Posted: 6/3/2011 7:31:01 AM EDT
| I know someone here must know the answer to this. How much weight will the top of a Shipping container support. I'm looking to bury a shipping container with one foot of dirt on top of it. I know they stack these things six high, but the main load bearing supports are on the ends and middle. If I have to I will run I beams down the middle for added support, but thats time and more money. Looking for thoughts, thanks |
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Would running a six or eight inch I-beam the length of the box add enough support, that way the span is 4 feet instead of 8? Maybe running them sideways and smaller beams. You'd probably need more cripples on the sides under the roof joists as well. There's a reason there aren't more buried containers... If I recall correctly, the sheet metal for most containers is 14 ga. |
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I think if I was going to bury a shipping container I would consider waterproofing the hell out of the outside and then placing a heavily reinforced concrete slab on top. Probably have to temporarily shore up the roof during concrete placement, but concrete spanning eight feet should be easy to accomplish. The slab probably has to bear on the ground surrounding the container though, not on the edges of the container.
On second thought, maybe the container should just serve as formwork for concrete on sides, end, and top. |
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I know someone here must know the answer to this. How much weight will the top of a Shipping container support. I'm looking to bury a shipping container with one foot of dirt on top of it. I know they stack these things six high, but the main load bearing supports are on the ends and middle. If I have to I will run I beams down the middle for added support, but thats time and more money. Looking for thoughts, thanks They were designed to support the weight of 4 dockworkers standing dead middle. I picked that up somewhere here, supposedly from the guy that designs them. Mythbusters did a Hitler's bunker explosion episode. They used shipping containers and had problems with cave in. |
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Look at a 96" galvanized culvert. Around here a 24' long 96" is a little over 3K. A container in excellent shape 20' long is running about the same $ and you have the structural issues to deal with on the container. I plan on using a 24' X 96" culvert with removable floor grates and two sections of 30" for the engress/ egress. I am tempted to use a small shipping container to disguise the main entry point and give me some more storage for tools etc.
A 96" culvert will withstand truck traffic driving over the top of them. Think ground slap, and are very corrosion resistant. |
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Look at a 96" galvanized culvert. Around here a 24' long 96" is a little over 3K. A container in excellent shape 20' long is running about the same $ and you have the structural issues to deal with on the container. I plan on using a 24' X 96" culvert with removable floor grates and two sections of 30" for the engress/ egress. I am tempted to use a small shipping container to disguise the main entry point and give me some more storage for tools etc. A 96" culvert will withstand truck traffic driving over the top of them. Think ground slap, and are very corrosion resistant. Dang it! Now you've got me to thinking! I like this idea, what is the gauge of the metal in the culvert and do you know the load limits with a particular burial depth? |
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Line-X is a spray on pickup bed liner that is great for waterproofing metal containers.
Cost is a factor, though it is very effective and very durable. For the top: Build an edge-supported roof on top of the container? That would keep any weight off the horizontal top surface. Maybe you could bury one container and stack another on top... hiding the one that is buried. They are made to stack this way, so there would be no weight-bearing issues. You could even go a couple deep. If you do this you'd want to have some kind of foundation under the bottom container to prevent it from shifting. The foundation would also make handling any water drainage issues easier. |
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When you are all done with expensively buring a container, what do you have?
