In my last days as a lobsterman, my partner The Notorious B.O.B. and I joked about it. We had a 20' container we insulated for storage and winter trap repair/baiting cod hooks on the dock. We had a grill on the dock, a walk-in fridge for bait and dinner (we ate before going home), and a perfectly good ocean underfoot for a bathroom. We never quite got so drunk or poor that we moved in, though.
This is actually a pretty clever idea for a hunting camp up in Maine. Hmmm.
Forget the shelter, going hunting with Og is worth it for the pot of hot cheese dip that he brings. We chowed down on that and drank something made of rum and probably sterno. Id didn't matter where you slept as long as you were downwind of the next person.
These things are not good dwelling places. Humidity cannot easily escape and they become wet inside, fast. This requires a humidifier or an AC unit set to run long enough to dry the air. Looks like a good idea and folks are trying it but I doubt they will repeat this experiment.
Could you give us a little more as to your shipping container background and how they differ so much from the tens of thousands steel building used every day for banks, homes, offices, work plants, schools, airplane hangers, restaurants? Do they all have to have dehumidifiers also, or is there something very different about them, if so what? All the ones I have seen have metal sides and roofs just like a shipping container.
Steel buildings are not steel walled. They have gyp board underlayments, vapor barriers, insulation and weatherproof membranes in the walls. The steel is just structure. A shipping container in unmodified condition would make a horrible shelter of any kind due to moisture, heat, and cold. The ceilings would quite literally be dripping with moisture after one night.
The upshot here, however is that these aren't unmodified. Fur out the walls on the inside, insulate them, apply a vapor barrier and some sort of interior finish (gyp and paint?) And there is no reason it wouldn't be a perfectly functional shelter. Also, you'd need to add ventilation of some sort, as well as heating and AC.
So once you make it livable it isnt nearly so inexpensive as folks suppose. Still pretty cheap and easy in the grand scheme of things, however.
I've considered doing this out at the farm; stick four of them together with a courtyard in the middle,or something similar. Use spray-foam insulation inside to the point where you can heat it with a hundred-watt light bulb (remember those?).
I have been dreamin of a little cabin up in the mountains made out of one of these for a few years.
ive owned a shipping container for storage and it was dry and never damp. had a nice hardwood floor too. my plan is to leave the doors and put a second wall and door and window just inside of the steel doors for a kind of porch when your there then when your not on the property you lock the front original door and go home with a safe secure cabin waiting for the next trip. plus you could build out the interior at home and then have it trucked up to the property ready to use.
Pretty neat, and almost 100% EMP-proof!
ReplyDeleteIn my last days as a lobsterman, my partner The Notorious B.O.B. and I joked about it. We had a 20' container we insulated for storage and winter trap repair/baiting cod hooks on the dock. We had a grill on the dock, a walk-in fridge for bait and dinner (we ate before going home), and a perfectly good ocean underfoot for a bathroom. We never quite got so drunk or poor that we moved in, though.
ReplyDeleteThis is actually a pretty clever idea for a hunting camp up in Maine. Hmmm.
Actually they are now making apartments, businesses, etc out of them... :-)
ReplyDeleteGot some serious third-world charm going for it.
ReplyDeleteI would live there.
BP,
ReplyDeleteNot a new concept.
I believe that Og, aka Neanderpundit uses some form of shipping container shelter as a hunting lodge.
Dr. Jim, cutting a hole in the thing probably makes it less than 100% EMP resistant. ;-)
ReplyDeletePaul, that's the idea. Inexpensive getaway.
Forget the shelter, going hunting with Og is worth it for the pot of hot cheese dip that he brings. We chowed down on that and drank something made of rum and probably sterno. Id didn't matter where you slept as long as you were downwind of the next person.
ReplyDeleteThese things are not good dwelling places. Humidity cannot easily escape and they become wet inside, fast. This requires a humidifier or an AC unit set to run long enough to dry the air. Looks like a good idea and folks are trying it but I doubt they will repeat this experiment.
ReplyDeleteCould you give us a little more as to your shipping container background and how they differ so much from the tens of thousands steel building used every day for banks, homes, offices, work plants, schools, airplane hangers, restaurants? Do they all have to have dehumidifiers also, or is there something very different about them, if so what? All the ones I have seen have metal sides and roofs just like a shipping container.
DeleteSteel buildings are not steel walled. They have gyp board underlayments, vapor barriers, insulation and weatherproof membranes in the walls. The steel is just structure. A shipping container in unmodified condition would make a horrible shelter of any kind due to moisture, heat, and cold. The ceilings would quite literally be dripping with moisture after one night.
DeleteThe upshot here, however is that these aren't unmodified. Fur out the walls on the inside, insulate them, apply a vapor barrier and some sort of interior finish (gyp and paint?) And there is no reason it wouldn't be a perfectly functional shelter. Also, you'd need to add ventilation of some sort, as well as heating and AC.
So once you make it livable it isnt nearly so inexpensive as folks suppose. Still pretty cheap and easy in the grand scheme of things, however.
I've considered doing this out at the farm; stick four of them together with a courtyard in the middle,or something similar. Use spray-foam insulation inside to the point where you can heat it with a hundred-watt light bulb (remember those?).
ReplyDeleteThat was pretty much my point to kansas scout. This is my cabin and after three years of completion, I have never had a moisture issue.
ReplyDeleteI have been dreamin of a little cabin up in the mountains made out of one of these for a few years.
ReplyDeleteive owned a shipping container for storage and it was dry and never damp. had a nice hardwood floor too. my plan is to leave the doors and put a second wall and door and window just inside of the steel doors for a kind of porch when your there then when your not on the property you lock the front original door and go home with a safe secure cabin waiting for the next trip. plus you could build out the interior at home and then have it trucked up to the property ready to use.