Insulating and lining out a shipping container

[The Other Mike]

(resent due to my news server apparently dying yesterday)

A shipping container that was originally supposed to be a temporary workshop is now going to be a permanent fixture, the only problem is the place gets hot in the summer and freezing cold in winter. The cold I can deal with by wearing a few more clothes or eating a few pies, the heat is more of an issue. Fitting windows isn't really an option for security reasons and the trickle vents that are fitted are hopeless. Working with the doors open helps a bit but there is next to no shade in the morning and only a bit late on in the day so that on an 18 deg C sunny day it is hitting 50 deg C at roof level internally by mid afternoon and I can feel the hot air on the back of my throat at 2ft6 below the ceiling. Running a fan means running a generator which is expensive and noisy.

So I'm thinking of lining it out with ply and filling the walls and ceiling with some rockwool. Could I just batten it out with 2x2 fixed with a grab adhesive and then screw plywood to it or will I need a vapour barrier behind the ply?

Would an air gap be a good idea next to the steel and if so how big will I need?

[Andrew Mawson]

means

Someone I know had the inside of his workshop / container sprayed with polyurathane foam. He had about 1" to stop condensation but you could have it sprayed any depth you want. I looked at it before I had my workshop done and it was entirely satisfactory. I had 100mm sprayed on my barn roof, and 75mm on the walls - then I lined the walls with 18mm osb to make them useful for cupboards / shelves etc

AWEM

[pete]

How about sun reflecting paint?

's not something I've used myself, but it gets some good reviews.

[NT]

Papercrete would be cheaper. I'd also arrange shade over the container, as desipte the insulation you'll have very little thermal capacity. And paint the exterior white.

NT

[stuart noble]

Jablite (polystyrene) sheets might be easier. Just glue them straight on to the metal? Unlike battens, I think you'd get a good bond over a wide area that way, and then maybe stick some plasterboard to that? Second question mark. My way of saying I've never done this :-)

[The Natural Philosopher]

Line with celotex, and if its semi-permanent, try and put some mass inside the celotex so that it slows down temp changes.

[Cicero]

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As an interim measure (possibly permanent) you could fit an opening vent (or several) in the roof. They're used in caravans, greenhouses, etc. One or two wouldn't seriously compromise security and would give a bit of extra light as bonus.

Cic.

[Owain]

You can get small roof fitting solar-powered ventilator fans for use on cars/trucks.

It might also help if you fit a 'safari roof' over the container, just wriggly tin on a frame, but would mean the heat build-up would occur between the tin and the container rather than inside the container.

Owain

[Simon C.]

Seems the most significant gain would be from providing shade - if you can do that then it shouldn't get much above ambient temp. Some sort of external secondary roof, maybe an adapted shed roof, fitted to allow plenty of air to circulate underneath. Or try turfing the roof? Or grow ivy up and over it?

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember The Other Mike saying something like:

Not rockwool or fibreglass against a steel structure - permanently wet, even if you install a vapour barrier, it would need to be perfect. I'd spray it with foam, as suggested.

[Nightjar]

...caravans and boats.

There are also Savonius rotor powered fans, which only need a light breeze to work.

I would use grey PVC box section, rather than iron, as it should transmit less heat to the cavity below it.

would also mount alternate sheets at two different heights, to create vents between the sheets, Unlike a Land Rover, we hope that the container won't be moving to keep a wind blowing under the roof even on a still day.

A false outer wall on the side(s) that get most sun would probably also be necessary, but that can be continuous and simply have gaps top and bottom.

Colin Bignell

[The Other Mike]

Thanks for all the replies, guess I'll give up on the rockwool idea but it still needs lining out as it's not that easy to fix shelves to a single metal skin.

Thinking that a green roof might be a reasonably cheap option with climbers like ivy up the exposed sides. But that still leaves the doors that face due south and soak up masses of heat.

[stuart noble]

I think interior insulation is the only way. Ask anyone who's spent time in a caravan during extreme weather :-) Given that you want the option to fix shelves, I'd go with battens/ Jablite rather than wool, mainly for ease of installation, but also the fact that it doesn't hold moisture. I imagine condensation will be an issue with a metal structure.

[Cicero]

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Russian vine ('Mile-a-minute') is much quicker than ivy. A few strategically placed plants would make your workshop invisible in a couple of years.

Cic.

[Andy Dingley]

paint?

> It's not something I've used myself, but it gets some good reviews. It's usually better to fit a "safari roof" (old Land Rovers) and make that into the reflector. A sheet of something spaced about an inch outside of the main roof, with an airgap beneath. As the safari roof doesn't have to be waterproof, it can be made simply without having to seal the gaps. Metal or Versapanel will do.

I'd think hard about a green roof instead, with an inch or two of foam insulation between it and the container.

[Simon C.]

Suggest fit the pvc box section as suggested earlier, but mounted on battens to leave as much air gap as poss, and room at the bottom for air to get in. Oh, and paint everything brilliant white.

[Simon C.]

To the doors, just to be clear. I would think its pretty light and wouldn't strain the hinges.

[Dave]

I once read a thread about conservatories and keeping the temperature down and I was told that once the heat got though the glass, there was nothing you could do to keep the internal temps down. You have to stop the heat from getting through the skin of the container before it warms up the interior. I am no expert as to how to do this, but your idea of lining the roof and walls will only keep it warm in winter. See what others think.

Dave

[Tim Watts]

Simon C. wibbled on Saturday 01 May 2010 22:18

I'd think you'd be hard pressed to strain the hinges on a shipping container :)

[Bill]

In message , Tim Watts writes

I used to think that too. The top one, of 3, on mine sheared off recently. Now got to figure out how to weld a new pin in place. Don't fancy the idea of lifting the door off!

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