Construction Office Set Up in Shipping Container

shipping container temp construction office door finish 0Every construction site needs a construction office.  A place to review drawings, eat lunch, and get out of the weather.  We decided to take two containers and set them up for just this purpose.  One shipping container is the main office space, with mock kitchen, large table, food storage, and a couch.  The second container has the sleeping quarters, with enough beds to sleep 5 people.  Both containers were outfitted with oversized sliding patio doors that are 8 feet tall.  They are installed directly behind the steel security doors, and demonstrates the project’s approach for obtaining large amounts of glazing yet maintain the security features of the containers.  We are now ready to start recycling and demolishing the old wooden cabin and barn.

 

shipping container temp sleeping

shipping container temp construction office door finish 4

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shipping container temp construction office 2

shipping container inside temp construction office 3

Building Permits issued for Shipping Container Cabin

Building Permit

Another milestone has been achieved.   The project is now approved for construction by the township building officials.  In this jurisdiction, building permit fees for new residential construction is about $2000.

The  success in achieving this milestone is partly to do with the excellent work from our design and structural engineering team, and partly to do with our approach and positive interaction with building officials and other approving authorities in the process.

Since the footprint of the Shipping Container Cabin will be in the same location as the current cottage, there is also a second building permit issued for demolition.  Demolition work will commence shortly and will involve a large effort to recycle as much of the old cabin as possible.  The objective is to classify materials, storing reusable wood and steel roofing materials for future use, recycling valuable copper, keeping waste wood products for firewood, and disposing of minimal waste to landfill such as glass, insulation, and drywall.

 

 

Scale Model of Our Shipping Container Cabin

 

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One of our excited project followers has taken the initiative of printing a scale model of our Shipping Container Cabin on his home built 3D plastic printer. For those of you who are unfamiliar with 3D plastic printing, there is a niche following of techies that design and build 3D printers that literally print out 3 dimensional objects using melted plastic droplets. Think of it as a miniature hot glue gun with brains, motorized controls, and a computer interface. This 3D model was printed using our original concept design for our shipping container cabin in Google SketchUp. As you can see, the end result looks just like our Project OCTOPOD!

We love it when people take the initiative to build creative projects with creative tools.  Imagine the day when we can print out full scale housing?

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Antarctic Shipping Container Research Station

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This shipping container project caught my eye given the sheer style and size of the complex.  Then you realize it is in the middle of nowhere.  Excellent project, this is certainly a noteworthy show piece.

http://www.gizmag.com/bharathi-research-base/28498/

 

Insulating Coatings for High Temperature Applications

Ceramic coating high temp testIn contrast to the previous post about using insulating coatings for ambient and cold temperatures, I would like to share my direct research on the use of ceramic coatings for high temperature applications.

I received a piece of metal with a 1/4″ think layer of ceramic coating, This is at least 10 times thicker than any of the manufacturer recommended thickness applications provided for our sea container cabin project. The origin of the coating was not confirmed, however we believe it is a SuperTherm product. We jumped straight into the high temperature test using the ceramic coated metal, a torch and an infrared temperature gun and videotaped the results to share with you.

This video speaks for itself.

Suffice it to say, I am convinced that ceramic coatings do have amazing performance characteristics in high temperature and high delta T applications that would be great for high temperature applications.

VIDEO: Ceramic coating high temperature test

DIY Shipping Container Cabin Kits

Sea Container Cabin is inspiring a growing number of shipping container cabin enthusiasts across Canada and around the world. We offer the following products and services to help others develop their own shipping container cabins, cottages, homes or buildings.

