I recently took the plunge and bought a 40 foot shipping container that I intend to convert into a laboratory.
Going to divide it into two sections and seal one off from the rest, wire it up for power, and paint it with supertherm insualting paint.
Should be a nice private secure lab when I get done.
I can't wait to get moved in. kclo4 - 18-9-2008 at 16:10
Very cool, surely you'll post pictures right?
What do you mean by a shipping container?
I'm not to sure what that is.497 - 18-9-2008 at 16:55
Like a big 40 foot long metal box that they use to ship things on trucks and cargo ships. I think one of those would make a very nice lab, I may
eventually set something up similar. How much did it cost?ordenblitz - 18-9-2008 at 17:16
The first thing I would do is saw out a few more openings for doors. Bad thing to be inside there in one end behind something bad happening.Magpie - 18-9-2008 at 18:39
Will you have any windows? Not getting any sunlight would drive me nuts. Or maybe you will just leave one of those big double doors open. Or skylights?
I would run water and sewer to that puppy also if at all possible.evil_lurker - 18-9-2008 at 18:42
The container itself was $2600 and some change delivered.
Another steel door will probably set me back around $300-400 to get installed.
I figure another $500 and some change will get it partitioned and wired up the way I want it.
Couple hundred bucks to get it painted... sheesh they are expensive to get decked out.Magpie - 18-9-2008 at 18:52
Quote:
The container itself was $2600 and some change delivered.
That's not bad for 320 ft2 of secure, weatherproof space, delivered.ordenblitz - 18-9-2008 at 19:33
That sounds pricey.. who needs steel doors? I say toss in what ever you have lying around. We have re-engineered a few containers for various uses
including my favorite, an underground storage area.
There really are no rules just fire up the torch and create! The only difficult thing is that the containers are made of a special steel called
Corten. It's a serious bitch to weld.evil_lurker - 19-9-2008 at 07:12
Actually the price was pretty cheap, but shipping ate me alive on it.
Considering I'm 120+ miles from the nearest depot and @$3 per mile it adds up pretty quick.
And I had considered getting a cheaper door, security is #1 priority since where I intend to locate the box is not near any homes and considering the
nature of what is to be stored there.solo - 19-9-2008 at 07:28
Make sure you have plenty of ventilation and if you plan to bury it have more than one exit in case of a fast exit.....so it gets far away from the
box......I plan something similar with sklights and a garden above to keep the green chemistry alive........soloPicric-A - 19-9-2008 at 07:39
I dont understand why two doors is a neccesity...
Surly if you store all you flammables and generally anything which will burn at the other end of the shippiing container there will be nothing to burn
near the door, Eg. have you work are near the door and you chems other side.
Also keep a fire extinguisher near you chems... If all else fails climb out a window Phosphor-ing - 19-9-2008 at 11:02
shipping containers don't have windows!Picric-A - 19-9-2008 at 11:20
But they are easily cut with an angle grinder!, you could even furnish it with nice fire resistant curtains once doneJohnWW - 19-9-2008 at 13:40
Shipping containers are also very hard for the Pigs to break into, if they wanted to frame you for allegedly making drugs, especially if buried below
ground on a large property which would also make it very hard to find. However, to bury it below ground, you would firstly need a bulldozer to
excavate a pit (with drainage pipes from it to stop water from accumulating) into which it is to be unloaded by the delivery truck, and then the spoil
back-filled around it (after rust-proofing its exterior, and laying ventilation and water-supply pipes and an entrance-way).not_important - 19-9-2008 at 17:47
As already mentioned, shipping containers are typically made of COR-TEN steel. This differs enough from ordinary steels that it is worth reading up
on
The main reason for the partition is that the container will be used for both work and storage... I do not want acid fumes getting anywhere near my
tools!
Burial is out too... it could be done, but mainly for the same reason as above I don't want to be runnig up and down steps every time i need to get a
different sized wrench.
