Since land is cheap but houses are crazy expensive (and most are notably not SHTF-worthy), I’ve been looking at shipping containers as an inexpensive way to build weather-resistant structures. You can pick these things up - used, obviously- for under a couple grand, have them shipped to a location, and then cut and weld them to fit whatever design or shape you need. Thanks to Zack for some great information, btw…
click on the image to go to Zack Smith’s site devoted to Container Architecture.
Stewart Brand, of the Whole Earth Catalog, talked about creating his library/workspace out of containers (bought for $500 apiece in the 70s) that he put up plywood walls and electrical conduit inside of. Not only should the 1/4″ corrugated steel be very structurally sound, it will probably stop a lot of small rounds… And you can bury them, put them together in lots of different configurations, and they’re square!
The problem might be convincin’ The Woman that this is a good idea…
12 responses so far ↓
1 vlad // Jul 10, 2009 at 6:05 pm
http://tinyurl.com/3kwnoa
excerpt
Dear Sir,
Three observations on shipping containers. According to the tags on the doors, the timber component (the floor to most people) almost invariably is treated with serious pesticide. There are multiple purposes to the pesticide treatments - a) to prevent transplantation of harmful insects around the world, b) to protect the structure of the floor, and c) to protect the contents from infestation
and damage. The treatments are serious both in quantity, being roughly in the range of 1 to 10 pounds of pesticide in the wood, and serious in quality. Even 5 lbs is enough to kill a staggering number of insects. As often as not, these pesticides have been banned in the US (and frequently Europe too). Some cause cancer (e.g.., DDT) while others cause testicular atrophy (e.g., Phoxim). Some take hours of diligent searching to track down on the internet either because of trade names or cryptic abbreviations. Pesticides are at least somewhat volatile and almost certainly will permeate the contents
over time, especially if the can gets hot. Note that the contents can include occupants; caution with food storage in containers also advised, unless strong measures are
taken (e.g., remove and replace the floor with untreated wood). Please note that lacquers, varnishes, paints and plastic sheets are highly permeable to organic vapors.
2 John // Jul 10, 2009 at 10:19 pm
I’ve Investigated using shipping containers for inexpensive housing. The containers I was looking at were 9ft.x8ft.x20ft., 9×8x40. The cheapest ones I found were 2k-3k plus delivery. the roads they use for delivery, must be able to support A roll on, roll off truck. Once you get it to the site you have to have away of moving it around. Your also going to have to have welding skills. Unless you have the skills of rigging and erecting, welding, and an opperating enginer count on spending lots of money to get one set-up usable.
3 RM // Jul 10, 2009 at 10:28 pm
So, gutting the thing and putting in new innards is part of the plan…
1. get the site
2. survey site - get accurate measurements of EVERYTHING, just like building a house
3. do complete site-plan - where are these things going once they get here, etc
4. prepare the site- clear any trees, etc as you would for a house. Maybe dig a foundation, or a hole for one bunker-style.
5. order containers, have shipped & delivered to location.
6. bleach the motherfuckers. strip ‘em of all internal materials.
7. rent/pay for crane (1 day)- since we’ve got it all planned out, it should take a couple hours to lay the things out as needed.
8. Cut- these things are 1/4 inch steel mostly, and therefore cuttable with a plasma torch or even a grinder.
9. Weld- use the parts you cut to make awnings, partitions, etc.
10. Materials- additional materials are a must. Wood/sheetrock/floors/windows have to be installed to make something like this livable.
Have a look at that site by Zack Smith, it’s got some very interesting container projects that have actually been built.
4 3rdman // Jul 10, 2009 at 10:46 pm
Do not attempt to bury them. The shipping containers are design to bear the weight on the four corner. This is so they can be stacked on top of one another. The walls of the shipping containers will collapse if you start putting large amounts of pressure on them like from dirt when your bury them.
5 John // Jul 11, 2009 at 9:15 am
The only way that I see using shipping containers as being practical is if you can get them for free. Using a plasma cutter in the field is going to require a large generator 30 amps/230 volts, and an air compressor. Modifying them in A shop set up for metal fabrication and shipping them out to the field ready to install would be the way to go.
6 theotherryan // Jul 11, 2009 at 12:47 pm
The last line sums up a conversation I just had with Wifey.
7 Mark // Jul 11, 2009 at 12:49 pm
For the person that commented about the pesticides in the wood? Yeah it would be a good idea to replace the wood under any circumstances.
But sorry, DDT does NOT cause cancer. It was banned because in the 70’s it was thought to cause problems in the eggs of Raptors.
CONEX’s CAN be buried. prep your pit for the container, proper drainage, etc. Put the CONEX in, waterproof the outside of the container. On the INSIDE of the container, Build framing using 2 x 4 Studs, to absorb the pressure coming in on the walls and roof. Then cover CONEX.
8 SurvivalTopics.com // Jul 12, 2009 at 9:24 am
DDT causes vast problems, not just to a few eggs in one type of bird. Stay away from it:
From Wikipedia:
DDT is toxic to a wide range of animals in addition to insects. It is highly toxic to aquatic life, including crayfish, daphnids, sea shrimp and many species of fish.
It is less toxic to mammals but cats are very susceptible, and in several instances cat populations were significantly depleted in malaria control operations that used DDT, often leading to explosive growth in rodent populations.
DDT may be moderately toxic to some amphibian species, especially in the larval stages. Most famously, it is a reproductive toxicant for certain birds species, and it is a major reason for the decline of the bald eagle, brown pelican peregrine falcon, and osprey. Birds of prey, waterfowl, and song birds are more susceptible to eggshell thinning than chickens and related species, and DDE appears to be more potent than DDT.
9 John M // Jul 20, 2009 at 8:00 am
If the chemicals that these are treated with are harmful, then we are already screwed since most everything around us is shipped nowdays. The toxins would be all over whatever was inside. Also, authorities would probably cause trouble if they find that children are allowed inside.
10 john // Aug 7, 2009 at 9:07 pm
We buried 40 footers in the desert sand, just so they were below grade. The sides began to be pushed in and had to be braced with a lot of lumber. I don’t know how they would perform with US dirt, but it could get a bit sketchy.
11 Self Sufficient Home // Aug 12, 2009 at 12:33 pm
John- I agree you would NOT want to bury these without any form of bracing… it just makes no sense they are not made to see side loads only top and bottom (crushing).
12 barb // Nov 18, 2009 at 3:20 pm
What would one do to keep the toxins in shipping containers from leaching. There must be something to block leakage. I would be cautious as you do not know what was sprayed in the containers. get new ones
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