  1. Building with Shipping Containers – 2h Private Session with Jason Rioux. This is what everyone keeps asking us for. A 1-on-1 session outlining design and construction tips and techniques for building with shipping containers. This session provides clients with the “must-have” understanding of design and construction considerations unique to working with steel shipping containers.  This is the foundation of research and development upon which to create your own creative residence from recycled steel shipping containers.  The session covers details of key elements outlined in the Checklist above, and will save clients hundreds of hours in completing their own research and development. And we’ll share all the Q&As others before you have asked who have already started the process of building their own container projects. 2h Private Consultation Session is $300 + HST.  BUY NOW
  2. Octopod Construction Plans. Includes the full set of construction plans for the Octopod. This product is intended for DIY shipping container cabin clients that would like to build their own Octopod. The first Octopod project is fully constructed in Canada and serves as a demonstration facility for proof of concept and viewing by clients and customers. Site specific design review (such as foundations) and custom design changes are available upon request under Consulting Services. Octopod Construction Plans are available for $1000 + HST.  BUY NOW
  3. Octopod Materials Kit. Contains all the major construction materials required to build the Octopod. We source all the containers and construction materials, pack the containers with the construction materials, and ship the containers to your construction site, anywhere in the world.  Once the Kit arrives at your site, you are responsible for your own assembly and finishing of the Octopod. The Kit does not include concrete foundations or spray foam insulation which must be sourced and installed locally. Pricing of the Octopod Materials Kit is available upon request.
  4. Consulting Services. We provide consulting services on design, engineering, permitting, procurement, and construction of shipping container projects.  Whether it be expert advice, site specific Octopod design modifications, or full design and engineering of your own custom sea container home, it is based on your specific needs. Contact us for more information.

 

Taking Delivery of our Shipping Containers

sea container cabin

The Big Day (or days as it turned out) has arrived to take delivery of our shipping containers for our future shipping container cabin.

All 8 containers have arrived from China.  So we headed up to the shipping container yard to do a pre-inspection of the containers.  Most importantly was to verify the shipping placard labels for the pesticide treatments used during manufacturing of the wood floors.  The treatment was not what we expected to receive (this is not a feature that you can specify when ordering containers), but after some research we satisfied ourselves with it’s characteristics and that it will be satisfactory for our project given our construction techniques.
In Ontario, with all the snow melting in the spring time, it results in load restrictions for hauling heavy loads during this time of year.  In our case, the last 1km of travel is on a seasonal dirt road which is even more susceptible to road damage.  As a result, we needed to wait until the “half load” trucking restrictions were lifted by the local municipality, and delayed our ability to take delivery of the containers.
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Before the containers arrived, 50 cubic yards of gravel was brought in to expand the lay down area to accomodate all 8 containers beside the proposed construction site.  Here is a video of the existing cabin and lay down area, the Octopod will cover the area of the existing cabin and the drive shed.  VIDEO:  cabin before 360

All 8 containers were planned to be shipped up on a Tuesday.  The shipping company asked to advance shipment of half the cans to the previous Friday night and Saturday.  After waiting all evening, the 4 containers arrived at 12 midnight under a full moon.  The containers were unloaded from the tilt and load trucks and placed onto railway tie timber.  The truck drivers didn’t leave until 2am after working in the dark, and decided not to return on Saturday.  This meant the remaining containers would be shipped on Tuesday as originally planned.  Upon returning again on Tuesday, we noticed some damage to one of the containers on the front top beam above the door.  With the beauty of technology we were able to take photos and send them to the container company, who with excellent customer service in mind, had one of the trucks backhaul the damaged container and send a replacement unit that same day.  Here is a video of a container being unloaded from a truck onto railway tie blocks.  VIDEO:  container unloading

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 container deliveries first four

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Why shipping container homes?

Why are we interested in Shipping Container Homes?

Jason Rioux has always been intrigued by the fabulous creations and multiple uses of shipping containers for living space around the world. Many years ago, we purchased a retired shipping container and gave it new life storing our toys. Why? It was very cost effective, a quick solution given all you needed was to arrange delivery and we realized we couldn’t build a new garage that would parallel in keeping pesky rodents out.

