Building a shipping container home is a unique and rewarding challenge. All kinds of problems need to be solved to make the home livable. One of the biggest challenges is shipping container home insulation and its various types. Choosing the right shipping container home insulation is incredibly important and will make or break your home.
To help you with this all-important aspect of building, we have put together a guide to shipping container home insulation.
By understanding what your options are and what you need to know, you can create a comfortable home. Taking the time to figure out which type is best for you will ensure that your home will be livable in all weather.
Why Use Shipping Container Home Insulation?
One of the challenging things about building a shipping container home is shaping the raw containers into a home. This will require some modification since the containers themselves are not necessarily livable. You will need to take steps to make them comfortable and protect yourself from the weather. This is why shipping container home insulation is so important.
You will need to insulate your shipping container home before you can do almost anything else.
Shipping containers are not airtight and will not hold up under hot or cold weather.
Insulation will keep you, and your family protected from the sun and cold weather. Choosing the right insulation is incredibly important and will make all the difference when inclement weather hits.
Types of Shipping Container Home Insulation
Before you begin buying shipping container home insulation, you must know the different types.
Not all containers are the same, and they will all have different insulation requirements. Choosing the right shipping container home insulation type will depend on many different factors. Your specific home may need different insulation than another home in a different region or of a different size.
The design of your container home will change the type of insulation you need. The bigger your home is, the more comprehensive the insulation job has to be. Because there is more space to keep warm or cool, you must choose a more expensive, high-end option. However, if you live in a mild climate, you may be able to cut a few corners.
Spray Foam
Spray foam is one of the most common types of shipping container home insulation.
This is due to how easy it is to apply and how well it works as an insulation type. It also helps to mask some of the volatile organic compounds that may be present in the paint of the container.
This can be a great way to cheaply deal with these toxic compounds without having to strip the whole container.
One of the reasons that spray foam is so popular is the fact that it can simply be sprayed. This is incredibly easy to do, whether you want to insulate the interior or exterior. However, with that convenience comes extra expenses, which can quickly add up. If you have a home made up of multiple containers, you may want to choose a different type.
Cotton
Many people who build container homes do so because they want a home that is sustainable. If you are considering a container home because of its eco-friendly nature, cotton could be a good choice.
Cotton is one of the most widely available and sustainable materials on the market. Because of this, using it as your shipping container home insulation can help reduce your home’s carbon footprint.
Cotton is also an incredibly effective shipping container home insulation material. It has an R-Value of 3.5 per inch, which means it keeps the temperature of your container home even. It is around the same value as traditional fiberglass insulation. On top of that, it has the added benefit of causing very little harm to the environment in its cultivation.
Wool
Wool is a shipping container home insulation that is just as sustainable as cotton. It is made from sheep’s lanolin and is very easy to get ahold of and relatively inexpensive. It has the same insulative properties as cotton and is even more affordable. This makes it a great choice if you have a large container home or if you are trying to save money.
Lanolin wool also has the added benefit of being incredibly fire repellant. This is an important consideration when thinking about shipping container home insulation. You will need to have some sort of fire protection depending on the building codes in your area.
Check with your local assessor’s office to find out if lanolin wool will be sufficient for fire protection.
Cork
Cork is another fantastic shipping container home insulation type that is widely available. Cork is sustainable due to the fact that cork trees do not need to be cut down.
The wood can be harvested every nine years, and the trees can stay right where they are. This makes it a great choice if you want to make sure that your container home is carbon-negative.
Cork also has the added benefit of offering sound insulation as well as temperature insulation.
Sound can be a major issue with container homes, and you will need to think about your options.
The sound reflections from the metal will cause major issues and can make your home uncomfortable. Cork can help mitigate some of the echoes and deaden the sound while insulating the home.
Conclusion
Figuring out what kind of shipping container home insulation you will use is an essential step. Making the right choice will make your home comfortable and keep it livable all year long. This is especially important if you live in an extremely hot or cold region.
If you would like more helpful guides like this one, check out the rest of ContainerHomeHub.com. There, you will find all kinds of resources and helpful tips and tricks from the pros. You will also find featured container homes. This will help you get inspired and get you thinking about your own home and help you get started.