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We can get pretty far with passive solutions like internal and external insulation and painting the outside white. Burying them halfway into the ground would al

We can get pretty far with passive solutions like internal and external insulation and painting the outside white. Burying them halfway into the ground would also give great benefits (albeit the trickier of the options) Perhaps we can even cover the roof with sod where available. May only need a minimal power active A/C.

oasisbob 5y ago
The price of high quality paint, insulation, structural reinforcements, and exterior drainage sounds expensive. I've never messed with containers because digging yourself out of the thermal hole of starting with a metal box still doesn't sound worth it.
- datameta 5y ago
  Structural reinforcement is unnecessary - they can be stacked half a dozen high safely. A bit of back of the envelope tells me the cost of paint to coat the exterior of a standard 2 story suburban house is about $1500, so I estimate painting a 40 foot container should be about $400 max. Insulation should be about $1K. I imagine for drainage a buried septic tank is the best solution here. I think the cost to retrofit an otherwise sound but unwanted container is less than the cost to purchase a used one. That is orders of magnitude lower than the cost to erect "standard" solutions to the housing problem.
  - CydeWeys 5y ago
    It's gonna cost more than all of that to cut holes and install proper doors and windows. And after doing so now you're back to maybe needing structural reinforcement (those openings will require headers).
darkarmani 5y ago
They don't have the strength to be buried. All of the strength is vertical in the corners for stacking. Once you cut into them for windows or more doors, you greatly reduce any strength. By the time you get done modifying it, it will cost more than traditional building materials. (i like this dream, but it just isn't practical)
- daniel_reetz 5y ago
  Another unmentioned problem is that the plywood floors are saturated with carcinogenic insecticides- and not a small amount. Source: I sealed floors for a container reuse project.

oasisbob 5y ago

The price of high quality paint, insulation, structural reinforcements, and exterior drainage sounds expensive. I've never messed with containers because digging yourself out of the thermal hole of starting with a metal box still doesn't sound worth it.

datameta 5y ago
Structural reinforcement is unnecessary - they can be stacked half a dozen high safely. A bit of back of the envelope tells me the cost of paint to coat the exterior of a standard 2 story suburban house is about $1500, so I estimate painting a 40 foot container should be about $400 max. Insulation should be about $1K. I imagine for drainage a buried septic tank is the best solution here. I think the cost to retrofit an otherwise sound but unwanted container is less than the cost to purchase a used one. That is orders of magnitude lower than the cost to erect "standard" solutions to the housing problem.
- CydeWeys 5y ago
  It's gonna cost more than all of that to cut holes and install proper doors and windows. And after doing so now you're back to maybe needing structural reinforcement (those openings will require headers).

darkarmani 5y ago

They don't have the strength to be buried. All of the strength is vertical in the corners for stacking. Once you cut into them for windows or more doors, you greatly reduce any strength. By the time you get done modifying it, it will cost more than traditional building materials. (i like this dream, but it just isn't practical)

daniel_reetz 5y ago
Another unmentioned problem is that the plywood floors are saturated with carcinogenic insecticides- and not a small amount. Source: I sealed floors for a container reuse project.