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cisco said..FormulaNova said..
Would they be hot? Sure, if its a standard shipping container sitting in the sun with no ventilation, but surely prepared correctly they would be good?
I imagine a layer of insulation on the outside battened out and then blueboard on top of that would work well. It would keep the direct solar radiation down, and keep the metal from heating up too quickly. It may even go some way in keeping a bit of thermal inertia the same way in that people advocate reverese brick veneer for better thermal efficient houses.
Yeah, and after all that it is going to cost the same as or more than a conventional home and still be a prick of a thing to live in.
A recycled shipping container can be turned into a reasonable compact sized workshop but I think that is about where their usefullness ends. Scrap metal otherwise.
I can't but help think that a few of you are assuming the worst and thinking that its all bad.
I agree that on first pass they look like they would be a terrible idea, but I think that they may be better than you think. Then again, I have never costed one either
Cisco, how can you have it both ways? You say it would cost the same or more than a conventional home and still be a prick of a thing to live in. That sounds like something someone would say when they just don't want to agree. If you say it costs more, why would it then be bad? That just doesn't make sense.
Thermally efficient houses seem to look at the idea of having thermal mass on the inside of a building, and insulation and shading to keep the effects of solar radiation in check. How is a steel structure going to be bad at that?
The steel structure of a container has structural strength, so framing is minimal. I suspect that the majority of cost in a new build comes from labour, not the materials, so I wonder if having this structure reduces the costs of labour required to fit it out.
If only I had the access to get one installed in my backyard and I could give it a try. You all might be right, but without any data, your comments are just opinions like mine.