How to Install Insulation In A Shipping Container Home

The design and the construction Insulation in a shipping container home.

There are many ways to insulate your shipping container home. You could spay on the insulation, roll it on and even use some type of ecological form, like egg cartons, etc.

In Costa Rica we use a roll on foam insulation as seen in these pictures. This is generally used for the ceilings on traditional homes in Costa Rica. We use this type of insulation because it is the only one available in quantity.  There are a few other options in Costa Rica  but these are sold at specialty stores in San Jose and cost 2-3 times the price.

We tested our insulation against three others and ours preformed very well regarding the temperature. The best by far is the spray on type of insulation. This is  a polyurethane foam and it works best in combination with ceramic insulation paint. The paint is obvious for the exterior of the shipping container while the foam is for the interior. The paint contains a special gas that you contained inside bubbles which gives it a high thermal efficiency. The spray on foam is available in both “open-cell” and “closed-cell”. The difference is in the price tag, density, strength, R-factor and in waterproof.

The closed-cell is recommended for the shipping container home building business because of all the above reasons. Also, because the shipping containers are prefabricated and then transported, the closed-cell foam withstands the movement much better.

This method by far is the best way to insulate a shipping container home. This spay on technique is new in the home building world and with it’s expansive ability it covers every corner, hole and crack.
Naturally our first step after cleaning, sanding, priming and then painting is to install the frame out in the shipping container home prior to the insulation and wallboard.
The spray on insulation is not available in Costa Rica for our shipping container home building. So we use the next best thing, insulation rolls with a very competitive R-factor.

To install the insulation and wall board with a two person team per 20ft shipping container requires two full days.