Rant: I thought insulation was a scam until last winter

I was dead set on leaving my shipping container bare metal inside for that 'industrial look'. Then we hit 12 degrees in Ohio for three straight days and my ceramic heater couldn't keep up, pipes froze on day two. Anyone else learn the hard way that spray foam is non-negotiable for container builds?

3 comments

3 Comments

rowanp1523d ago

Yeah I made that mistake on my first container workshop, thought a couple space heaters would do it. That closed cell foam was a pain to apply but it turned that thing into an actual livable space overnight. Now I tell everyone don't even bother with the batts or rigid board in a metal box, just go straight to the spray foam and save yourself the headache.

gonzalez.phoenix23d ago

Does nobody ever think about what happens when you need to sell that container down the road? Spray foam is basically permanent, you're not getting it off the metal without a scraper and a lot of swearing. If the next person wants to use it for storage or something else, they're stuck with your climate-controlled setup. Plus if you ever get a leak in the roof, that foam traps moisture against the steel and you'll have rust eating through before you even notice. I've seen people lose entire containers that way, just had to scrap them because the walls were rotten behind the foam. Seems like nobody talks about the downsides when they're hyping up the easy solution.

avery72123d ago

And honestly, the moisture trapping thing is even worse than people realize because once that rust starts behind the foam you won't see it until the whole wall is compromised. I've talked to guys who did container homes who ended up having to cut out entire sections of wall and replace them because the foam just held the water against the metal like a sponge. That closed cell is great for insulation but you're basically signing a contract that says "I will never sell this container for any other purpose ever again and I hope to god the roof never leaks.