Also buried storage containers are very suspicious to LE.. they figure if you got something like that buried you gotta be hiding something in there.JohnWW - 20-9-2008 at 16:03
Quote:
Originally posted by evil_lurker
Also buried storage containers are very suspicious to LE.. they figure if you got something like that buried you gotta be hiding something in there.
But how can they tell whether you even have a buried shipping container containing a laboratory, especially if it is buried on a large rural property
at a place out of sight from the road?bfesser - 20-9-2008 at 17:19
Satellites and big piles of dirt.chloric1 - 21-9-2008 at 03:46
Jeez I wish I could be fortunate enough to get a little plot of land. Evil-lurker, how did you manage the location if I may ask? The $2600 for the
container sounds almost within reach for many dedicated home chemists.
Speaking of steel doors, the cost of all metals has gone out of control! Mainly because of the dwindling dollar. I recently went to a discount
hardware store and choked at the cost of a copper sheet. It wa 26 gauge 24 by 24 inches for $53!! In 2001 it was $30! It almost doubled in 7 years!Saerynide - 21-9-2008 at 11:33
Won't it look suspect to have a shipping container with windows which some one goes into for hours on end?ordenblitz - 21-9-2008 at 15:45
The buried container I spoke of was not completely underground. We dug a big trench into a hillside and backed the container in and filled over
leaving the door end exposed. Worked very well except the roof needed to be reinforced with 6"x8" I beams every 8 ft to Keep the roof from imploding
under the weight of the dirt.
Our purpose was chemical storage since it's always cool in there but never freezing regardless of the weather.evil_lurker - 1-10-2008 at 19:52
Just a quick update with random stuff.... the new lab is here.
Got it almost painted inside and out... needs a bit around the bottom and some touch up here and there. Used an HVLP gun to do most of the painting.
Color came out a bit lighter than what I had expected. Also took some thinning of the paint by about 10% before the gun would spray it worth a damn.
Almost level (off by like 3-4cm). Set it up on concrete 16"x16"x4" "trailer pads". Had a bitch of a time getting it lifted up... my 65KW tractor could
not lift one end of it up.
Moving my primary work bench and attached frame will be the hardest part. I'll have to use the tractor and forklift attachment to move it since its
solid steel and weighs in well over 100kgs.
Hopefully I'll have the whole thing wired up and ready to go by the end of the week... then again, a new fume hood would be nice too...497 - 1-10-2008 at 20:00
Man I'm jealous. Looks very nice.vulture - 2-10-2008 at 12:53
Why did you paint it like that? Some dull camouflage green and it would have vanished into the background.
[Edited on 2-10-2008 by vulture]Picric-A - 2-10-2008 at 13:38
Nice new lab! i dont know why you painted it white, makes it stand out alot dont you think?
i agree with Vulture, a camouflage green would be nice but still, its whats inside that counts...
How are you thinking of getting electricity in there? from the pictures it looks quite secluded.Magpie - 2-10-2008 at 14:11
You can't hide a box that big. Atempting to hide it with color would just look suspicious. What Joe Blow will see when he comes upon the property
with the double doors open is a shop with all the usual tools, work bench, etc. The lab will be behind a sealed partition, with separate entrance via
steel door in the back, not obvious from the approach road. Tell us if I'm wrong, Evil.
A suggestion for your hood fan. Don't place it on the roof like you would like to, but inside with just a wall grate for outlet. Unless, by placing
it on the roof it will just look like it is part of your shop in the front.
Nice looking piece of property, BTW. Who has to mow the lawn?evil_lurker - 3-10-2008 at 15:59
Hahaha its a hayfield and its getting ready to be cut once again before winter. Doesn't take too long with a 9 foot disc mower to scalp a field.
Yeah, Magpie hit the nail on the head... for all anyone knows its just a workshop/storage building. Vent hood exhaust = a chimney for a wood stove for
all anyone knows.