A width about 7' 9" for a working area. That ain't much fellers... I live in one part of the time and there is no way I would spend lotsa $$$ [or notsa much $$$] even contemplating burying one when other far better alternatives are available. |
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I know someone here must know the answer to this. How much weight will the top of a Shipping container support. I'm looking to bury a shipping container with one foot of dirt on top of it. I know they stack these things six high, but the main load bearing supports are on the ends and middle. If I have to I will run I beams down the middle for added support, but thats time and more money. Looking for thoughts, thanks They were designed to support the weight of 4 dockworkers standing dead middle. I picked that up somewhere here, supposedly from the guy that designs them. Mythbusters did a Hitler's bunker explosion episode. They used shipping containers and had problems with cave in. I remember the guy you're talking about and I think he said 640 pounds. |
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Quoted:
I know someone here must know the answer to this. How much weight will the top of a Shipping container support. I'm looking to bury a shipping container with one foot of dirt on top of it. I know they stack these things six high, but the main load bearing supports are on the ends and middle. If I have to I will run I beams down the middle for added support, but thats time and more money. Looking for thoughts, thanks They were designed to support the weight of 4 dockworkers standing dead middle. I picked that up somewhere here, supposedly from the guy that designs them. Mythbusters did a Hitler's bunker explosion episode. They used shipping containers and had problems with cave in. Maybe before actual failure, but one PATCH5 on the roof and you can feel it start to give, about the way a car roof gives when you stand on it. You can see the roof is built very differently than the sides. |
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Quoted:
I know someone here must know the answer to this. How much weight will the top of a Shipping container support. I'm looking to bury a shipping container with one foot of dirt on top of it. I know they stack these things six high, but the main load bearing supports are on the ends and middle. If I have to I will run I beams down the middle for added support, but thats time and more money. Looking for thoughts, thanks http://www.runkleconsulting.com/Shipping%20Container%20Houses/ShippingContainerHouseEngineering.htm. http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=93615 |
| the problem I am trying to solve is that I have a Rail Road tie retaining wall that is 160 yards long and 10 feet high. This wall serves as the Pit wall on a KD range. I have approximately 120 feet of this wall that is collapsing due to poor construction, no tie back or poor tie backs. I had the idea that if I used the conex boxes as the wall it would serve two purposes, a wall and storage inside. The side facing the pit area would be one side of the conex box, all other sides would be covered with dirt. I would need the ability to have at least one foot of dirt since we routinely shoot .50 caliber at distance. Since this is the top of the safety berm, round striking generally bounce into the impact berm. From what I am hearing I am better off rebuilding what I have, that the boxes won't support enough weight. thanks |
| Bury it just to the edge of the sides so that only a little over the depth of the corrugated steel is needed to cover it and even then only every other corrugation will have dirt down in it. You would end up with dirt like 1" deep, 5" deep, 1", 5", ... but even then that might be too much weight. |
| I think your better off with making your own concrete building underground, a construction company can do it for relatively cheap, or you can tackle it yourself as it wouldnt be to hard, just tied rebar and plywood. Might actually enjoy it so much that you will build more of them. |
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can't find the thread, but iirc, someone buried one in a huge hole.
made forms and poured cement in critical areas (mostly the entrance) and steps storm shelter-type access w/ sump pump. I think that they cut a door instead of using the stock doors. ventilation, then back-filled..... |
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Crap.
the problem I am trying to solve is that I have a Rail Road tie retaining wall that is 160 yards long and 10 feet high. This wall serves as the Pit wall on a KD range. I have approximately 120 feet of this wall that is collapsing due to poor construction, no tie back or poor tie backs. ... ... I have wondered about that wall. Is it possible to install anchors and use cables and lengths of allthread to cinch up the wall over a period of days or weeks? Certainly a pain, though probably easier and less work than a complete rebuild. Something like this: 
A company did a basement foundation repair on my father's house using a variation of this technique. (up north, where basements are required to get the foundation below the frost line) The cinder-block wall was bowing and collapsing inward. They drilled through the foundation and into the ground, then used big molly bolt kind of anchors to pull the wall back in place. They left the devices in place to make adjustments in the future. |
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A couple videos how to build different kinds of underground shelters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpTMY3YW3Fg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGngh5nHtrk&NR=1 |
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Lot's of ideas here:
http://www.greatsurvivalstuff.com/20-fter/ |
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Quoted:
Look at a 96" galvanized culvert. Around here a 24' long 96" is a little over 3K. A container in excellent shape 20' long is running about the same $ and you have the structural issues to deal with on the container. I plan on using a 24' X 96" culvert with removable floor grates and two sections of 30" for the engress/ egress. I am tempted to use a small shipping container to disguise the main entry point and give me some more storage for tools etc. A 96" culvert will withstand truck traffic driving over the top of them. Think ground slap, and are very corrosion resistant. Wow that seems expensive. I got a quote last week for a 72" culvert pipe at 48$ a foot. |