The Design Community Hub

c/container-homes-builds

17

jade618•1h ago

That week my container home roof leak turned into a total nightmare

Honestly, last month I thought I had everything dialed in with my container build in Phoenix. I spent a solid 7 days fighting a tiny drip near the seam where two containers meet, and it just got worse every day. I tried that rubberized sealant stuff from Home Depot, but the afternoon heat at 110 degrees made it bubble up and peel off. By Wednesday, I had water sitting on my plywood subfloor and I was panicking. A local welder told me I needed a proper metal flashing welded on, not just caulk, and he charged me $400 to fix it right in one afternoon. It really opened my eyes that a cheap fix can cost you way more in the long run. Has anyone else had a bad experience trying to seal those container roof joints in extreme heat?

4

logan_schmidt•19h ago

Heard a guy at the lumber yard say container homes are just tin cans waiting to rust

I get that uninsulated containers can be a problem, but he was talking like steel frames are disposable. I've got a build near Portland that's been dry for 4 years with just a good vented roof over it. Anyone else had to argue with someone who thinks containers can't last 10 years?

25

the_jason•3d ago

South Carolina farm show left me rethinking insulation in container builds

I let a old timer talk my ear off at the state fairgrounds in Columbia last spring. He said spray foam traps moisture against the steel and causes rust in under 5 years, while rigid board lets the metal breathe. Now I'm stuck wondering if I should rip out the foam I already put in my first build. Anyone here dealt with rust from closed cell foam inside their containers?

24

oscarwilliams•3d ago

Foundation rot ate my first container build in under 3 years

I set my container directly on crushed stone at my property in Austin and moisture wicked up through the steel frame and rotted out the bottom sill plates. Anyone else deal with foundation moisture issues and switch to a proper pier system?

12

jade618•4d ago

Tried painting a container roof white to cut heat, ended up with condensation issues

I painted the roof of my 40ft container white back in June thinking it would drop the inside temp by a lot. It did help a bit, maybe 5-8 degrees on hot days, but then I started getting water dripping from the ceiling in the mornings. Turns out the white paint reflected so much heat that the roof stayed cool enough for moisture to condense inside. Has anyone else run into this with a reflective coating?

11

the_shane•5d ago

Friend swore by spray foam insulation for his container build - six months later he's ripping it all out

Told me it was the only way to go and now the moisture's trapped between the foam and the metal walls, causing rust spots everywhere. Anybody else run into this or did he just mess up the install?

7

betty_ward•6d ago

Wasted $300 on a fancy insulation spray foam kit

I tried to save money by buying a cheap DIY spray foam kit from a hardware store for my container home walls. It expanded way too fast and made a huge mess, plus I only got about half the coverage it claimed. Anyone have a better method for insulating those tight corners in a shipping container?

22

ray210•6d ago

Had no idea shipping container roofs could collapse under snow load

I was reading through some building codes online last night after my neighbor asked me why I was insulating my container roof a certain way. I stumbled onto this stat from some engineering site that said a standard 40 foot high cube container roof is only rated for like 5 or 6 pounds per square foot of snow load. That caught me off guard because I always figured these things were built tough since they stack them on ships and trains. Here in Minnesota where we get those big wet dumps of snow, that's practically nothing. My buddy Dave up in Duluth had a container he was using for storage and the roof caved in after a heavy storm two winters ago. He just thought it was a fluke but now I'm wondering if he even checked the specs. I'm going to add some extra roof framing to mine before I put the insulation on. Has anyone else run into this problem with snow states?

11

adamcoleman•7d ago

Thermal break failure in my container roof - moisture everywhere

Last winter I built out a 40ft high-cube container in Ohio and thought I'd sealed the roof joints well enough. By March I had water dripping down the interior walls because the thermal bridging created condensation pockets I never planned for. I ended up tearing out the ceiling panels and adding closed-cell spray foam with a proper vapor barrier. Has anyone else dealt with moisture issues from container roof seams?

7

jennifer_fisher•8d ago

Stacking containers wrong - weld strength vs cosmetic seams

I keep seeing people post builds where they weld container corners together and call it good, but they never seal the roof seems or add any drip protection. On my build in Austin last summer, I watched three pros argue about this for 2 hours before one pulled out a tape measure and showed 1/4 inch gaps between the corrugation ridges. That gap lets water pool and rust starts inside 6 months flat. Why do so many folks skip the simple step of adding a rubber gasket or at least a drip edge before stacking?

25

oscarm24•9d ago

Just saw a post about 40ft containers rotting from the inside out

I was all set to buy a used 40ft high cube until I read a forum thread about moisture getting trapped behind the wall panels and causing rust within 3 years. Has anyone here sealed their container walls with something besides spray foam?

27

simon_chen•10d ago

Found a hack for cutting holes in container walls without a plasma cutter

Needed to cut a 6 inch hole for a vent pipe last week. My plasma cutter was at a friend's shop. Tried using an angle grinder but the sparks were insane and the cut looked terrible. Then a guy on a different forum mentioned using a holesaw with an adapter on a drill. Sounded sketchy but I had a carbide tipped holesaw sitting around. Put it on my 18v drill and it went through that corten steel like butter. Took forever though about 20 minutes of steady pressure. Used cutting oil every 30 seconds to keep the bit alive. Anyone else tried this or found a faster way with basic tools?

