Shipping container cabin

Ruble Noon · 08-09-2011, 15:47

http://seacontainercabin.blogspot.com/

TangoFoxtrot · 08-09-2011, 16:57

Ok heres my take for what its worth. If you do purchase one ....bury it underground leaving the door exposed (but cammo it up) and put in a ventilater. Use it for storage of you S/P stores. Don't tell your neighbors anything about it if at all possible.

Aceman · 08-09-2011, 17:22

Gotta love the guys priorities: Food storage is smallest room in the place.

cowboy1964 · 08-09-2011, 18:33

I still like wood better.

DoctaGlockta · 08-09-2011, 19:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowboy1964

I still like wood better.

Big Bird · 08-09-2011, 20:09

What does a sea-land container cost?

thejellster05 · 08-09-2011, 20:14

I want to know the cost too, it would have to be a lot of savings to be worth all the work.

Ruble Noon · 08-09-2011, 20:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Bird

What does a sea-land container cost?

It depends on the size that you want. The ones that he used are around $3500 each I believe.

racerford · 08-09-2011, 20:33

are some insulated?

Big Bird · 08-09-2011, 20:33

So he's got $7k in the shell and probably 35-40k in additional materials plus a year of weekend and evening labor...lets call it 20 hours a week X 52 weeks= 1040 hours @ $10 an hour (what I could earn delivering pizzas) $10k labor...$57k?

What's a repo'd 800 Sq ft manufactured home run? I'm betting you could get a 5 year old repo for less than $20k...

Ruble Noon · 08-09-2011, 20:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by racerford

are some insulated?

None that I have ever seen.

Cali-Glock · 08-09-2011, 21:40

I have found 40 foot shipping containers on Craigs list for as little as $1000 to $1500, but it would cost me that again to have it shipped to me.

Here is a 20 foot one for $600 - if I had a truck and trailer to haul it, I would send my brother over tonight to pay the guy the $600 and I would pick it up this weekend.

Regarding insulated ones: Here is an insulated 45 footer for $3900

A quick search on ebay found 40 footers for $2600-3300.

And this "40 footer already converted to a house and ready to transport" for $69K ROTFL - If I were in the market I might be interested if the price was $5-8K

If you use http://www.searchtempest.com/, and search on a regular basis you can find some deals on these shipping containers.

TangoFoxtrot · 08-10-2011, 02:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruble Noon

None that I have ever seen.

Same here that is why I would only use it for storage,

jdavionic · 08-10-2011, 03:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Bird

So he's got $7k in the shell and probably 35-40k in additional materials plus a year of weekend and evening labor...lets call it 20 hours a week X 52 weeks= 1040 hours @ $10 an hour (what I could earn delivering pizzas) $10k labor...$57k?

What's a repo'd 800 Sq ft manufactured home run? I'm betting you could get a 5 year old repo for less than $20k...

Yea, I'm not seeing it as great option either. No insulation, giant metal hotbox, lots and lots of time trying to polish a turd...and in the end, it's still a turd and you've got poo all over your hands.

John43 · 08-10-2011, 06:28

The other day there were three felons who opened fire(about twenty rounds at a police cruiser). After going into their home they found that when they built their home they had two of these buried under the home and had a shaft built down into the containers.

cowboy1964 · 08-10-2011, 11:16

Buried metal? Isn't that called R-U-S-T?

sebecman · 08-10-2011, 11:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowboy1964

Buried metal? Isn't that called R-U-S-T?

Not if you do it right.

There was a fellow in my area some years back who had 2 full size school buses buried next to his house with an access tunnnel thru the basement. The feds had him under surveliance for growing/selling dope.

After he didnt come out of th ehouse for a month they went in and discovered him in one of the buses with his underground garden.

mac66 · 08-10-2011, 12:47

Shipping containers are cool but they are kind of expensive in terms of cost per square foot. Factor in the initial cost plus transport cost and they way more expensive than a free standing arch type steel buildings.

They don't have much room in them and they are built to be stacked on the corners. That means you can't bury them unless you reinforce the top and sides.

