Modifying steel shipping containers

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There has been a popular movement repurposing shipping containers.  Making portable offices, training areas for fire, military, police etc.  My question is: they say they are coated with a rubber chlorinated paint.  I wonder if you face the same hazards as other chlorine issues, like the old brake cleaner. Most modifications involve cutting out a opening and framing it back in with rectangular tubing and a door or window. Obviously you would need a respirator, or maybe even a air supplied mask. Anything else?
Reply:Originally Posted by blackbartThere has been a popular movement repurposing shipping containers.  Making portable offices, training areas for fire, military, police etc.  My question is: they say they are coated with a rubber chlorinated paint.  I wonder if you face the same hazards as other chlorine issues, like the old brake cleaner. Most modifications involve cutting out a opening and framing it back in with rectangular tubing and a door or window. Obviously you would need a respirator, or maybe even a air supplied mask. Anything else?
Reply:Just put a mask on and go for it. I will probably be dead by 50 from the Chevron paint I inhaled offshore for years. Burning away black tar decking paint just to weld braces, skid's, drip pans, etc. If you are going to be scared about paint inhalation. Then you don't need to even mess with it. Or spend a couple grand and have it blasted. Put your dual flow fans. One pushing and one pulling. If your scared then go to church!
Reply:Originally Posted by AndrewDavenport89Just put a mask on and go for it. I will probably be dead by 50 from the Chevron paint I inhaled offshore for years. Burning away black tar decking paint just to weld braces, skid's, drip pans, etc. If you are going to be scared about paint inhalation. Then you don't need to even mess with it. Or spend a couple grand and have it blasted. Put your dual flow fans. One pushing and one pulling.
Reply:Originally Posted by MikeGyverHow do you know what paint was used? find the MSDS of the stuff and look into it. I'd blast it off first if possible, or just be really careful not to breathe the smoke.
Reply:Originally Posted by AndrewDavenport89Just put a mask on and go for it. I will probably be dead by 50 from the Chevron paint I inhaled offshore for years. Burning away black tar decking paint just to weld braces, skid's, drip pans, etc. If you are going to be scared about paint inhalation. Then you don't need to even mess with it. Or spend a couple grand and have it blasted. Put your dual flow fans. One pushing and one pulling. If your scared then go to church!
Reply:We are a product of our environment. We are all slaves to the trade. You do what you have to, to keep your job. When the supervisor says go weld this to that. You do what is needed to make it happen. If you come to them and say But mr. supervisor, I don't want to inhale the smoke that comes off of it....He will say go pack your bags you can be on the first boat smoking. Or do you stay there and get the job done and make some money to bring home...I made some money. I will pay for it in the long run but wont we all? We are in a trade that requires us to get dirty. Grinding rust, burning paint off the leg of a platform or decking, inhaling the smoke from burning rods or wire feed welding. It is what we do. Get down and dirty or get out the game.
Reply:Originally Posted by blackbartIt is just marked "rubber chlorinated paint", I'm not sure how you would find a MSDS on it.  They are flooding the used market, at least in CA.
Reply:I was in a facility where they convert shipping containers to other uses(construction offices, temp storage) and it looked like they plasma cut the openings, ground to brite steel, fitted then welded.
Reply:Originally Posted by AndrewDavenport89We are a product of our environment. We are all slaves to the trade. You do what you have to, to keep your job. When the supervisor says go weld this to that. You do what is needed to make it happen. If you come to them and say But mr. supervisor, I don't want to inhale the smoke that comes off of it....He will say go pack your bags you can be on the first boat smoking. Or do you stay there and get the job done and make some money to bring home...I made some money. I will pay for it in the long run but wont we all? We are in a trade that requires us to get dirty. Grinding rust, burning paint off the leg of a platform or decking, inhaling the smoke from burning rods or wire feed welding. It is what we do. Get down and dirty or get out the game.