33

simon_chen•15d ago

TIL my neighbor built a container home for half what I paid for my house

I was talking to my neighbor Bob the other day in Phoenix. He said he built his whole 40-foot container home for $45,000 including insulation and windows. I spent $280k on my stick-built house and now I'm wondering if I made a huge mistake. He told me the trick is to buy used containers from a local rail yard and do most of the framing yourself. What do you all think, is the savings worth dealing with rust and cutting steel?

18

luna_wells57•16d ago

Why does nobody talk about how hard it is to insulate shipping containers?

Tbh I just found out from a YouTube guy that steel containers sweat condensation like crazy and you basically need closed-cell spray foam or you're asking for mold. Has anyone here tried the mineral wool route or is that a bad idea for real?

31

lucaslane•18d ago

Finally tried spray foam vs rigid board insulation in my container

Used rigid board on my first container home in Phoenix last year. Had huge thermal bridging issues and the seams leaked air bad. Switched to closed cell spray foam on my second build in Tucson and the temp difference inside is like 15 degrees. Anyone else run into major insulation problems with one method over the other?

2

grant569•19d ago

Finally took the plunge on spray foam vs rigid board for my container roof

Ngl, I was dead set on rigid foam board for months because it's cheaper. Spent a whole weekend cutting and taping it in my first container in Tucson and the gaps were a nightmare. Last week I borrowed a spray foam rig for my second container and the R-value difference is insane, plus it seals all those weird corners in about 2 hours. Anyone else go back and forth on insulation types before just picking one?

7

oscarwilliams•19d ago

Spent 4 hours leveling my container foundation because I eyeballed it

I figured I could save some cash by just leveling the gravel pad myself instead of renting a laser level. Wound up with one corner a full 2 inches off after getting the first container dropped. Took me all Saturday with a bottle jack and shims to get it right. Anyone else try to skip a step and pay for it way worse later?

12

kim.hannah•21d ago

That building inspector in Austin gave me bunk advice about my container foundation

Some guy named Mike from the city permits office told me I needed a full concrete slab under my 40-foot container to pass inspection in Austin. I spent $4,500 on the pour and then found out later from a different inspector that a gravel bed with pier blocks would have been totally fine. Now I'm stuck with a slab that limits my drainage options. Has anyone else gotten conflicting info from inspectors on foundations?

24

wadeyoung•23d ago

Warning: That $200 foam insulation I sprayed inside my container off-gassed like crazy for weeks

Ended up having to cut out whole sections of drywall to air it out and redo it with rigid board instead, has anyone else had this issue with spray foam in metal boxes?

6

adams82•24d ago

Stop putting container homes directly on concrete slabs

I see so many builds where folks pour a slab and set the container right on it. That's a fast track to rust. The steel needs air flow underneath or moisture gets trapped. I saw one in Phoenix last year that had rot in the floor channels after just 3 years. Has anyone here used pier blocks or a gravel base instead?

30

paul_burns•25d ago

Is everyone forgetting about insulation for container homes?

I've been looking at container home builds online for a few years now, and I keep seeing people post these amazing photos of their exteriors and interior paint jobs. But then they get to the insulation part and they just throw in some spray foam without thinking about condensation. I worked on a buddy's container cabin up near Asheville last summer, and we spent a whole weekend just figuring out the vapor barrier because if you get that wrong, the metal will sweat and rust from the inside out. I've seen two builds already where the owners posted about mold issues 6 months later because they skipped the closed-cell foam and used fiberglass batts instead. It's not glamorous work, but if you don't plan for air movement between the container walls and the insulation, you're basically building a damp locker. Has anyone else run into this problem after their build was supposedly finished?

6

fiona_nelson51•25d ago

Spray foam vs rigid foam for my container roof... I made a call

Had to pick between spray foam and rigid foam board for insulating my container roof in Austin. Went with closed cell spray foam because of the Texas humidity. Cost me $1,200 but the air seal is tight. First heavy rain came last week and zero condensation inside. Anyone here ever regret going with rigid board in a humid climate?

17

wadeyoung•26d ago

Rain got in through my roof seam and flooded my container kitchen build

Last Tuesday I was almost done with framing out my kitchen inside a 40ft high cube. It looked perfect. Then a storm rolled in around 3am. Woke up to water dripping through a seam I swore I sealed twice. Ruined my MDF cabinets. Twenty eight sheets of drywall soaked. Now I'm tearing it all out and starting over. Anyone else have a sealant fail on them in the middle of a build?

19

angela_wilson78•26d ago

Steel vs aluminum frame debate ended for me after that August storm

I was all set to go with aluminum for my container build. Lighter, no rust worries, all that. Then we got hit with that derecho back in August that ripped through here. My buddy's aluminum framed porch addition got twisted like a pretzel. Three grand in materials bent in 20 minutes. My steel framed shed didn't budge. That was it for me. Anyone else have a weather event change their material choice?

17

elliot_harris25•27d ago

I stopped insulating with spray foam after that Texas build melted down

Honestly, I used to swear by spray foam insulation for container homes. But last summer I worked on a build in Austin where the guy used closed cell foam on a dark blue container. By August, the interior panels started warping and the foam actually delaminated from the steel. The heat buildup was way worse than I expected, even with a ventilated roof gap. I measured the interior temp at 115 degrees on a 95 degree day. Switched to mineral wool batts with a rigid foam thermal break on that next project and it stayed 20 degrees cooler. Has anyone else had trouble with spray foam in hot climates?