Power will come off a pole across the road in behind the box. Its kinda hard to see in the pic above, but its there. Electric company will charge
$150ish to hook it up and sink a pole. Meter box, breakers, wiring I figure will cost around $400 by the time its said and done.
I'm setting up the power as a temporary RV hookup, that way I can bypass the code inspector on some stuff.
This is turning into quite the project.Magpie - 3-10-2008 at 16:24
Quote:
Vent hood exhaust = a chimney for a wood stove for all anyone knows.
I like that. Every shop I see has a wood stove.
It would be nice to locate the blower outside for noise reduction. But you have to consider the weather and the fact it would be visible from the
outside.evil_lurker - 3-10-2008 at 18:52
Ah I learned a long time ago that the best place to hide things from nosy individuals is right in plain sight.
I got to thinking about it, and instead of going on and doing a new lab, I could scale back my plans, put some insulating paint here and there and
have a nice little "crack shack" for when I need to bring home a girl from the bar.jarynth - 3-10-2008 at 19:28
Quote:
Originally posted by evil_lurker
Vent hood exhaust = a chimney for a wood stove for all anyone knows.
Hmmm look at those brown fumes, the stove must be burning redwood.
No kidding, im jealous. It would be awesome to place it underground as a secret bunker...but you'd have to dig at night.
[Edited on 3-10-2008 by jarynth]kclo4 - 3-10-2008 at 21:44
This is exactly what I plan to have in my yard when i eventually own a house! I'm surprised you got it for how cheap you did by the way! nice find. :p
I'd like to have it underground, not for any secret reasons, although, It would be for sure. mostly because an underground laboratory seems fun - I
believe it would be easier to keep at decent temperatures from summer to winter if it were underground, but maybe not. Also, I want a big lawn for
growing all sorts of foods. Perhaps putting a green house above it, if it were underground would be a good way to conceal the fume hood, if there were
any reason to hide it. Green houses have fans and stuff sticking out of them right? Or just put a small shed above it - that is better i think because
then you could have a lot of the non-chemical stuff, but that still finds a lot of use in chemistry.
Anyways, it looks amazing Evil_Lurker! great job!
I can't wait to see the inside of it sometime!not_important - 3-10-2008 at 21:54
As I noted before CO-TEN steel can hove corrosion problems if buried, it 'wanrs' exposure to air and standing water is to be avoided if possible; as
with most ferrous alloys halides are death to it.
There's an alternative for underground structures, although not as cheap as used shipping containers
Oh I didn't see that about corrosion, sorry. Well, I still have many years to go before I ever start to build this sort of thing I'll worry about it
then haha.evil_lurker - 16-11-2008 at 17:41
Well, after much work, moving day is finally here. I've decided on starting to move reagents and glassware tonight.
Unfortunately the container will have to be used for storage and not much research due to not getting the partition and separate door installed.
But at the least I'll have all my crap outta the house I'm in now and someplace secure that belongs to me and me alone.
Pictures to follow soon.Hexavalent - 6-1-2013 at 08:01
Sorry to revive an old thread, but do you have pictures of the inside, evil?elementcollector1 - 10-1-2013 at 13:35
Oh man, this would be fantastic if I could just work up $2600. Also a space to put it, I don't think our yard is long enough (and my folks would NOT
be happy come summer, when we have to mow). XDManifest - 11-1-2013 at 09:56
That's awesome but you're going to have some unwanted visitors soon.
I hope that's an industrial zone.Fantasma4500 - 11-1-2013 at 14:51
i saw you wrote about the door would be expensive, you could probably go to a blacksmith and have the door made in carbon-iron ''steel'' and have it
covered with a nice thick layer of paint, it should keep it from rusting.. (;
also i saw this was used by fireworkers, with escape door... they had the whole inside covered with some white light-reflecting material, so they only
had one little window in there, and it provided light for it all, they didnt use any electricity at all.. but it was nicely bright inside.. (;