Reply:respirator isn't always an option. If you told your supervisor I wont do the job until I get one. And you hold up a days worth of work to get one sent out to you... Think again, you will be on the first boat smoking up river lol. Its a cruel world out there man. Not every operation you work in is going to lay down and give you everything you need. You have to make due with what you got or look for another job. When its paying the bills and there is a high chance you will be out of work for months if you quit.... You suck it up and start burning that paint off. Hold your breath as much as possible. Stop burning and breath in fresh air and go back at it. Put a dew rag over your face and tie it. Take a shirt and cut it up, tie it around your face. Man I have had to do some jobs many people would turn their nose up and drag up from a job. Yea they may have saved themselves from the inhalation hazard but boy they were walking to that truck after getting to the dock and kicking rocks and cursing themselves because they have to go home and explain to the wife and kids why they cant pay the light bill or truck note. Daddy was afraid to earn money. That isn't me, nor will it ever be. If I feel that my IMMAEDIATE life is in danger I wont do it, but if its a future hazard I am taking the chance. Call me dumb, ignorant or stupid. But I will get the job done in a timely manner. We take a chance every day walking out the door to die. And leave our families with nothing. Might as well make another pay check. One day I will not work for "The Man" and my health factor will raise the bar because I wont be around all the inhalation hazards. In the meantime you have to do what you have to do.
Reply:Who says I would wait for my boss to provide me a $30 mask? Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:I have access to anything I need, so waiting for resperators to be supplied isn't a problem.  It was just the word "chlorine" caught my eye, with the previous warnings on this site. i was just going to clean it back like a normal weld. I dpn't have a current project, but was asked to design one for fire dept training.
Reply:Originally Posted by blackbartI have access to anything I need, so waiting for resperators to be supplied isn't a problem.  It was just the word "chlorine" caught my eye, with the previous warnings on this site. i was just going to clean it back like a normal weld.
Reply:I cut ours open and installed a roof vent.ground down to clean steel wherever I needed to weld.Wore a respirator.Ed Conleyhttp://www.screamingbroccoli.com/MM252MM211 (Sold)Passport Plus & Spool gunLincoln SP135 Plus- (Gone to a good home)Klutch 120v Plasma cutterSO 2020 benderBeer in the fridge
Reply:It should not take words like chlorine for us all to wear breathing protection when we grind, even mill scale off of clean steel.
Reply:I got chlorine in my pool  I don't wear a SCBA
Reply:All I can say is that I wish that the shipping containers on the right coast was a plentiful and cheap as those found lingering the left coast. I ave been following this development for the better part of 10 years and have dreamed about getting a few. Just too damn expensive around here. They are either located in Norfolk and need shipping, or they are in the tensy weensy Port of Richmond, and just too damned expensive.I hear that due to lack of US exports, there is a mountain of them out west (Portland, I believe?) that casts a shadow on adjacent neighborhoods. It's not profitable to ship empty containers back to their orgin, so they continue to pile up..I'll have to remember this if I ever do manage to get one at a good price. I mean, if it has to bear the conditions at sea, you know it is some hellified paint on those things. Probably not the best to breathe in. When I was young, we would weld up galvanized elbows in the 12" - 18" and larger variety and I never wore a respirator.. Not a thougtfully ventilated shop either, just a couple of bay doors that would swing open when things got too hazy. I damn sure would wear a respirator now though, or at least create a condition that has positive air flow. All that nasty stuff creeping up into your shield is for the birds.2c-Niche
Reply:@ NicheFab - Man you might want to look into the Auctions down south. I just saw a plethora of shipping containers. I think they were Hapag-LLoyd. Orange in color. I think they went for a grand or so. You can find hot-shot companies who will ship them and lay them down at your location. It would be cheaper than going from the west coast to Virginia. Think of New Orleans to Virginia. Has to be much cheaper shipping. Jeff Martin Auctions still has about 8 of them sitting at the location on Hwy 49 South Brooklyn, MSYou can do online bidding as well. Just call your shipper and tell them where to pick it up. After the buy you have like 2 weeks to grab your items.
