Buckling containers posted elsewhere

I posted this note on the Prefab Container Bay board but here it is again if you care.

After receiving several emails from my blog site, I thought it prudent to post regarding the container roof and side buckling issue.

I will attempt to give all the information I have and let the experts weigh in about what is going on. Unfortunately, I do not have a definitive answer about when the buckling occurred but after reading the Rainforest DIY post where they say “the roof got wobbly” , I see that I might not be alone.

I am currently building a two 20’ container design. You can read about it here:
http://kbighair.typepad.com/el_ranch_iso/
and see pictures here:
http://web.mac.com/kbighair/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

The truth is that I am unsure about exactly when the container roofs and side buckled. I did not notice it until I installed the SIPs on the sides and the roof (s)
I am certain that the containers did not have buckled roofs before I began cutting into them because I was on top of them after a rain and there was no standing water.

Here is the story:

I have two used containers from the same manufacturer. One of them was in considerably worse shape than the other. For the sake of clarity, I'll call the one in better shape #1 and the one in worse shape #2.  The roof of container #1 has now buckled DOWN only slightly- enough to hold some water in the middle and Container #2’s roof has now buckled UP quite a bit- like about 3 inches in the center. Container #1 has a door cutout with a double sliding door installed in the hole.  It also has a cutout for two  windows (not yet installed) opposite the door hole. The windows are 16” deep and 6’ long each and are spaced 8” apart and with the top of the window cutout at 12” from the roof beam.  It also has a 2’x2’ hole cut in the center of the back of the container.  This container also buckled OUT when I cut the window holes on the side.  Container #2 has only one cutout, a 4’ wide an 6’ high hole about 4’ from the back of the container. I have not taken photos specific to this post but since I can’t show you here anyway, I’ll try to post them on the blog.

I cut the door holes before I jacked the containers up onto the “foundation” (concrete pilings under each foot).  I cut the window holes after the containers were jacked up.

Since I am only using #1 for climate controlled living space, I used #2 for the other side since it was in worse condition. It appears that at some point container #2 was repaired in a couple of places and looks like it was possibly pierced by something- maybe a forklift. The repairs are not large holes. The buckles were not apparent until I put the SIPs on the roof and they did not lay flat.  I had already cut the door holes and lifted the containers onto their "foundation" when I discovered the issue. I DO know this-  neither of the containers has moved on the foundation nor was the center porch constructed of 2x8 joists 12” on center affected. It has not pulled away, it has not shifted nor have either of the containers moved out of level despite the buckling. In short, the square tube has held while the corten siding has gone whompy. 

I installed SIPs on the roof and sides which is how I discovered the side buckling. It was not apparent to the naked eye but showed up when I placed the 4x8 flat SIPs on the side. The roof buckling also became apparent when the SIPs went up on top and did not lay flat.

All of this causes me to wonder when and why……  Did I make a mistake by cutting the door holes before the containers were jacked up?  Did the uneven jacking cause the buckles?  Is the container’s strength dependent upon the overall construction like a balloon frame? Is the used container more likely to buckle than a shiny new one?- although I think the wobbly Rainforest people had new ones.  Do I even care since everything seems to be fine otherwise?  Would a couple of flitch plates welded up there before cutting (with a RECIPROCATING saw) fix this if it was an issue for me?

Since I have a SIP roof, I really couldn’t care less about the buckle in the roof.  The sides were a pain to fix to get the SIPs to lay up flat but a little of the famous Hillbilly engineering fixed it just fine and now it is covered and I will forget about it. I am only asking for those who are not covering with SIPs. As I said a while back, this is an experiment and I am happy to share the information.

I am concerned that all the silly little DIY’ers  (rats) will not flock to the carrot truck if they fear the dreaded buckle.

(FYI- rats, while technically omnivores are more likely to be attracted to vegetarian treats like carrots rather than raw meat which is not typically a major part of their diet)

The issue might be important to a professional with extensive credentials and experience too. Maybe.

Anybody else got a wobbly whompy roof?

Comments

[Shipping Pro Taylor]

Thank you for that tidbit about rats. I didn't expect to find it here, but there you are :)