[Pil-pc-oceania] Shipping containers as cellars

[Deb Guildner]

Good idea, some folks use them as sheds or even temporary dwellings, but 
beware the chemical contamination....most *timber flooring" has been treated 
with very residual nasty organochlorine preservatives (some are banned 
substances now).. It usually state the name of the treating chemical 
somewhere on the outside of the shipping container. (I stored my furniture 
in one last year, it had a quite obnoxious odour inside, and the ubiquitous 
certificate on the outside).

You could remove the existing flooring and replace it, but be careful of how 
you recycle that flooring......if you are burying the container, you may 
just decide its best to leave it in situ (leave the floor intact), but then 
place geothermal fabric or builders plastic underneath it to prevent 
exudates leaching into the soil.

Yes it would be a good idea TO COMPLETELY LINE THE CONTR. and prevent rain 
from getting near the floor at all.  It (floor) is usually just plyboard. 
Maybe you can get some other flooring to place over the top of the existing 
one?

Cheers
Deb





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "jedd" <jedd at progsoc.org>
To: "permacultue discussion list" 
<pil-pc-oceania at lists.permacultureinternational.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2008 10:29 PM
Subject: [Pil-pc-oceania] Shipping containers as cellars


> How do we feel about this use?
>
> I want to bury one - of course digging out a pad, about 30-40cm of
> gravel under the thing, and the same around the sides - a plastic
> membrane of some sort (dam liner?) across the top and over the
> edges, and gravel over the top again, and up to a metre of soil over
> that, formed in such a way as to keep moisture well away from the
> thing.  I don't live in a particularly wet area, so I'm expecting the
> thing will last 'forever' (or a practical equivalence of same).
>
> It looks like it's the cheapest way of getting a secure cellar.
> About $3k for a 12 metre variety, $1k to deliver, and probably
> about $1.5k for the earthworks and gravel.
>
> Anyone have any experience or suggestions?
>
> Jedd.
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