My shipping container cabin/shelter

@Len,
thanks I could try that, and the color would be similar to the mahogany too. Thanks.

@Larry,
(No power, so no vac.)
I don't have sawdust yet, but I could put peat moss. Maybe that would help since it is acidic too. I yhave more of that than coffee grounds!


I get full sun on the cold days, so I will try this solar heater when I am done with the other stuff.

Did you find that 112 degrees blowing into the container did or did not warm it up?
I think it should, but from the way you wrote it, I thought it did not, so I am asking the question again.

thanks,

jeanna

jeannacav wrote:




Did you find that 112 degrees blowing into the container did or did not warm it up?
I think it should, but from the way you wrote it, I thought it did not, so I am asking the question again.

thanks,

jeanna

jeanna: The solar heater works well. I generally start a fire in the morning to break the chill, then let it burn out on days the sun is shinning. I usually work on the cabin from about 8:00am till 3:30pm, and the solar heater is all I need to maintain a room temp of about 65 degrees. The morning temps around here have been well below freezing and the afternoon temps have been anywhere from below freezing to somewhere in the forty's. The earth embankment has really helped to keep the temp's well above  freezing in the cabin. It has not went below 40 degrees yet, and we have had some mornings in the single digit's. Also if you have afternoons where the temps are above the thirty's, you can expect to get a lot more heat out of the solar heater.   

Thank you Larry.

This is exactly what I was hoping to hear.

jeanna

Another note on that pop can solar heater.
I have not worked on the cabin for a couple days and we just got about 8" of snow here, so I have not built a fire in the cabin for two days. Today it was one degree in the morning, and the cabin temp was 38 degrees. I did not start a fire but I brushed the snow off the solar panel and turned it on at 10:30am (sunny out today). I went back at 2:30pm, and it was 48 degrees in the cabin, outside temp was 25 degrees. Exhaust temp was 102 degrees. So in 4 hours the solar panel raised the room temp 10 degrees on its own. 10 degrees warmer then it started and 23 degrees warmer then the outside. I say it is worth it.

Larry wrote:
Another note on that pop can solar heater.
...
degrees. So in 4 hours the solar panel raised the room temp 10 degrees on its own. 10 degrees warmer then it started and 23 degrees warmer then the outside. I say it is worth it.

Well, almost on it's own.... I noticed a couple of other solar collectors (AKA windows) on the front. Still, it was all free heat. Gotta love that.

Thank you for those details, Larry.
Also thank you for doing that experiment!
It is exactly what I need to prove that this is very significant.

10 degrees warmer is excellent, and 23 degrees warmer than the outside is even more telling.
I do not want to even know how to figure this but since the insulation was at the former temperature, it took some time warming up the insulation before it could start raising the room temperature.

Wow it was really cold there!

thank you,

jeanna

Len wrote:
Well, almost on it's own.... I noticed a couple of other solar collectors (AKA windows) on the front. Still, it was all free heat. Gotta love that.

Len, I had never gave much thought to the windows as far as contributing to any heat, but after your comment it made me think it very well could. So today I checked to see when the sun came into the window and when it left. The sun only shinned through the window from just before 3:00 pm and then down and out of view by just after 5:00 pm, so I have to say that it did not contribute to the earlier rise in the room temp. And with snow still on the roof, I know I wasn't getting any benefit from it there either.
So IMHO the only heat I was getting was from the earth berm and my solar heater.

jeannacav wrote:
Thank you for those details, Larry.
Also thank you for doing that experiment!
It is exactly what I need to prove that this is very significant.

10 degrees warmer is excellent, and 23 degrees warmer than the outside is even more telling.
I do not want to even know how to figure this but since the insulation was at the former temperature, it took some time warming up the insulation before it could start raising the room temperature.

Wow it was really cold there!

thank you,

jeanna

Yor welcome jenna.
Yea we are experiencing one of the worst winters here in over 20 years with record cold and snow. I want to know where this global warming is at that Al Gore PROMISED us!  Are normal lows are in the thirties and normal highs are in the fifties this time of year. There have been cattle dying and roofs caving in, and are lake marina boat shelters have collapsed. I have heard of people worried about container roofs being able to handle snow loads  , personally I think that is just dumb to think they will collapse from snow but that is just me. I can say with 8" of snow on mine it is just fine, doors open and shut and windows open and close just like they did before the snow   

sticky_burr wrote:
as soon as you cut the wall you lose the 'strong' part if you have snow load you will find out . take a measurement and under load check again.

