I'm getting at least one 40ft steel intermodal shipping container (they go for 1500 bucks delivered in Sumter County, SC if anyone else is nearby) to add some shop space, and am looking for slick ideas to make it as useful as possible. A white interior paint job, power and AC will be easy, but I'm sure some of you have worked with sophisticated shops based on these.

 

There is a thread here that mentions one users shop plans for using these containers. You could always use 2 sitting side by side about 30' apart and roof over them. That would give you a 30x40' shop with storage and shop space on either side.

 

I actually Have many of these containers I rent them out for storage units as well as use them myself for storage. I have a extra door in my 30 x 30 shop and I have it tight to the wall so I have a "cold storage unit 8 x 20' off this extra door. I keep the not so used shop stuff in them ie: motor lift hydraulic press removed parts from current projects etc...

 

We used alot of these in a small shipyard I used to work at years ago for small shops and storage. The first thing I suggest is cut a hole in the top or side and install a air vent or fan. They can get pretty warm inside if they are in a sunny spot. We also put two side by side, welded the roof and ends together and cut out the common or middle side making a double wide.

Pbfoot

 

I'd suggest looking into getting one of the refrigerated ones. The last two I've set up were this style. They come with stainless steel interior walls, a white ceiling, a hole and vents in the front for a/c, and grated aluminum floor.

They use foam insulation. The exterior walls are smooth and the interior walls are only slightly corrigated. This makes the install of vents, windows, etc a lot easier that the regular corrigated.

The grated floors are channeled for the return air flow. The gap between the channels are wide enough to accept 1/2" or 3/4" EMT and it's easy to put some down before the floor. But the channels are ridged and spaced close enough to use 1/2" plywood for the floor - no problem.

They cost a few bucks more. The one I did last week was $1800 w/$350 delivery.

 

where you live , insulation and heat ,bob

 

A little cold and dark up there, bob?.. I'm not sure what the R factor of the insulation on these are. It can't be much more than a couple inches, so about R-8 to R-12 would be a guess.

We have pretty mild winters here in the valley and it doesn't take much to heat. In the summer, an uninsulated/unvented container box gets pretty warm - probably bake biscuits.

 

this time of year , its real cold and real dark, can you tell by some of my replys that I sometimes stand out in the cold and dark a little to long? good luck,bob

 

Torque1st,

I'd actually given some thought to "use two and put a roof over the space in-between", but was unsure if they'd support the weight of the roof (trusses and metal). Does anybody have engineering specs, diagrams, etc? Whatever I build would have to be "code-worthy"... Anybody out there actually done this?

DadVan

 

If you are covered by a building code they will never allow it. They only allow "creative solutions" where there aren't codes.

 

Support is no problem, as the containers are designed to be stackable, and a roof, by comparison, is trivially light. This is done often in my area, even with weaker trailer bodies.
I"m going to get around calling the result a permanent structure by using some steel building trusses, but making them removable by attaching them to the container top edge by a simple hinge pin setup. Roof bolts will be anti-seized (worked insanely well on my 20ft Steelmaster) so I actually could field strip it for moving.
The wife had the nice idea to paint them military (either OD or Forest) green to conform to the "deployable" theme and blend seemlessly into our country setting. (She's an ex USAF CH-3 crew chief.)

 

they do that roof in the middle thing up here all the time , works good and triples the size of the shop,bob

 

All,

Thanks for the replies to my query. Yah, I live in a "coded area" and would therefore be unable to utilize a creative (less expensive) solution. Back to planning for a pole barn I guess...

I do have to tell ya that it's not always been so strict around here! Twenty years ago I built my own home (actually built it, didn't have it contracted...), a dome home at that, and had a building inspector that wanted to HELP me get it right. Imagine that, a public employee wanting to help the public! <g>

DadVan

 

If you do go for a container..Iv'e seen a buddy of mine put up a wide flange beam lengthwise and added a chain fall to it to move things around inside the unit...worked pretty good. As for joining them...you can weld pretty much anything to these units...they stack them 10 high on the ships...

rgds,

stk

 

I wouldn't give up just due to living in an area with building codes or covenants. Waivers are not impossible if your presentation is good.
A Google search for "shipping container houses" shows a fair number of advanced structures built with intermodal containers, and with a roof and siding they can be indistinguishable from a much weaker conventional structure.
Even if one lived in a suburb, siding or stucco and a suitable roof would be a breeze to set up.