How to insulate a shipping container?

tigerstyle · 10 Feb 2011 at 09:50

I'm running a little project at the moment that might be converting a standard iso shipping container into a house, on the list of things to tackle is getting the right amount of insulation, and also the correct type.

Current rough plan is a standard 12mm plasterboard wall, supported by either 2*4" wooden stud walling or the metal type stud wall frames, don't know they're real name?

Reading here though it talks about condensation, http://www.wikihow.com/Insulate-a-Shipping-Container-Home specifically on the inside walls, I presume it means condensation within the insulation itself not on the interior plasterboard wall? What part of it would require venting, if at all? Cavity to atmosphere, or cavity to room? I know houses are built with those vent bricks around the lower sections, but don't know if they're used when cavity wall insulation is used?

I'm thinking 100MM deep loft insulation for the walls would be a good start, or on further research, possibly some kind of spray on liner first followed by loft insulation to make up the bulk. 300MM deep for the ceiling, some other junk under the floor

Ideas?

inspiration:

tigerstyle · 10 Feb 2011 at 11:03

Sadly no containers in my back garden yet, I'm planning to do this in about 5 years time, I know things will have changed then in the insulation industry possibly technology wise, but good to know the basics.

Really good things to think about here. I would make sure internally the containers are completely sprayed with a rust inhibitor, now thinking about it, this would be just like the sticky black tar car type underseal stuff, perhaps this canal boat stuff is the same? Can't imagine a thin spray like this being thermally any good though. The thicker spray on stuff I think is like an expanding foam type mix, that will set hard, like AB foam I think it's called? Bubbles up like an aero to do its thermal thing.

But loft insulation is so cheap I thought 100MM of that would do wonders for me, plus would have the benefit of keeping the sound low too, that and the option of specifying 9mm (cheap) or 12mm (luxury) or acoustic (5star gold) style plasterboard.

Just not sure what gaps to leave where? Bonus with the metal studwall is it's going to be easy to weld into place.

Summer heat will be ok as insulation works both ways and aircon will be built in as well as sliding doors here and there for lots of airlfow.

Fenestration will be ok too, large openings yes, but thick walls will leave loads of room for as much steel being cut out to be welded back in the form of girders for strength. If I was to make a part of it a 'roof garden' this wouldn't be resting flat on the tops of the containers, but a floating floor using the structural mounting points and girders, much like a standard deck would use concrete posts/piers.

Thanks for the price Greebo, first I've known about that, knew they'd be affordable though!

tigerstyle · 10 Feb 2011 at 11:38

It's all good, won't be in the UK. Korea, Australia, Japan, NZ? Somewhere like that. I know the planning laws will have to be looked at locally, as well as sewerage but thats a minor hurdle after getting the green light on a build out of containers.

I guess this is the foam in question, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o6M4a-Fhqg&feature=related looks ace to me! Hopefully has the acoustic properties I need, but being very dense I guess it will, thick plasterboard to the rescue if not!

Jingo, in post #10 you say vapour membrane and weep holes? Can you expand (pun

) on that please? Do you mean use something like bathroom spec plasterboard through out the house, I think I've seen something called foil backed also? that would keep out moisture from going into the insulation and keep it in the room instead, or open a window

tigerstyle · 10 Feb 2011 at 13:18

Please keep your racist crap for other threads, thank you. Oh and you could read the thread before posting too, save cluttering it up...

Thank you for the mini guide again Jingo, It's a homebrew project for now as just something to dream about/draw up in sketchup, but no stop into looking how it'll 'work' inside, hence the queries!

Kitchen/bathroom fans are standard fitment really, not going to be scrimping, and a family of 6 sees enough doors/windows being opened during the day for air changes, if I get flash there will be the whole heat pump air recovery thing going on too, but even our oldish windows at my folks place have a small vent on the top you can adjust separate to opening the window for constant ventilation. Building outside of UK regs would make things easier, but being a stiff Brit there is nothing wrong with following most of them, they make sense!

tigerstyle · 26 Mar 2012 at 13:22

interesting bump there

tigerstyle · 27 Mar 2012 at 03:12

It's more of a 'mental' long term plan rather than something that is happening now. It's an interesting concept to me, I'd only pursue it further if I could get a semi-luxury spacious finish as the result, I'm not wanting to do it in a fall out shelter/cheap living kind of way. Would be nice to incorporate them into another structure so the total house isn't 100 steel!

doofski said:
Building a home out of a shipping container. When its done properly its not as stupid as it sounds.

I've seen that one before, and it irks me as so little of the end result is container, and they chop them up so much it negates the point of using them, as soon as you start to chop them up they have zero strength and require reinforcing which means you're wasting tie/money/resources in the first place and the end result has no 'green' angle to speak of at all. But the end result in this way can look good!

Maccapaca: They aren't 'just' mild steel, they're made exclusively from Corten steel, one of the strongest steels there is and designed to weather in finish anyway. Thanks for the numbers on the insulation 100MM of spray foam would be easyish to do and stop any water problems on the inside too.
A HighCube is 2.7M tall so quiet a bit of headroom to double up on the needed insualtion too.

tigerstyle · 27 Mar 2012 at 12:47

LOAM said:
Even then you have huge cold bridge at the floor because you cant thermally break the floor / wall junction.

Say the floor is sitting on 100mm of insulation. The internal walls+roof have 150mm insulation, the entire interior f the box would be separate from the metal?

fwiw the floor is also just wood in shipping containers. Big sheets of it layed over steel joists that make the floor. So anyone building with one needs to pay attention to that.