So recently I decided to do just that. We had eight inches of snow the other day so I decided to take some measurements. My common since said it's pointless but curiosity got the best of me. So here are the results. The first measurements are with eight inches of snow on the roof.
Center of arch to floor---------------------------------87"
Windows, floor to peak  of arch-----------------------71-1/2"
Front door, center of door, floor to top of frame-----79-1/4"
floor to ceiling, middle of container--------------------89"
After snow melt
Center of arch to floor---------------------------------87"
Windows, floor to peak  of arch-----------------------71-1/2"
Front door, center of door, floor to top of frame-----79-1/4"
floor to ceiling, middle of container--------------------89"
We have had some record cold temps and snow fall amounts here in NE Oklahoma, and I know there is always the chance that it could get worse, I really don't believe I have anything to fear.   

Larry, the concern is that containers are built to bear the loads at the corners, not over their tops.  It's the same reason why you don't try to bury a container without building some kind of wall to keep the weight of the dirt from coming through the sides of the container.

In NE OK, you probably don't get a lot of 8" snowfalls.  If that should start becoming the norm, then you may have some problems five or six years down the road.

Muzhik wrote:
Larry, the concern is that containers are built to bear the loads at the corners, not over their tops.  It's the same reason why you don't try to bury a container without building some kind of wall to keep the weight of the dirt from coming through the sides of the container.

In NE OK, you probably don't get a lot of 8" snowfalls.  If that should start becoming the norm, then you may have some problems five or six years down the road.

Put enough weight on anything and something is going to give sooner or latter. And while I would agree that  you can not bury one of these without giving a great deal of consideration to the walls to insure they do not fail. I think in my situation, the structural integrity has not been compromised. There are 2X4 rafters ever 24" across the width of each container running the entire length of the ceiling and braced by 2X4 stud walls at a spacing of 16" each. The center portion of the ceiling has 2X4 running the length of each container and held into place by self tapping screws going into the box beam, again adding more support to the original frame. The back wall where the dirt is also has the 2X4 stud walls anchored to the floor and the ceiling and 1/2 t&g walls. Then there are three supporting cross walls to add even more support to any outside pressure, then where the dirt is piled at the most which is the pantry area, there are 5 shelf's, each having three 2X4 and 1/2 boards. These shelf's are anchored to the floor and braced against outer walls and one inner wall. 

The pantry is the only room where I did not put up walls along the container. I figured the shelves would give the walls the support it needs and it would give me a little more room. And I did not want anything blocking the thermal heating or cooling I would be getting from the berm.

Yeah, I think you're set!

Slowly coming together. Finally moving in some creature comforts.


Kitchen is not finished, but getting close. It should be done within 2 weeks.

Larry, you've done a fantastic job on that project of yours. It really looks great. Thanks a lot for keeping us updated on that I'm really enjoying the pictures.

Your welcome, and thank you for the kind words. I will update when the kitchen is done, hopefully in a week or to.

Well the kitchen is finished with the exception of one piece of trim board by the pantry entrance.
Just one room left, (the restroom) then I can join the real world again .

Dang Larry, I don't know what field you are in, but you sure could be a class A interior decorator or even a photographer -
pics look amazing..

What is the pump on the left of the sink connected to and where do i get a pump like that?

ronie wrote:
Dang Larry, I don't know what field you are in, but you sure could be a class A interior decorator or even a photographer -
pics look amazing..

What is the pump on the left of the sink connected to and where do i get a pump like that?

Thank you very much ronie. I am a retired automotive machinist.
The pump is a pitcher pump that I bought here http://www.survivalunlimited.com/handwaterpumpshallow.htm , I have two lines coming in from my well, one for pressured water, and one for my hand pump. This whole project was designed to function well during power outages or other types of disaster's. 

Looks great Larry!

Love that pump. Going to have to get one of those when I get my build going.

Larry, don't know what it is, but all the photos you posted yesterday are showing on my computer as "moved or deleted".  All the other pictures you've posted are showing up fine.

Muzhik wrote:
Larry, don't know what it is, but all the photos you posted yesterday are showing on my computer as "moved or deleted".  All the other pictures you've posted are showing up fine.

OOOOOOOOPS! I fixed it. Thanks

ok..I want to do this too! ...
..
....But...do you think the heat from welding could melt or burn away the expanding spray foam/

bwuilder wrote:
ok..I want to do this too! ...
..
....But...do you think the heat from welding could melt or burn away the expanding spray foam/

If you are talking about the initial spray foam between the containers, it will not hurt it so long as you alternate the welding as I did, say 1" left side then 1" right skipping 1" between welds. The welds are far enough away from the insulation that you can safely weld without harming it so long as you do not do a continuous weld.   

