c/container-homes-builds

Wrote off spray foam for years, then tried closed cell on my roof panels

I always thought spray foam was too messy and overpriced, but after 3 days of fighting condensation inside my Texas build, I drove to Austin and had a crew do 2 inches of closed cell. The difference in heat gain is ridiculous, my AC barely runs past noon now. Anyone else skip the foam at first and regret it?

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rowanp15•2d ago

Spray foam vs rigid board, my 9 month comparison is done

I insulated two identical 20 foot containers back in February. One got closed cell spray foam, the other got rigid foam board with taped seams. The foam board container hit 85 degrees inside during that July heatwave, the spray foam stayed at 74. That was a 10 degree difference for about $400 more total. Has anyone else run a side by side test like this or was I just being obsessive?

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ivancoleman•2d ago

Is a steel frame worth it or did my buddy in Tucson talk sense?

My neighbor spent 6 months building a container home near Tucson, went all steel frame, and dropped 14 grand extra. He said the wood rots out in the desert heat if you skip proper venting, and now I'm second-guessing my whole plan. For those who built with wood studs, any regrets after a few summers, or is he just overthinking it?

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finleybutler•3d ago

Is spray foam worth it or am I just chasing my tail?

I finished my 40 foot container in March outside Boise and went with closed cell foam on the ceiling and walls. It ran me about $3,800 but the temp swing inside dropped from roasting to maybe 15 degrees above outside. My buddy did his with rigid board and says it's basically the same for half the price, so now I'm second guessing if I overpaid. Has anyone else tested both in a real winter or summer, or is my sanity just tied to the sticker I paid?

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gonzalez.phoenix•6d ago

Found out my container floor rating was built for forklifts, not people

I was pricing out insulation for my 40 foot high cube build and stumbled onto the spec sheet for the floor. Turns out the standard marine plywood is rated for 12,000 pounds per axle, which made sense when I thought about how they stack containers in ports. But that rating assumes the weight is spread out with a forklift's tires, not concentrated under a kitchen island or a couch leg. I found this in the manufacturer's PDF that came with my used container from a seller in Fort Worth. So now I'm planning to add some extra support beams under the heavy spots before I pour the floor leveler. Has anyone else had to reinforce their floor for normal living loads?

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reese551•6d ago

That roof weld cracked after 11 months and I'm still salty about it

Built my container home outside Tucson last summer. Paid a local guy $2,800 to weld the roof seams because I thought it would last longer than sealant. Cracks showed up last month right along the corner edge, water got in behind the interior paneling before I even noticed. Had to tear out 4 sheets of OSB and redo the whole corner with a 2 part epoxy and flashing. Guess I should have asked how he prepped the steel, because rust was creeping under the weld. Anyone else get burned by trusting a weld job without testing it first?

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wyatt_fox68•6d ago

The week my container home became a sauna in Phoenix

Last July I was finishing up a 40 foot build in Phoenix and we had the doors welded shut for security while we ran the AC test. Turns out the mini split I installed was blowing hot air because I mixed up the refrigerant lines, and by the time I realized it the inside hit 118 degrees. My crew and I had to break out the plasma cutter to open a vent, and let me tell you, we lost 3 pounds each in sweat that afternoon. Has anyone else cooked themselves alive testing their insulation before they thought to check the wiring?

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patricia385•8d ago

Hitting 40 feet of steel at once surprised me more than the cost

I planned my 20 footer thinking the hard part would be insulation or wiring. But when I got the shipping container delivered to my lot near Austin, seeing all 40 feet of it in person hit me differently. I read specs online, but the actual length and how it dominates the space was a shock. The quote for the flatbed delivery and crane was $680, which I expected, but the footprint issue is what got me. My original site plan for the garden and parking had to shift by a full 6 feet after that first day. Has anyone else had that moment where the real thing changes your whole setup before you even start cutting?

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rowanp15•9d ago

Swapped my stick-built roof for steel purlins on the second build, zero regrets

First container build in Phoenix I framed the roof with wood like I was taught, took 3 days and leaked around the seams every monsoon. Second build I went with steel purlins and rubber gaskets, done in one afternoon and 18 months later still bone dry. Anyone else made the jump off traditional stick framing for their container roofs?

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leo_price•9d ago

One rude comment made me ditch my spray foam insulation plan

I had my whole 40 foot container in Tucson mapped out with closed cell foam until a guy at the metal supplier said I was wasting $3,800 and would trap moisture against the walls. He was right, the condensation math after three summer monsoons would have rotted my framing. Has anyone else switched to a vented batten system instead of sealing everything tight, and how did it hold up in a humid climate?

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logansullivan•10d ago

My 'waterproof' container roof leaked 3 weeks after install

I sealed the top of my 20ft container in Phoenix with a cheap rubber membrane and got 2 inches of rain last weekend, total disaster inside. Has anyone else had luck with the peel-and-stick EPDM rolls instead of liquid coatings?

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uma896•10d ago

My 40ft container build day went from disaster to triumph in 4 hours

Last month I finally got my 40ft high cube delivered to my lot outside Boulder. The crane driver showed up at 7am but it was so windy we couldnt lift for 2 hours. Then the forklift guy dented the corner panel on the far end, not huge but visible. I was about to call it a lost cause and reschedule the whole thing. But then by noon the wind died down and my buddy showed up with a battery grinder and we spent 3 hours cutting a new door opening on the opposite side to hide the dent. We also found a small leak where the roof panels meet, patched it with some roofing tar I had in the shed. By 4pm the container was level on its gravel pad and I had lights strung up inside. That corner dent actually forced me to rethink my whole floor plan, now I have a window where I never planned one. Has anyone else had a delivery screw up that turned into a design win? What did you do with the damaged section?