I seriously looked into these a couple years ago. I even did a cost per square foot analysis of them vs a metal arch building, storage shed etc. The container was the most expensive. Everybody I talked to who had a container said them spent way more on it than they intended to.

On the other hand, here is one in Texas used as a hunting cabin

cyrsequipment · 08-11-2011, 05:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by sebecman

Not if you do it right.

There was a fellow in my area some years back who had 2 full size school buses buried next to his house with an access tunnnel thru the basement. The feds had him under surveliance for growing/selling dope.

After he didnt come out of th ehouse for a month they went in and discovered him in one of the buses with his underground garden.

Forgive me for throwing off the topic a bit, but could you give me a little more info on the location (and maybe the name) of the guy... I was looking for info on a similar incident a few months ago for work and couldn't find anything....

sebecman · 08-11-2011, 08:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyrsequipment

Forgive me for throwing off the topic a bit, but could you give me a little more info on the location (and maybe the name) of the guy... I was looking for info on a similar incident a few months ago for work and couldn't find anything....

PM Inbound.

**kirgi08** · 08-11-2011, 08:58

If you bury one underground insulation ain't a big deal,rust is.Set it on a gravel bed and have drainage and a sump pump set up.There are a ton of coatings you can put on the unit that will inhibit rust.Ventilation is your next worry.

The biggest sticking point for most is sanitation,do you want a outhouse or will you spring for a septic system for the shipper.I've known folks that have gone both ways,from what I've heard the septic system is the way ta go.Another thing ta remember is that the tops of the shippers is a heck of a lot stronger than the bottoms are,there meant ta be stacked.So you can rotate the unit upside down and strenghthen the new roof with angle iron a salt treated lumber ta help support it if buried.Heating/cooling are negligeable due ta the fact the unit is bearmed and should maintain a comfortable temp.'08.

1 old 0311 · 08-11-2011, 11:44

Never would have thought of that.

GeorgiaGlockMan · 08-11-2011, 12:38

I have a 53 ft'r with a 3x7 man door, 6ft wide roll door (in side) and 2 windows (with burgler bars).

Delivered it was about $6K.

It was an over the road container and was 10 yrs old when I got it.

It is un-insulated and gets like an oven in the summer. I had plans to make it into a little cabin but it would be a shame to invest any more money into this thing. In the end it will always be a shipping crate. The width is also not very condusive to what I'd call a normal sized room.

Bury it? I doubt it would make it 10 yrs in a wet place without rusting through.

Like others said it has a high initial cost per sq ft. I needed something quick and portable.

Good Luck!

pugman · 08-23-2011, 13:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowboy1964

I still like wood better

That's what she said...

Thank you...I will be here all week

bdcochran · 08-23-2011, 13:30

I was impressed by the effort undertaken in the link.

My attitude towards life is 1. the half baked job I do is better than the perfect job that is never undertaken; 2. beware of mission creep in your plans and goals.

When I looked at the link, I noticed that the placement of the structure was going to be under trees. This is good for landscaping, but not for protection from fire. The aluminum cargo containers will melt. The steel ones will bake the contents. Brrc.org. Happened to my club's containers when a wildfire went through.

The key elements for me would be: 1. obtaining clean water; 2. disposing of waste material; 3. security for equipment; 4. fire protection, and 5. comfort as a retreat. Comfort comes last. The other considerations are more practical.

If you live in an area of the country where: 1. you don't need a building permit, 2. you don't need a permit to dig a well (assuming that there is water), and 3. you can install a septic tank (forbidden in different jurisdictions), you have an advantage. If a person ignores those considerations, he will have a problem.

In my area, it is illegal to put a shipping pod on the street temporarily. I know because I asked for permission when reroofing. It doesn't matter that a guy 4 blocks away had one sitting in the street for four months and that the law wasn't enforced against him. It is also illegal to put a shipping container in the backyard, although I can go around and point out a couple in the neighborhood. Eventually, someone, not me, will point it out to the zoning people and bye bye containers.