Reply:Originally Posted by AndrewDavenport89I got chlorine in my pool  I don't wear a SCBA
Reply:Originally Posted by NicheFabAll I can say is that I wish that the shipping containers on the right coast was a plentiful and cheap as those found lingering the left coast. I ave been following this development for the better part of 10 years and have dreamed about getting a few. Just too damn expensive around here. TheTy are either located in Norfolk and need shipping, or they are in the tensy weensy Port of Richmond, and just too damned expensive.I hear that due to lack of US exports, there is a mountain of them out west (Portland, I believe?) that casts a shadow on adjacent neighborhoods. It's not profitable to ship empty containers back to their orgin, so they continue to pile up..I'll have to remember this if I ever do manage to get one at a good price. I mean, if it has to bear the conditions at sea, you know it is some hellified paint on those things. Probably not the best to breathe in. When I was young, we would weld up galvanized elbows in the 12" - 18" and larger variety and I never wore a respirator.. Not a thougtfully ventilated shop either, just a couple of bay doors that would swing open when things got too hazy. I damn sure would wear a respirator now though, or at least create a condition that has positive air flow. All that nasty stuff creeping up into your shield is for the birds.2c-Niche
Reply:Originally Posted by blackbartChlorine is one of the few gases you should worry about when heated up or mixed with other chemicals. It creates deadly fumes. Mix a little with brake fluid and see how long you live, that is before it self ignites or explodes.
Reply:Originally Posted by MinnesotaDaveFun fact:  chlorinated brake cleaner turns to phosgene gas through heat of welding, and "phosgene gas has a pleasant odor of newly mown hay or green corn, but its odor may not be noticed by all people exposed."
Reply:Watch inexpensive containers. Many times they have been dropped and are tweaked and won't seal right and leak..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I have cut and welded on several through the years. Just as with any painted surface, I would stay up wind or wear a mask. I made one container into a giant dust collector for the area powder coater to use when sand blasting.If you die while cutting/welding, it's quite likely it was the chlorinated paint. Pretty accurate way of telling, all things considered.Welding/Fab Pics: www.UtahWeld.com
Reply:While I have the shipping container folks around I have a question. A few weeks ago we had a bad storm blow thru and blew a good size pine down on the corner of my conex. Any ideas on making it better? Can I place a jack under a 4x4 inside, heat the edge with a rosebud and jack it back up?Any other ideas? Doesn't have to be perfect, just better hopefully. Brett
Reply:I am so glad I live in British Columbia. here we have laws that protect the workers.all employers must provide ALL safety gear for workers, from helmets to respirators.if I were welding on a container, I'd sandblast the paint off around any areas to be cut(by plasma) or welded for safety. but then again, I guess I'm a bit paranoid when it comes to safety.
Reply:Originally Posted by MikeGyverIf you die while cutting/welding, it's quite likely it was the chlorinated paint. Pretty accurate way of telling, all things considered.
Reply:@rustyshakelford -- Try to find a port-a-power. Hydraulic press that comes with attachments to get into corners and such. I would try it. Maybe it will have enough pressure to push the corner back out. You can rent them or buy a set. It will take a good bit of power to pull that out. And might I suggest go from the bottom right corner of the conex to the top left. That way you will have less chances of pushing your wall out if you go from corner to corner.
Reply:Originally Posted by rustyshakelfordWhile I have the shipping container folks around I have a question. A few weeks ago we had a bad storm blow thru and blew a good size pine down on the corner of my conex. Any ideas on making it better? Can I place a jack under a 4x4 inside, heat the edge with a rosebud and jack it back up?Any other ideas? Doesn't have to be perfect, just better hopefully. Brett
Reply:Originally Posted by almacI am so glad I live in British Columbia. here we have laws that protect the workers.all employers must provide ALL safety gear for workers, from helmets to respirators.if I were welding on a container, I'd sandblast the paint off around any areas to be cut(by plasma) or welded for safety. but then again, I guess I'm a bit paranoid when it comes to safety.