Shipping container homes? (Portland, Bangor, China: apartment, leasing, mortgage)

[deere110]

Has anyone (NMLM maybe?) actually seen a shipping container home in Maine? If you Google the phrase you find a lot of goofy looking apartment type structures (many containers stacked together) but not a lot of single family homes that have actually been built-lots of plans, but not very many actual homes. We're seriously considering this idea for a mortgage free home so I'd be interested to hear about folks who have actually done it in Maine. We figure we could build a pretty nice home out of two containers, slightly modified of course. I'm also concerned about delivery-our goal is rural property, not necessarily off the grid, but I'm wondering if delivery would be a problem, or at least prohibitively expensive as a result of the terrain. Just trying to get some ideas...

[Coaster]

Not sure what delivery costs would be. Is there a source for shipping containers in Maine, or is Boston the closest? They're sized to fit on tractor-trailer trucks, so logistics shouldn't be a problem as long as your property has road access.

If you've done research, then you know that containers with wooden floors may be contaminated with chemicals, so you probably want to remove/replace them. Also, if you want to bury the containers, such as in an earth-berm house situation, the roofs and walls will need reinforcement. (The corners are quite sturdy, since containers are usually stacked, but roofs and walls are just sheet metal.)

I haven't seen any articles about shipping container homes in Maine, but if anyone knows about them it will be someone here.

[deere110]

Originally Posted by Coaster

Not sure what delivery costs would be. Is there a source for shipping containers in Maine, or is Boston the closest? They're sized to fit on tractor-trailer trucks, so logistics shouldn't be a problem as long as your property has road access.

I would guess Boston, but maybe Portland? It might be possible to source them elsewhere though-I've read that at this point for many containers it's a one-way trip. It's apparently much cheaper to just build them in China, stuff them full of consumer goods, send them here, and leave them rather than bring them back empty. I do need to find out more about delivery, such as, does one need a crane to get it off the trailer, or can it brought on a roll-off truck and unloaded that way?

Originally Posted by Coaster

If you've done research, then you know that containers with wooden floors may be contaminated with chemicals, so you probably want to remove/replace them.

The floors should be removed in any case because they're made of pressure treated lumber which you don't want in your living space-out on the deck is fine, but not in a confined area where you're spending most of your time.

Originally Posted by Coaster

Also, if you want to bury the containers, such as in an earth-berm house situation, the roofs and walls will need reinforcement. (The corners are quite sturdy, since containers are usually stacked, but roofs and walls are just sheet metal.)

No interest in burying them, although an earth bermed house is very efficient. We were actually thinking of building it on a platform of 8x8 timbers. FWIW the sides are corrugated 1/8" steel plate and are extremely strong so you can bury them-corrosion is the biggest enemy there though-especially in a high water table area like Maine.

[AustinB]

There is a 2 story home made of 6 containers here in Brooklin. It's ok. They use it for a cottage in the summer. It's won some awards or such. H shaped

[Coaster]

Originally Posted by deere110

No interest in burying them, although an earth bermed house is very efficient. We were actually thinking of building it on a platform of 8x8 timbers. FWIW the sides are corrugated 1/8" steel plate and are extremely strong so you can bury them-corrosion is the biggest enemy there though-especially in a high water table area like Maine.

The walls/roof metal should be checked, because not all are built the same. I've read several articles about containers that were buried for various reasons where the ceilings and walls could not support the weight of the dirt around them.

[Kiwiluver]

Search the archives of the Bangor Daily News, there was an article earlier this year about a company in Maine that manufactures homes out of shipping containers. I wish I could remember the name of the company, sorry.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

"Has anyone (NMLM maybe?) "

You rang? There is one in Prentiss. It was a "reefer box" It had a refrigeration unit in the front end. All six sides are foam insulated. Six sides? Yes, that includes the top and bottom. It has a porch indide those very rugged loading doors. The porch is screened in. The owner put a small wood stove inside and it made way too much heat. Then they put a very small propane heater in there. The old saying is that they could heat the place with a candle.

Don't make the mistake of trying this with an ordinary tractor trailer box. They are way too weak for this. You need a real shipping container which are designed to be stacked ten or twelve high when fully loaded. These ships roll when stacked high. The bottom containers survive reliably.

www.SHIP-PHOTOS.de - Worldwide Shipping meets photography

PM me and I'll send you some photos of the container camp.

[Zymer]

Shipping containers are available from Maine Trailer Leasing, just outside of Bangor. The cost is $2,000 for a 20' container, or $4,000 for a 40' container. I was there just a few weeks ago asking about them myself. I'm not sure if the price includes delivery (I'm guessing not).

Pressure treated boards...used to be treated with arsenic, currently phased out and replaced with cupric (copper) sulfate...might depend on the age of the container and where it originated, if it came from China, who knows what it might have been treated with.

[deere110]

NMLM-thanks for the pictures! I had never seen what the insulated containers looked like before. I'd have to do some more research to see if it's more economical to buy a reefer container (which I assume is more expensive than a regular container) or buy a regular container and clad it in 4" of poly-iso foam board, and then some type of durable siding such as Hardi-Plank. I'd be siding it anyway since even though we're going for cheap I want it to look like a house, not a plain steel box.

Originally Posted by Zymer

Shipping containers are available from Maine Trailer Leasing, just outside of Bangor. The cost is $2,000 for a 20' container, or $4,000 for a 40' container. I was there just a few weeks ago asking about them myself. I'm not sure if the price includes delivery (I'm guessing not).

Pressure treated boards...used to be treated with arsenic, currently phased out and replaced with cupric (copper) sulfate...might depend on the age of the container and where it originated, if it came from China, who knows what it might have been treated with.

$4000 isn't bad-would have to see what the delivery charge would be. The floors would come out regardless-a quick Google search reveals cupric sulfate to be nasty stuff-not as bad as arsenic, but still not something you want in your living space.

[GregW]

Really? "Mobile" homes can't be all that expensive. Why fuss with trying to convert what is essentially a not so big iron box?

If i were considering building in a climate like most of Maine I would use "Insulcrete" concrete forms for the shell of a half buried hillside house. It would be essentially a big Styrofoam box reinforced with structural concrete. Something like that might tale more than a candle to heat. Probably a big oil lamp or waste heat from a small diesel generator. Put big windows on the south side and you might not need extra heat for most of the year.

Shipping containers? No way.