Well the last room in the shipping container is finished. It has taken about one year to get it done. There are a few things to finish up, like installing my solar electric panels and my solar water heater panel, but as far as finished rooms inside, it is a done deal.
What a journey 






     

[size=10pt][font=Verdana]My container cabin/shelter blog[/font][/size] http://seacontainercabin.blogspot.com/

Wow Larry. You have done a fantastic job on that. I am quite jealous. Always look forward to your updates. I plan to use quite a few of your ideas.

Super job! 

Larry,

I really enjoyed the idea of using aluminum cans as an air heater!

Thanks everyone for your comments. I will probably have one more updated sometime in the future when I get my solar panels up and running and my awnings over the windows. I will be using some of the metal that was cut out of the container for the awnings and I will also be using some of it for a pot holder over the stove. Lots of little things left, but it is now fully functional as is.
Thanks again. Larry 

Larry, Nice work on that house! Like it.

and the mansion interior was hella funny!

earthenhand wrote:


and the mansion interior was hella funny!

Oh you must be thinking of the guest rooms 

Wow Larry,  Your shipping container is truly beautiful.

I have a couple of pairs of pix to show some progress.
This is just on one container.
I will leave it as is for a while and work on the other one...

...I decided to make another room or pantry sort of thing

So, out of 20 x 8 feet which became 19 1/2 x 7 once the studs and walls were in,
I have a toilet room  (2 1/2' x 7'),
and from the 17 feet remaining I took 6' for a room of shelves (6' x 7')
this leaves the entry room as (11' x 7').

It is amazing that it can feel spacious.

I used B-I-N which is pigmented shellac and which is a fabulous sealer and leaves a semi gloss finish. It is bright and cheery.
I will add a tiny amount of color to the final coat but this is all for now.


So, here is the room with the wall started then finished. ..2 pix...

Followed by the shelves as just started then finished... 2 more pix...

the studs of this extra wall are 2 x 2 to save on thickness of wall.
They are all screwed into the studs and across the top into the ceiling studs.
The shelves are some cedar fencing which is about 1/2 inch x 3 inches which are screwed in as slats.

jeanna

Oh I forgot only 2 pix per post.

Here are the others:

jeanna

Great job Jeanna! Love the shelves.

Thanks for the update Jeanna! It is coming along nice. Your sheet-rock work is looking really good!
I really like  watching your progress  . Keep those updates coming.

Okay I am going to have to research that can heater a bit. Of course the problem for me may be getting cans because with what you can get selling them to recycle centers folks are rather posessive about them and it's rare I have a canned or bottled drink because we usually make tea.

BTW nice job on turning the containers into a house. While I have my home and land here. The wife has mentioned she wanted to get a place in the mountians as a vacation spot. If (and it's a big if) we ever do this is exactly the type of thing I am going to do because it appears to be low maintainence and once built something you could leave for a bit and then come back to and everything would be ready to go.

Peter K. wrote:
Okay I am going to have to research that can heater a bit. Of course the problem for me may be getting cans because with what you can get selling them to recycle centers folks are rather posessive about them and it's rare I have a canned or bottled drink because we usually make tea.

BTW nice job on turning the containers into a house. While I have my home and land here. The wife has mentioned she wanted to get a place in the mountians as a vacation spot. If (and it's a big if) we ever do this is exactly the type of thing I am going to do because it appears to be low maintainence and once built something you could leave for a bit and then come back to and everything would be ready to go.

Thank you. We collected all of our cans for the heater in the road ditches. We collected all we found over a couple days, and had enough left over to crush and cash in for $11.30.

Thanks everybody,

This is very exciting today.
It is not absolutely finished, but I got the door locks in, and it feels wonderful.

I will put the finishing coats of paint on and when that is done I will offer another pic if it looks different enough.

Then the traincar is next.

The terrible smell is worse underneath the container.
I stuffed straw temporarily between the bottom outside edge and the gravel to see if it would stop the smell, and it did completely.
So, I have been making cob to permanently replace the straw .
This will probably take a week or 2 along with everything else, but I am glad to be able to make a little cob.

And, the nettles are tender and delicious, because it is spring!

jeanna

A barn made from two shipping containers



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq9W7ckOJj8

I love your project! And I got the humor about the pics...LOL! Who knows how to find the best deals on shipping containers?