Shipping container grow rooms

DarkWeb · Sep 17, 2019

doublejj said:
set the whole thing (upside down) on a level bed of gravel. Then the roof would hold 3ft of dirt. The thin tin roof of a shipping container is so flimsy I can't hardly walk on mine without it buckling it, you couldn't put even 2" of dirt up there, and when the dirt gets wet?....forget about it

Cool well I guess everyone has their own way they want to do something........lots of ways to skin a cat. Fabrication is my career and metallurgy was my major.....I would build mine different.

Renfro · Sep 17, 2019

doublejj said:
set the whole thing (upside down) on a level bed of gravel. Then the roof would hold 3ft of dirt. The thin tin roof of a shipping container is so flimsy I can't hardly walk on mine without it buckling it, you couldn't put even 2" of dirt up there, and when the dirt gets wet?....forget about it

Well make sure the bed of gravel is really well compacted or settling could make it unlevel.

If the weak surface will be the bottom then thats gonna suck. Perhaps get the welder out, grab some steel and reinforce the top like the bottom is reinforced.

DarkWeb · Sep 17, 2019

Renfro said:
Well make sure the bed of gravel is really well compacted or settling could make it unlevel.

If the weak surface will be the bottom then thats gonna suck. Perhaps get the welder out, grab some steel and reinforce the top like the bottom is reinforced.

Or leave the bottom on the bottom and lay some plate on top.....easy but you still need to address the walls. Snowshoes work not from 4 high pressure points but from 1 large surface area......

xox · Sep 17, 2019

i personally dont recommend shipping containers. i personally worked in a shop at one time that builds forms for pre-cast concrete like the square pre-cast culvert that was posted earlier in this thread. i think your best bet would be to approach a company that does pre-cast concrete instead of having two open ends just have one open end, get a welding shop to weld a rectangular frame out of steel with nelson studs welded onto it so it can be set with the rest of the precast concrete and poured as one. you can have metal doors welded to the steel frame that was set in with the precast block. you can later use a core drill to core all your holes for ventilation. better yet! you can even get the pre-cast shop to put engineered anchor points in the top of the concrete "cube/room" so it can be lifted with a crane that way your not screwing around trying to lift it with the boom on an excavator or an under powered telehandler.

Renfro · Sep 17, 2019

xox said:
i personally dont recommend shipping containers. i personally worked in a shop at one time that builds forms for pre-cast concrete like the square pre-cast culvert that was posted earlier in this thread. i think your best bet would be to approach a company that does pre-cast concrete instead of having two open ends just have one open end, get a welding shop to weld a rectangular frame out of steel with nelson studs welded onto it so it can be set with the rest of the precast concrete and poured as one. you can have metal doors welded to the steel frame that was set in with the precast block. you can later use a core drill to core all your holes for ventilation. better yet! you can even get the pre-cast shop to put engineered anchor points in the top of the concrete "cube/room" so it can be lifted with a crane that way your not screwing around trying to lift it with the boom on an excavator or an under powered telehandler.

We went through this option earlier in the thread but the cost was a big limiting factor.

Renfro · Sep 17, 2019

You also want to engineer in some drainage system for the foundation and if it's buried the sides should be treated and gravel around it for drainage then some sort of french drain in the gravel below perhaps tied to a sump pump or if possible gravity.

doublejj · Sep 17, 2019

DarkWeb said:
Or leave the bottom on the bottom and lay some plate on top.....easy but you still need to address the walls. Snowshoes work not from 4 high pressure points but from 1 large surface area......

weld 3-4 lengths of 4" square tubing down each side from pillar to pillar for reinforcement of the walls. Just put a home depot wood floor in the upside down shipping container, I wont be driving any forklifts inside, so regular plywood and laminate flooring will work fine...

Renfro · Sep 17, 2019

I would skip the laminate flooring and just go with some thick plywood, and lay some vinyl floor. The laminate hates water and no matter what they say it gets between the boards and will be problematic.

doublejj · Sep 17, 2019

DarkWeb said:
Or leave the bottom on the bottom and lay some plate on top.....easy but you still need to address the walls. Snowshoes work not from 4 high pressure points but from 1 large surface area......

there is nothing to lay plate on up there, the roof is only reinforced enough for heavy steel plates at the corners. The plates would have to be 20ft long. The floors of a shipping container are already made to handle a lot of weight. A cheap Pergo floor would cost a lot less than 20ft of steel plate...

doublejj · Sep 17, 2019

doublejj said:
there is nothing to lay plate on up there, the roof is only reinforced enough for heavy steel plates at the corners. The plates would have to be 20ft long. The floors of a shipping container are already made to handle a lot of weight. A cheap Pergo floor would cost a lot less than 20ft of steel plate...

or like renfo said....just plywood & vinyl flooring

Renfro · Sep 17, 2019

and try to locate any seams in the vinyl flooring in areas that are less likely to get wet.

