diy solar

diy solar

Framing the container

Ekard

New Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2023
Messages
61
Location
USA
Most of us who have purchased a shipping container as storage/lab/workshop did so because they are cheaper per sq/ft and more secure than an "Amish" shed. I have a shed and it happens to be a Roman Catholic shed (as if the religion of the builders matter), but the shipping container is where the solar system, tractor, and a few other goodies will go.

So off I went youtubing away to get ideas to frame the container out. Most of what is out there assumes one wants to frame it out to be a tiny house (OMG I hate that term).

Finally, I found a video by a guy with more common sense than money. I think this is how I'll frame mine (though I won't drill holes in the skin, rather use construction adhesive).

Take a look at his video and tell me if you see anything particularly bad about his idea.
 
I used Insofast with construction adhesive then 4 inches on ceiling and 3 inches foam purchased locally then glued restaurant aluminum foil over the foam. Outgassing from local foam was a letdown. Walls are soft/easily dented. Otherwise much better than raw.
 
Last edited:
So irrelevant to my post. No desire to insulate, and I'm not spending over $100 on all the 2x4s I'll rip to do it. You work for these people?

It's a lot more than $100.00.

You seem frustrated. Are you struggling with figuring out how to attach framing so you can hang stuff on the walls or something?
 
It's a lot more than $100.00.

You seem frustrated. Are you struggling with figuring out how to attach framing so you can hang stuff on the walls or something?
Not frustrated, just looking at how to best, and most inexpensively do some framing of a conex to be used for equipment storage. And asking for an evaluation of the particular Youtuber's method.

Posts like the one you made remind me of the old joke about post soviet Russians.
Vlad: Hey Sergei, you like my new jacket? I spent $2,000 for it.
Sergei: Idiot! You could have gone to the shop around the corner and paid $5,000 for it.

I guess that's internet forums though.
 
Not frustrated, just looking at how to best, and most inexpensively do some framing of a conex to be used for equipment storage. And asking for an evaluation of the particular Youtuber's method.

Posts like the one you made remind me of the old joke about post soviet Russians.
Vlad: Hey Sergei, you like my new jacket? I spent $2,000 for it.
Sergei: Idiot! You could have gone to the shop around the corner and paid $5,000 for it.

I guess that's internet forums though.

My framing was free. There was a bunk of 2x8 that had been used as form wood here at work that I ripped up and used.

Figuring out how to frame a container can he a real challenge to the inexperienced.

I can't fathom framing it out but not insulating it. That doesn't make sense.
 
My framing was free. There was a bunk of 2x8 that had been used as form wood here at work that I ripped up and used.

Figuring out how to frame a container can he a real challenge to the inexperienced.

I can't fathom framing it out but not insulating it. That doesn't make sense.
You win! I'm a freaking idiot. Ok?
Now back under the bridge troll.
 
You win! I'm a freaking idiot. Ok?
Now back under the bridge troll.

If your budget is less than $100.00 and you don't want to buy wood or screw anything to the wall, that doesn't leave many options other than just buying a couple tubes of adhesive and sitting inside container and huffing it.


Also, we were trying to help and merely posted what we had done to "seed" the conversation and give you ideas based on whatever it is you're trying to accomplish and you went all x wife on us. ?
 
Last edited:
What's your ventilation game-plan? What's your climate?
Well, let's consider that the 4 corner vents on every conex managed to keep the container pretty well vented going across a salty ocean several times in the heat or cold. My container first saw use in 2004 as far as I can tell, and has no rust on the interior, so it seems they don't work too badly. Also consider much of what you've ever bought "did time" in one of these containers, so the as-built ventilation isn't too bad.

I am worried about fuel vapors in the summer time since there will be an aggregate 15 gallons of gasoline and 10 gallons of diesel in the tanks of the equipment stored within. I live in an area where temperature range from -14C to 46C (at the extremes, not for prolonged periods). Though the container is somewhat shaded, this still concerns me. Even at 10C I smell fuel when I open the container.

I will initially be adding some passive vents to the lower walls to hopefully let most of the heavier-than-air fumes to escape. If the smell still concerns me, I'll consider a small, continuous duty, sealed exhaust fan or two. Creating even a slight negative pressure environment in the container will also help with humidity, or at least prevent any condensation.

Adding fans will probably require an increase in my battery capacity though.
 
Last edited:

How about making a storage area with fencing not solid walls?
 
The adhesive attached insofast product can have raceways and plastic sections that can be screwed into for interior needs. Apologies for not understanding what you were looking for.
 
The adhesive attached insofast product can have raceways and plastic sections that can be screwed into for interior needs. Apologies for not understanding what you were looking for.

I still don't understand what he wants? Why from the container but not insulate??

Shelving? In which case just build shelves....so much mystery without knowing the final purpose.
 
Well I just checked and the OP was on diysolarforum today. I continue posting here for other people since that can help in the future.

I did a YouTube video about my experience early in the process regarding insofast shipping container insulation (at least the first layer) and it is one of my most watched videos but that was some 4 years ago. Hopefully others are more to the point and also brief. My video is less than 4 minutes but includes extraneous bits. Even though I was doing it in the cold winter, if a person preheats the adhesive and the sun is shining, should be good to go.

 
Corrugated metal walls, seems like half insulated with foam only on the inside. Will you do the same on outside? Or full sheets on inside?

Foam is a fire hazard with bad fumes. Some types may even be foamed with propane or other flammable gas. Refrigerators are actually a major cause of fires these days (bad electrical connections ignite plastic parts and insulation.) There have been a couple incidents of nightclubs with foam insulation that had mass casualties.

Sheetrock is one of the best fire blocks, because plaster not only is non-flammable, it absorbs energy when decomposing and releasing water.
If you line the interior with sheetrock and caulk with firestop materials, would be safer.
 
Wow, lots of good discussion/ideas! Interesting decision to make re: foam insulation vs. fire safety.

I watched the video linked by the OP. I'm not understanding what the presenter was trying to accomplish. He just wanted a wood frame to attach stuff onto? At least, it didn't look as if they intended to attach any wall material to the frame. Personally I'm not a huge fan of drilling holes thru the container wall to anchor the studs better. I'd prefer to use more robust studs and/or more horizontal wood braces on the interior (they already put one at the bottom of the studs, as I understood the design). But it's all about trade-offs...
 
It's a creative solution to interior framing, and it doesn't take up much in the way of usable space. I agree with using the construction adhesive rather than roofing nails.

But, if it was me I don't think I would approach it that way. As the broken ceiling "stud" shows, it doesn't have much strength that direction, and it is where I would want most of the utility for hanging stuff. Maybe construction adhesive the length would improve the utility of that member. I'd make a "cabinet" with gravity venting direct to the outside for your fuel storage. (One low vent, one high vent, and temperature or density gradients will induce flow.) Personally, I would just use your 2x8 as a "header" across the top on either side and your ripped 2x2's or 2x4's at the ceiling. Wherever I wanted to add the additional wood for some specific purpose then it can be done like he shows in the corrigation. I don't think the bottom member really offers any value if you are going with the adhesives anyway. I would run all the electrical at the top along the 2x8, and generally avoid having anything come down lower than what you could support off a conduit stem.

The only thing that would change my thinking is if you were going to heavily modify it by cutting in doors or windows.
 
Hard to tell exactly what you did, but reflective surfaces aka radiant barriers require 1/2 to 3/4” on one side or the other or no benefit.

Not sure what’s up with op.
 
Back
Top