Building, or dreaming of building, with containers is becoming a global trend with a lot of buzz.  Google searching shipping container projects will reveal some amazing projects around the world.  Dreamers and designers love playing with these giant lego blocks, imagining many creative ways to stack and assemble structures for all sorts of purposes. Uses range from residential, to institutional, to commercial, to industrial, to non-occupancy structures.

sea container cabin3 things propelled Workbench Corp. to pursue container development projects:

  1. Developing small urban spaces while being “green” and cost efficient
  2. Using non-standard building methodology of shipping containers as the primary building blocks
  3. High security and off-grid construction features

1. Developing small urban spaces in a “green” yet cost efficient manner.

We recently stumbled across a sliver of vacant land in downtown Toronto sandwiched between two existing buildings on a high traffic main road. Immediately the questions started flying. How can we optimize that skinny piece of land by developing a low cost commercial and residential building? Could we build something attractive and trendy yet energy efficient? Would anyone be interested in urban shipping container home living? Parcels of land come in all sizes, and shipping container building structures can be designed and constructed to footprints as small as 8′ x 20′.

The expectation of building with sea containers is that somehow you can build at a lower cost than standard construction materials and methods.  The objective on this project is to build the complete project for $100/sqft, as compared to standard construction budgets of twice this amount.  To achieve this, we are maximizing the benefits of working with containers, with the philosophies further outlined in the Concept and Design section.

2. Using non-standard building methodology of shipping containers as the primary building blocks

Projects have been developed around the world with containers, but very very few have been done in Ontario.  The ideas and construction methods used around the world have mostly been in warm climates.  Developing a project made of steel containers in a cold climate is much much different.  Ontario has extreme hot and cold spells, presenting many different challenges to be overcome.  Ontario has many containers structures in place as temporary structures, like construction offices, back woods containers modified into hunt camps, and various structures built without permits.  This project intends to break through the process of meeting Ontario Building Code, obtaining Building Permits, and building a permanent structure that will last the test of time.

Workbench is set on proving the design, construction techniques, and cost advantages of shipping container homes.  After proving out concepts and construction techniques, we intend to develop more projects in Ontario, and provide advice those who wish to develop their own.

3. High security and off-grid construction features

The property being developed is quite remote and has attracted some theft over the years.  Sea containers are not invincible, but they are a certainly a deterrent given the extra work required to cut several locks, lock boxes, and steel panels.  The seal and security of keeping out mice and insects is a common issue with cottage properties, and sea containers provide an amazingly tight envelope to work with.

Living and working with this off grid property over the last many years has enabled us to experience and improve many aspects of off grid living. In this container project we intend to build upon this experience with additional off grid creativity and simplicity. These off-grid features are useful for both off-grid and on-grid applications, as they provide a level of energy and water supply redundancy and self sufficiency in either situation.  As energy costs rise, the business case will continue to improve for the off-grid lifestyle.  It is a personal lifestyle and philosophy choice that isn’t for everyone, but for those up to the challenge, it is very gratifying to be less reliant on the “system” in day to day life.

Benefits of Shipping Containers

There must be millions of retired shipping containers just waiting to be reinvented. Why not create living space from sea container cabins, cottages, homes to garages? Your imagination will only bring countless uses of this product. They are available immediately, little preparation is required for their final resting place, they’re cost effective, green, fit in small places, secure and if necessary you can move it!

Do insulating coatings for Shipping Container Homes work?

Insulating Coatings

Can you imagine spraying an insulating paint in place of interior framing and traditional insulation methods? Talk about compelling. This chapter of the project describes the research that I went through to confirm whether or not insulating coatings for shipping container homes works for my application. The good news is we came to a conclusion. It is much better to reach a clear conclusion with supporting mathematics than it would have been to proceed on hope and faith.

4 Steps to Reaching a Definitive Conclusion on Insulating Coatings and Whether they live up to their Manufacturer’s Promise

1. Web based research

The first step in my research was a thorough and time consuming Internet search. This included finding the complete set of insulating coating product manufacturers, reviewing their product promises, and their application recommendations. There were very few companies that even passed the sniff test to be worthy of consideration. I read through countless blogs from marine enthusiast clubs to other shipping container housing projects to see what others have experienced. The result of this research was a lot of skepticism.

