is, that would be yet another reason I wouldn't think your concept is not viable. Upside down with the wood up, I also see that as a negative. Here is a YouTube video of one a guy in California (as I recall) put into the ground. Note the dry rocky soil and his elevation... Good luck, Phil |
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Phil, I live up in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 loons...i mean lakes. Thanks for the information though I will do some searches when I have more time and post the prices for thoughts. But at least I have a rough price range for the cost of one. I know there are tons sitting around up in the ship yards in Duluth...to bad I live close to the Iowa border
Thanks Again JB |
| On my 20'er I found that painting the roof with the silver reflective trailer paint has significantly reduced the interior temperatures. With a door for cross venting on the far side its not that bad at all. I need to shift mine somewhat uphill before doing any more work on it. I will be pooring a 10x20 slab and adding a roof to make an additional carport and shaded work area. |
| Why have we heard no more on this thread? |
When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty.
Benjamin Franklin
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty.
Benjamin Franklin
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Yeah I really want some more inspiration for my personal project, just a 20' crate turned into a little hunting cabin.
A few questions to anyone who knows: is there any way to protect the bottom of the crate from potentially rusting? How should I go about insulating the place? Hay bales (I've seen them stacked around the crates and then wrapped on with chickenwire)? That foaming spray-on insulation? Should I insulate the floor/ceiling? Any good sources of used 20' containers in New Hampshire, or at least New England? How should I go about roofing it (I don't want to be shoveling the roof all the time, that'll be a pain in the arse)? just build a roof with a reasonable pitch to shed the snow? Thanks. |
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Seems this is catching on...
http://idscontainer.com/recovery-solutions.da |
Proud Member of R------'- M------...The Fantastic Bastards
19Delta: When you need complete destruction with maximum collateral damage, accept no substitutes!
19Delta: When you need complete destruction with maximum collateral damage, accept no substitutes!
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Originally Posted By Shadow4Golf:
Seems this is catching on... http://idscontainer.com/recovery-solutions.da I stayed at a FEMA tent city when I was working security in TX after hurricane Ike, and they had nearly identical units for showers. There are literally hundred of uses for these if you use some imagination. |
"A kind word and a gun will get you more than just a kind word alone" - Al Capone
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Originally Posted By Tested:
The feet on one line up with holes on the roof of the bottom one. I wonder if what Laarue did is a good appraoch. Just a concrete wall on the bottom. Not sure how much more it would cost. Actually both the top and bottom fo the ISO Corner fittings (square blocks in each corner) have holes in them. When stacked, they are stacked with stacking blocks (commonly referred to as pineapples) that leave a 4" space between containers or sometimes with simple steel plates that have protrusion on each side that extend into the holes or bottom of the top ISO corner and top of the bottom ISO corner. I load, unload, stack, inspect (Convention for Safe Containers Inspector) and repair these container for a living right now so I am pretty familiar with them. ETA: Here's a photo of the stacking block. The locking lever is pictured in the locked position. When unlocked the lower portion of the block sits in the hole in top of the bottom containers ISO corner and the triangular top portion of the block sits in the hole in the bottom of the top containers ISO corner. When the containers are stacked and the locking lever is flipped the top and bottom portions rotate (as pictured) to lock the containers together. 
And here are drawings of the top and bottom ISO corners 
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If LaRue Tactical is an option, LaRue Tactical is the answer!
Tennessee Squire / NRA Life Member / Marine Gunnery Sergeant
Tennessee Squire / NRA Life Member / Marine Gunnery Sergeant
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Originally Posted By nicholsmf:
Originally Posted By Tested:
The feet on one line up with holes on the roof of the bottom one. I wonder if what Laarue did is a good appraoch. Just a concrete wall on the bottom. Not sure how much more it would cost. Actually both the top and bottom fo the ISO Corner fittings (square blocks in each corner) have holes in them. When stacked, they are stacked with stacking blocks (commonly referred to as pineapples) that leave a 4" space between containers or sometimes with simple steel plates that have protrusion on each side that extend into the holes or bottom of the top ISO corner and top of the bottom ISO corner. I load, unload, stack, inspect (Convention for Safe Containers Inspector) and repair these container for a living right now so I am pretty familiar with them. |
When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty.
Benjamin Franklin
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty.
Benjamin Franklin
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For those concerned with burying these containers, the rood is deisgned to support 640 pounds at the center of the roof. This criteria was developed years ago and adopted as an international standard for containers. The reason the limit is 640 pounds is because that would have been the weight of 4 longshoreman (160 pounds each) standing in the center of the container when securing a sling assembly to the spreader bar used to hoist the container.
ETA: I don't have any documentation to back this up but that is how it was explained to me by Ken Allen, President of Marine Container Equipment which is one of only a few US companies who can certify these types of container for intermodal transport abroad. I have to assume he knows and I have seen how he tests the containers, he takes a 640 pound block of concrete and sits in in the center of the container and checks for deflection. |
If LaRue Tactical is an option, LaRue Tactical is the answer!
Tennessee Squire / NRA Life Member / Marine Gunnery Sergeant
Tennessee Squire / NRA Life Member / Marine Gunnery Sergeant
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Originally Posted By armednhappy:
Originally Posted By Shadow4Golf:
Seems this is catching on... http://idscontainer.com/recovery-solutions.da I stayed at a FEMA tent city when I was working security in TX after hurricane Ike, and they had nearly identical units for showers. There are literally hundred of uses for these if you use some imagination. The Marine Corps uses them as deployable aircraft maintenance facilities. We have them configured as everything from machine shops and welding shops to avionics repair shops and office spaces and everything in between. |
If LaRue Tactical is an option, LaRue Tactical is the answer!
