Have you seen a cargo shipping container home in your city yet as an alternative green housing?

I have seen commercial buildings with shipping containers used and covered with SIPs

I've yet to see them used as housing in New England. But I've seen (though not been inside) this office building in Providence RI, about 50 miles away. 

I have yet to find any detailed info on the thermal envelope design, but it's heating/cooling loads are low enough to be handled by air-source heat pumps in a location with a 99% design heating temp of +10F (cooling 1% temp of 86F.)

I suppose one could glue rigid foam to it and then coat the whole thing with a thin layer of fiber reinforced concrete (or stucco). Strong, cheap, fairly rot and termite proof. Might even look OK.

Your treatment of the exterior (or not) might depend on whether you were in a cool or a warm climate. For example, it seems that cool climates might lend themselves to no additional exterior treatment, while warm climates might demand some exterior radiant protection or, better yet, shading. Of course, a shade would be ideally suited to support solar hot water or PV panels.

What factors recommend the use of shipping containers over, say, modular or traditional "mobile" homes?

USF project under the direction of Russel Stanley The containers were topped off with SIPs finished........

There is company in New Jersey called QuikHouse that is selling prefab houses made from shipping containers

Posted By ICFHybrid on 28 Apr 2012 01:35 PM
Your treatment of the exterior (or not) might depend on whether you were in a cool or a warm climate. For example, it seems that cool climates might lend themselves to no additional exterior treatment, while warm climates might demand some exterior radiant protection or, better yet, shading. Of course, a shade would be ideally suited to support solar hot water or PV panels.

What factors recommend the use of shipping containers over, say, modular or traditional "mobile" homes?

The structural rigidity/integrity of welded reinforced steel makes it far more resiliant to seismic forces, and the roof can't be blown off in hurricane force winds (although the quality of the anchoring would be important for tornadic wind forces.) 

Since they're designed to take the racking and wind forces of rough seas in open ocean winds while stacked 8-deep they're pretty substantial, unless you go out of your way to ruin that by how it's cut up to become a building unit.

unless you go out of your way to ruin that by how it's cut up to become a building unit.

Seems like if you cut them up too much you end up wasting the inherent value. Like trying to make a 2000 sf home out of six containers with a lot of open space that ends up at $60/sf. You'd be better off going for a true modular approach of 320, 640 or 960 sf and retaining the walls- just cut passages.

I wonder what they do to get to R50?

Given the already small size, I wouldn't want to add much insulation to the interior. I agree with anchoring it well.

I personally don't see where cargo-can homes make a lot of sense, but maybe for "tiny-homes" (http://www.thetinylife.com/ ) or vacation cabins they make sense. A 5000'er would be pretty silly. The less you cut up, stack and weld, the more sense they make.

Insulating the interior with 3" iso yields and R20 wall & ceiling leaving ~300' of floor area. In most of the US that would be sufficient R for comfort, and the small size yields miniscule heating/cooling load. The floor might be left at R10 or even less, depending on whether it's earth-coupled to the slab/foundation etc. There's little point to taking it to R50. In a cooling dominated climates a cool-roof coating on the roof or a overhanging roof/shade would do more good than high-R.

Insulating the interior with 3" iso yields and R20 wall & ceiling

Is that 3" of iso board inside of the corrugated walls? Is there any point in filling the corrugations with something?

7'10" inside height, minus insulation on ceiling and floor, minus floor coverings, minus gypsum to cover the ceiling foam (fire/code). It's going to feel low. The air seal has to be perfect - no interior moisture can get to the cold exterior steel or it will start dripping.

High cube containers would be the ones to use for residences. The interior clearance is 8'-9".

For container-sized mini-homes, R50 would be just about passive house territory, even without additional heat inputs from cooking, lighting and whatnot. Dana is right about overkill. You might be better off down by R20 or even less for most climates. Cold weather locales would do well to set the individual containers next to each other - another argument for keeping the insulation level down.

Using shipping containers is an old idea and has been part of the alternative construction community for forty years plus. There was a time when containers were very cheap. Some ports were giving them away for the cost of removal because thousands of containers had been abandoned. This was because of high import imbalances to specific areas. When they were close to free using them made a lot of sense. Currently they are faddish and not cheaper than a standard build and have many issues that need to be addressed in order for them to make sense. The above referenced company is offering a kit home at an average of $145 per foot. This is not a better option than others that exist. If you can get the containers for less than $500 then it makes sense. If you are doing it at no cost benefit then you are participating in a fad and not a great idea.

Other notes from experience with containers. Containers are strong at the corner posts and the floor. The side walls and roof corrugated panels will not handle significant loads without modifications. Using containers as the side walls and spanning the center leaves a 24 by 40 room in the center with 8 foot rooms on the sides. This is an efficient use of containers to replace structural walls in a 3200 square foot home. Do not remove more than 25% on corrugated sides without adding reinforcement. Containers also involve a lot of plasma cutting and welding. These services are expensive if not DIY.

Brian

Containers also involve a lot of plasma cutting and welding. These services are expensive if not DIY.

In the previous entries, several posters noted that cutting containers up to make big, eye-pleasing spaces was defeating much of their value.

With 300 SF per container, it really doesn't matter much whether you are getting abandoned containers for next to nothing or quality containers for $500 or more. The difference is a few dollars per square foot. Probably not worth it to have to repair cheapies first. Other additions are going to add quite a bit more relatively speaking.

What are we calling a standard build? "Homes built on your land for less than $40/SF!"?

or $80/SF as per NAHB?

Last time I checked new containers were $12,000 plus. One use containers were $6000ish. Well used containers in the $2500 to $3500. At the high point the containers were over a $1000 in scrap value. 40 foot containers weigh 8000 pounds.

All of this adds up to they cost more to integrate into a house design and are of lower quality and efficiency than the H.I.D.E.N systems approach provides with all new materials. So why would I consider shipping container construction today? It as a value proposition does not pencil.

Brian

All of this adds up to they cost more to integrate into a house design and are of lower quality and efficiency than the H.I.D.E.N systems approach provides with all new materials

Using shipping containers to construct homes is not the same thing as trying to build 1200 square foot or larger homes for $100/SF. Shipping containers can make good homes in the 300 and 600 foot sizes. The trick is not to integrate them into a house design, but let the container structure dictate the design.

It would be foolish to use new containers. Quality used containers can be had for $3,000 or less. Containers with door damage are particularly good because the door end is the one that would be commonly replaced.

ICFHybird,

How many shipping container homes have you built? I have used them in three home builds over 20 years ago. Can they be used? Yes. Are they the best answer today? No

If you are building a portable, shippable and modular home they have a place. Used as temporary accommodation great. Used as they come as a camping shelter or storage shed they have a place. If they are close to free they have a place. The $3000 variety cut, welded, reinforced, insulated, made super-efficient, sided, and finished are not the best or most economic method to accomplish an attractive, comfortable and low cost efficient home.

Better options exist for quality home construction no matter the size or configuration.

Brian

If you are building a portable, shippable and modular home they have a place. Used as temporary accommodation great.

Exactly. That is what we are talking about.

not the best or most economic method to accomplish an attractive, comfortable and low cost efficient home.

It would appear that is open to opinion.