2. Direct contact with suppliers

I had different levels of contact with each supplier. I started with email contact with three suppliers. I proceeded to telephone conversations with reps and I even went as far as meeting representatives in Houston, Texas.

3. Doing the math

The usual questions and answers around insulating values are centered on R values. I was unable to get satisfactory answers regarding R value for insulating coatings so I changed my angle of questioning towards the raw building block of “Heat Loss” calculations. I specified my desired study condition and requested the technical engineering folks to provide me with raw heat loss calculations based on various recommended thickness levels of their insulating coating applications. Heat loss calculations came in the form of BTU loss per hour per square foot of surface area (btu/hr – sqft, or btu/sqft – hr). By asking this more technical question, I was able to get more direct and raw technical answers that weren’t masked with a bunch of arm waving and marketing lingo.

4. Bench scale testing

This would have been my final test to confirm whether the math held true, before building insulating coatings into my construction design work. But since the math was not attractive, I did not proceed to this step. I was very near moving to this step, in hopes and anticipation of promising math. The bench scale test was going to involve the construction of test boxes made of steel. Several test boxes of identical size and material would be built from off the shelf cold air return HVAC ducting materials given it is cost effective and readily available at the local HVAC shop. The boxes were likely going to be sized about 2’ square. Each box was going to be outfitted with a standard light fixture on the inside for creating a consistent heat source for all boxes.

There’s justification for skepticism on insulating coatings for shipping container homes.

Based on my raw calculations the most promising suppliers provided, in cooler climates insulating coatings simply perform poorly.

Insulating coatings applied per the manufacturer’s recommendations have 8x the heat loss of more traditional 2″ of closed cell spray foam for colder climates. No wonder all the skepticism online and good thing I was forewarned that it just might be too good to be true that an actual solution to not having to frame the inside of shipping container homes exists.

For more information on my findings, drop me an email or buy our DIY Shipping Container Cabin kit.

Project ‘Octopod’ Shipping Container Cabin

The ‘Octopod’ is our shipping container cabin and it features a unique Hub and Spoke design. The ‘Hub’ is a large centre octagonal great room and each radiating container is a ‘Spoke’ that serves a different purpose.  The name was inspired by our 4 year old daughter who is equally excited about the project as we are.

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The Octopod is based on the following design philosophies:

  • work with the containers, not against them
  • minimize the amount of cutting and welding
  • maximize the inherent strengths of containers, such as their structural strength, air tight envelope, material durability, and their high security features
  • maximize natural light and ventilation with window and door glazing at extremities and clear story centre
  • integrate numerous off-grid features
  • bill of construction materials to be sourced from local suppliers and sawmills

sea container cabin concept 2

 

The Octopod is 1400 square feet in gross floor area and will sit on 22 concrete piers. The structural integrity of the containers will allow them to sit on piers and clear span their full length. Taking advantage of this strength will minimize the amount of foundation work otherwise necessary for standard construction methods. The stock steel security doors will remain on the outward facing end of the containers, to be opened up and fully swung back when occupied, and can be shut and locked for high security when away.

Post and Beam timber will form the centre octogon great room. The vaulted ceiling height will be 18′ at its peak, with very large pine beams spanning overhead to support the indoor elevated water tower above the living space (to be describe further in future off-grid postings). The interior will be completely finished in warm wood products.

Seven 20′ high cube containers will be dedicated to various uses. A wood fired wet sauna will be featured on the west wing. A 2 piece washroom will be accessible to the interior. One dining box. One kitchen box. Two bedroom boxes. One workshop box. One storage and foyer box. Instead of an 8th box we are going with a large deck that has direct access (with security shutter) to the great room.

 sea container cabin overhead layout

 sea container cabin front

sea container cabin rear

If you have any questions on our Project Octopod Shipping Container Cabin, please leave us a comment or contact us.