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avery721•11d ago

Met a guy who built a container home from a 1970s rail car

I was at a salvage yard outside Tucson when this older fella pointed at my 40-foot high cube and said, "that rust line means it was a chiller unit, you'll want to strip it twice." He'd turned an old refrigerated car into a two-bedroom place back in 2011, told me he cut the floor drains himself after a 3 a.m. flood. Anyone else had to deal with hidden history in a used container that made you redo your whole plan?

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lucaslane•11d ago

Stopped fighting the rust, now I use it as a design feature

I spent 2 months sanding and repainting one 40ft container in Fresno and it still looked like crap after a wet spring. Finally gave up and let a section corrode naturally, then sealed it with clear matte epoxy. The orange streaks actually break up the boxy look way better than any siding I could have added. Anyone else lean into patina instead of chasing pristine metal?

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barbara429•13d ago

Installed my first container home window and the framing was way off

I bought a pre-cut window kit for my 40ft container build in Austin and assumed the opening I cut was square enough, but after 2 days of wrestling with shims I found the steel frame had bowed a half inch from welding heat. The window finally sealed but the reveal looks crooked from the outside, and I'm worried about rain pooling on the sill. Has anyone else dealt with container frame distortion around cutouts, and did you end up going with a custom window frame or just living with it?

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sandra146•15d ago

Met a guy in Missouri who built his whole house from 6 rusty containers

Stopped by a farm outside Kansas City last fall to look at a used container for sale. He showed me how he stripped and sealed each one himself, using a $100 sandblaster he bought off Craigslist. Said the worst part was the floors, not the walls. Anyone else deal with rust pitting on the bottom plates that just keeps coming back?

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king.dakota•18d ago

Insulation first or framing first? My second build in Austin changed my mind completely

On my first container build I framed the walls before putting in any insulation. Big mistake. The metal was sweating in the humid Texas mornings and moisture got behind the studs before I even sealed it up. Took 4 days to dry out the interior. On my second build I did the spray foam right after the container was sealed and before any framing. Night and day difference. No condensation at all. But I know some builders swear by framing first so they can run conduit easier. Which order do you guys go with on your container builds and have you run into moisture issues either way?

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jordan_white•19d ago

Dropped $400 on a condensation drip system, biggest waste yet

Plumbed those fancy gutter kits into my 40ft high cube in Phoenix and they still fog up like a greenhouse every morning. Anyone else just give up and run a dehumidifier around the clock instead?

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the_lee•21d ago

Is spray foam actually ruining my container's resale value?

I read a post on a shipping container forum that said 70% of buyers won't touch a container with spray foam insulation because it hides rust and makes repurposing a nightmare. That stat surprised me, since most of the builds I see on here swear by it for temperature control. Has anyone else run into this when selling or buying, or is that number just scaremongering from the panel guys?

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the_aaron•22d ago

Cracked foundation pad under my container in Austin after 18 months

I built a 20-foot container home on a slab outside Austin back in early 2022, and last month I noticed a hairline crack running along the front corner where the container meets the pad. Turns out I skipped rebar and proper drainage, so the shifting clay soil did a number on it. Anyone else dealt with foundation settling on a container, and did you jack it up and repour or just patch it?

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terry_hayes18•24d ago

My roof sealant failed at 18 months, check your seam overlap

I used a popular seam tape on my container roof in Austin and found water dripping inside after a hurricane last fall. Took me 3 weekends of redoing corners with liquid rubber before I learned the tape needs a 4 inch overlap minimum, has anyone else had seam tape lift on them?

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felix_martin56•25d ago

My floor jack sank into the ground under a 40ft container

Last week in the mud in Georgia, I was leveling my build and the jack just pushed straight down into the soil, dropped the corner 4 inches and cracked a weld on my base frame. Did I mess up by not using a wider footing plate, or is this a normal rookie move for anyone building on soft ground?

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holly_flores79•26d ago

Insulation blowout or thermal bridging? My Colorado build taught me a hard lesson

I was sealing up my 40-foot high cube in Denver last November, thinking I had everything figured out with closed cell spray foam. Then the first freeze hit and I noticed cold spots right where the steel ribs meet, basically a thermal bridge I completely ignored. I ended up ripping out two panels and adding a continuous layer of rigid foam on the inside, which cost me an extra 600 bucks and three weekends. Has anyone else dealt with condensation forming on those interior steel frames in winter, or did you find a different fix?

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the_taylor•27d ago

Took me a year to admit foam board was worth the extra cost

I used to do all my interior walls with plywood and drywall cause it was cheaper up front... then after 3 months in my first container build in Tucson I noticed the humidity was seeping through way worse than I expected. Swapped to closed cell foam board on my second unit and the temp difference was huge. Anyone else stick with the cheaper option way longer than they should have?

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nancy3•28d ago

Insulated my container roof and got a surprise puddle

I spent all last month putting foam board insulation on the ceiling of my 40 foot container. Thought I sealed every gap with that spray foam stuff. After the first heavy rain, water was dripping right onto my brand new plywood floor. Turns out I put the vapor barrier on the wrong side, so condensation built up and soaked through. Anyone else mess up their insulation order and have to start over?

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