Renfro · Sep 17, 2019

I keep getting lost on if the container is upside down or right side up lol too high over here

DarkWeb · Sep 17, 2019

doublejj said:
there is nothing to lay plate on up there, the roof is only reinforced enough for heavy steel plates at the corners. The plates would have to be 20ft long. The floors of a shipping container are already made to handle a lot of weight. A cheap Pergo floor would cost a lot less than 20ft of steel plate...

You dont need or can efficiently get 20' plates. It can be done orther ways but this is where I think just start from scratch. Pergo has no bisness in there. Marine ply and vinal if you did.

DarkWeb · Sep 17, 2019

doublejj said:
weld 3-4 lengths of 4" square tubing down each side from pillar to pillar for reinforcement of the walls. Just put a home depot wood floor in the upside down shipping container, I wont be driving any forklifts inside, so regular plywood and laminate flooring will work fine...

Lengthwise is not how you want to run them. Vertical is and then conect the "metal studs" to tie together.

DarkWeb · Sep 17, 2019

Renfro said:
I keep getting lost on if the container is upside down or right side up lol too high over here

Can it be done sideways? Like a diamond! LOL! :bigjoint:

tooktoomuch · Sep 17, 2019

I have a small 10' container above ground. It sits on two 8''x8''x10' beams which sit on bricks that are on a concrete pad. It is above ground obviously. I spray foamed the inside 3'' everywhere and framed it inside. I used 3'' hard Styrofoam for the floor then plywood. Where I am it gets to -30. This will be my first winter so I am working through everything still. I framed a door and also have an airlock style so I can get in, close the door behind me and then unzip the white plastic barrier to enter into the room. That way no cold gusts of wind will come through and kill my plants when I get in, since space is pretty tight. I have an 8x4 table inside and expect to pull 3-5 pounds per run. I would have gone with a larger container but it's not allowed where I am. I don't intend to run it during the summer as we are allowed 4 plants, but I do believe I could with the AC that is currently in there.....anyways it's all a learning curve right now. I have a crop on the go and it is starting to take off, will have to flip to bud soon. QB lights in the pic.

doublejj · Sep 17, 2019

DarkWeb said:
You dont need or can efficiently get 20' plates. It can be done orther ways but this is where I think just start from scratch. Pergo has no bisness in there. Marine ply and vinal if you did.

I'm trying to explain you don't need to start from scratch....the shipping container floor is already there, just use it for the roof, then put plywood and vinyl on the floor....er roof...well u know what I mean. The floor is already stronger than anything you could reasonably build and it came with the shipping container. Just laying down some plywood and vinyl would be a lot cheaper than trying to reinforce the container roof. And unless your going to drive forklifts inside, the shipping container floor is overkill for just living space, your better off using it for the roof instead, it's a waste of money to leave it as the floor.

DarkWeb · Sep 17, 2019

doublejj said:
I'm trying to explain you don't need to start from scratch....the shipping container floor is already there, just use it for the roof, then put plywood and vinyl on the floor....er roof...well u know what I mean. The floor is already stronger than anything you could reasonably build and it came with the shipping container. Just laying down some plywood and vinyl would be a lot cheaper than trying to reinforce the container roof. And unless your going to drive forklifts inside, the shipping container floor is overkill for just living space, your better off using it for the roof instead, it's a waste of money to leave it as the floor.

Yeah I got ya.....still a lot of work to get a narow space. I would rather spend it on somethimg more workable......little wider amd a bit shorter. At least wider.

dodacky · Sep 18, 2019

upside down or not you still need to frame that bitch, those walls are flimsy and buckle easy.
I didnt have the ability to flip it prior to the build so opted for a full steel frame out, Ive driven overtop with tractors and cars no worries at all no concrete just 18inch layer of clay/topsoil.

dodacky · Sep 18, 2019

tooktoomuch said:
I have a small 10' container above ground. It sits on two 8''x8''x10' beams which sit on bricks that are on a concrete pad. It is above ground obviously. I spray foamed the inside 3'' everywhere and framed it inside. I used 3'' hard Styrofoam for the floor then plywood. Where I am it gets to -30. This will be my first winter so I am working through everything still. I framed a door and also have an airlock style so I can get in, close the door behind me and then unzip the white plastic barrier to enter into the room. That way no cold gusts of wind will come through and kill my plants when I get in, since space is pretty tight. I have an 8x4 table inside and expect to pull 3-5 pounds per run. I would have gone with a larger container but it's not allowed where I am. I don't intend to run it during the summer as we are allowed 4 plants, but I do believe I could with the AC that is currently in there.....anyways it's all a learning curve right now. I have a crop on the go and it is starting to take off, will have to flip to bud soon. QB lights in the pic.

yea that thing will cook in the summer, the steel shell is a giant heatsink. burying them buffers the temp and its constant most of the year except the hottest month or 2.

wish I had of sprayfoamed it but theres no diy option available here and being illegal here also its not like I can get a contractor in to do it :-(

Shipping container grow rooms

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Attachments

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member