Storage container

[mxsailor803]

So I’m kicking around the idea of get a storage container and setting it up interior wise as a reloading room. My thought process is making separate from my house due to running out of room in my house for my current set up. I’m in SC so insulation and a/c will be a top priority. Has anyone done something similar or have kicked this idea around as well?

 

[mgulino]

Father-in-law used a 50 foot, refrigerated trailer as a workshop years ago. Cut holes for a door and windows, and installed a window ac unit. Nice setup.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Have you priced Conex containers? My immediate thought is that a 10x10 or 12x12 wood shed from Lowe's or Home Depot would be cheaper, and easier to insulate.

 

[Unclenick]

Used shipping containers in the 20-40 foot range start at about $1800. That's actually cheaper than a lot of the Lowe's sheds in the same volume range, so some shopping is needed to be sure. Then you have to pay to truck the container in and unload it. But it is also easier to securely lock a steel shipping container, if that is a consideration.


mxsailor803,

If you go the shipping container route, you can look at power-washing it and welding up or bondo-patching any rust-throughs and then painting the outside white with an elastomeric IR reflective roof coating which will seal pinhole leaks at the same time. That will help minimize your cooling bills. If it isn't in shade, the roof is also a good place to put up a few solar panels on tilt racking to zero out your electric bill altogether, if your utilities allow that.

 

[mxsailor803]

Unclnick, I wouldn’t mind solar but due to the location, it wouldn’t be very effective since there’s nothing but pine trees around. The rust removal and painting isn’t an issue since I’ve done that for the last 17 years on airplanes in the Navy.

 

[Unclenick]

If you have a lot of shade, then you may not need the reflective paint, either. Indeed, if you reload in the winter, for colder days you may want a building that picks up a little solar heat. I just bought a couple of window-air conditioner style heat pumps from Home Depot for another project so they can heat or cool.

 

[T. O'Heir]

Storing what? snicker. A container can cost you a bundle. They start at roughly $1300US plus shipping for an 8 x 20. According to the link below.
And may or may not be legal where you are. Otherwise, it's just a big, steel, uninsulated, pre-fab room. Foam slab insulation isn't horribly expensive and the walls can be drilled/cut/welded etc with no fuss.
Start here. Click on 'Delivery' too. Starts with you must be there when it gets there.
https://westerncontainersales.com/shipping-container-prices/charleston-sc-carolina/
"...in the Navy..." Who don't care much about where the rust and paint ends up. Local ordinances will likely say otherwise.

 

[Unclenick]

That's cheaper than places I looked and it's already in South Carolina which would minimize the OP's shipping cost.

 

[DaleA]

Well there was an interesting link to an actual seller of storage containers.

Local ordinances are a whole big rats nest of crazy that I don't want to discuss because there can be so incredible much variation from place to place.

In my Twin Cities suburb all our (older) houses had "drum traps" in the pipe connecting the bathtub to the sewer because you HAD to have one at the time the houses were built. When my neighbor went to redo his plumbing he found out you CANNOT have a drum trap in the piping because now it is AGAINST the code.

Another friend lives way out in the country on a honest to goodness farm and I was totally amazed as the restrictions he has on what he can and cannot do on his land. In one case it was putting up a shed in his field.

And we're all aware of all the gun type ordinances, I think in New Jersey you cannot us hollow points in your conceal carry firearm.

The state of New Jersey bans possession of hollow point bullets by civilians, except for ammunition possessed at one's own dwellings, premises, or other lands owned or possessed, or for, while and traveling to and from hunting with a hunting license if otherwise legal for the particular game.

 

[Grant 14]

Make sure you clear brush and other flammables from near the container. I lost a lot of antique Winchester parts when a forest fire came thru. It got so hot that it melted the injection pumps off of a couple of diesel engines that were inside. It did not look serious when I could get back on my land, but opening the door was like looking into a filthy old BBQ pit. I liked the container because it was water proof and rodent proof, which can be a big factor in the forest. Grant.

 

[BJung]

A friend of mine's had is reloading room in a storage container. I think he kept powder in it too and everything burned up. I don't know the details. If you're in the shade, a container would work. If it's in the sun, I'd build an overhang above the container. An option to consider is one of those miniature houses sold on home depot. Maybe someone sells plans?? That would be much more comfortable to be in than a metal container! You could install an electric heater in it.

Fire is a big issue many don't think about. My brother's Dick Sport Shop gun safe burned through with just a chard sheetmetal shell remaining. An inexpensive option might be is to dig a hole into the ground and place a pipe (even the large plastic ones) to put your ammo and powder into. The ground will make a decent insulator. Heat from the fire will destroy your ammo. I pulled about 400 cartridges apart for the components that survived my brother's fire. The powder was junk. Don't put the ammo in your fire safe, the heat will setoff the ammo and bulge your safe. That's how my safe got destroyed.