Tennessee Squire / NRA Life Member / Marine Gunnery Sergeant
Tennessee Squire / NRA Life Member / Marine Gunnery Sergeant
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We used a 40' one and made a garage out of it about 15 years ago. It was actually a semi-trailer. We just removed all the underlying parts and effectively turned it into a 'shipping container' It was a set ontop of railroad ties. Welded the end doors shut and cut a door into the side. Build a slant roof over it and a 10' covered porch along the side. I was amazed at how much that simple slant roof cooled the temp inside the garage. Any who, it was nothing anywhere NEAR as extravagant as Maromans. |
Cows are a terrifying race and must be destroyed at all costs! I prefer the A-1 attack bottle as my weapon of choice. - Spiffums
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Originally Posted By 14Kfgk14:
Yeah I really want some more inspiration for my personal project, just a 20' crate turned into a little hunting cabin. A few questions to anyone who knows: is there any way to protect the bottom of the crate from potentially rusting? How should I go about insulating the place? Hay bales (I've seen them stacked around the crates and then wrapped on with chickenwire)? That foaming spray-on insulation? Should I insulate the floor/ceiling? Any good sources of used 20' containers in New Hampshire, or at least New England? How should I go about roofing it (I don't want to be shoveling the roof all the time, that'll be a pain in the arse)? just build a roof with a reasonable pitch to shed the snow? Thanks. As far as protecting the bottom, they are made out of Corten, or weathering, steel. From what I can tell this means that they rust to a point whereby the patina acts as a barreir and protects the steel from further rust. It is used for outside sculptures where no coating is applied. So, they supposedly won't rust through like regular steel. That being said, I still put my on treated 6x6s. I would also recomend elasomeric paint for the roof to help reduce radiant heat. I'm going to try to weld up a light weight false roof using galvanized roof panel or something to further insulate and shed water. The flat roof will pool and hold water, and I'm not sure if even the corten steel can remedy that forever. While I understand that these container roofs are not meant to be load bearing, in a way they are, as long as you transfer the weight to the corners, right? I guess the problem would be clear spanning the 40' with a beam of some kind to carry the load. |
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We're just starting to undertake a similar project for the Boomershoot; we're going to get a 40 or 45 footer (same price) and build the interior up for production of explosives. I'll document the process in this thread.
So far, I've looked at prices in Seattle and Lewiston, and I have some emails in to a place in Portland. If you've been to the site, the idea is to put it east of the Taj, running east-west. |
http://blog.ryjones.org/
Come visit: http://boomershoot.org/2011/blast.htm I'm in spot 1, all the way east.
Come visit: http://boomershoot.org/2011/blast.htm I'm in spot 1, all the way east.
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Originally Posted By RyJones:
We're just starting to undertake a similar project for the Boomershoot; we're going to get a 40 or 45 footer (same price) and build the interior up for production of explosives. I'll document the process in this thread. So far, I've looked at prices in Seattle and Lewiston, and I have some emails in to a place in Portland. If you've been to the site, the idea is to put it east of the Taj, running east-west. Progress? |
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Originally Posted By Duggan:
Originally Posted By RyJones:
We're just starting to undertake a similar project for the Boomershoot; we're going to get a 40 or 45 footer (same price) and build the interior up for production of explosives. I'll document the process in this thread. So far, I've looked at prices in Seattle and Lewiston, and I have some emails in to a place in Portland. If you've been to the site, the idea is to put it east of the Taj, running east-west. Progress? Pad prep begins this weekend with a front-end loader. It looks like we're putting it in an area that's almost solid rock, so we may end up getting it as level as possible and covering it with gravel to get to level. We decided on a 40' container, as the site won't quite fit a 45 footer. We're debating having the interior epoxied before it's shipped over, to save time. Once dirt starts moving, I'll post pictures. We might put in a recirculating air cleaner (filters, fans, hood) to catch the dust that making explosives produces. |
http://blog.ryjones.org/
Come visit: http://boomershoot.org/2012/blast.htm I'm in spot 1, all the way east.
Come visit: http://boomershoot.org/2012/blast.htm I'm in spot 1, all the way east.
| Joe took a picture of pad prep. More later. |
http://blog.ryjones.org/
Come visit: http://boomershoot.org/2012/blast.htm I'm in spot 1, all the way east.
Come visit: http://boomershoot.org/2012/blast.htm I'm in spot 1, all the way east.
| Railroad ties are being delivered to the site today. Most of the earth-moving is done. Anyone know a good way to level these out? We're concerned about one end punching in. The ties are to mitigate this, and to keep the container off the ground. |
http://blog.ryjones.org/
Come visit: http://boomershoot.org/2012/blast.htm I'm in spot 1, all the way east.
Come visit: http://boomershoot.org/2012/blast.htm I'm in spot 1, all the way east.
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I would put them in the ground like fence posts, then run a level line on them & cut the tops off with a chain saw. Put them maybe 3' in the ground & concrete the bottom of the ties at bottom of holes to create more surface area & keep them from sinking. After you set the container on them, weld tabs made from steel flatbar(w/ holes punched in them) to the bottom of container where they contact the ties. Drill holes thru tab hole & posts & run bolts or allthread through them.
We did something similar to this to use a container as a raised pesticide shed on our farm. |
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Originally Posted By armednhappy:
Originally Posted By Shadow4Golf:
Seems this is catching on... http://idscontainer.com/recovery-solutions.da I stayed at a FEMA tent city when I was working security in TX after hurricane Ike, and they had nearly identical units for showers. There are literally hundred of uses for these if you use some imagination. The Navy used Shipping Container based bathrooms/showers in the 90's also expandable operating rooms for field hospitals.... |
Islam wants you dead. Plan accordingly.
USN Seabees.. We Build, We Fight!
USN Seabees.. We Build, We Fight!