Sea cans are everywhere on the yards and lease sites around Wainwright, because they are cheap, secure, and you can put one anywhere a truck can reach. Shipping container spray foam insulation in Wainwright is the work of turning that steel box into something that does not destroy what is kept in it, and the container's own construction decides how it has to be done.
It is a steel box with a profile in it
A container is corrugated steel on all four sides and the roof, with a plywood or bamboo floor over steel cross-members. There is no cavity, no framing, no flat plane and no thermal break anywhere in it. The corrugation profile means any cut-to-fit insulation touches only the ridges and leaves a void in every valley, and a void against cold steel is where condensation collects. Framing the inside out to create a cavity costs interior space a container does not have and still leaves a steel shell that bridges heat at every contact point.
Why a container sweats more than a building
Steel has almost no resistance and almost no thermal mass, so a container follows the outdoor temperature closely and quickly. On a clear night here the roof radiates heat to the sky and drops below the air temperature; in the morning the sun hits one side and the box warms far faster than the air inside it. Whatever moisture is in the container, from the stored contents, from a damp floor, or from air brought in on opening, condenses on whichever surface is currently coldest. Owners describe it as rain inside the can, and the long unbroken cold season here means it keeps happening with nothing to dry it out in between.
Closed-cell to the inside face, including the ceiling
Closed-cell foam sprayed directly to the inside of the corrugation bonds to the steel, fills the profile completely, leaves no void, and acts as a vapour barrier at roughly two inches. That stops the condensation at its cause because the steel's inside face is no longer the cold surface in contact with the air. The ceiling matters most, because that is the surface that drips, and it is the one most often skipped by somebody doing the walls themselves. The door end is the other detail: the door frames and hinges are a bridge, and the gasket is what it is.
Decide what the container is for
A can used as secure dry storage needs enough foam to stop condensation and little more. One being used as a heated site office or lunch trailer is a conditioned space and needs a full specification plus a thermal barrier over the foam, and in that case we would ask whether a container is really the right building for the purpose. Both are legitimate; they are different quotes, and the one you need depends on the use rather than on the box.
Rust, prep and the floor
Foam goes onto clean, dry, sound steel. Containers that have been on a yard for years usually have rust somewhere, most often along the bottom rail and the door frame, and that gets dealt with before anything is sprayed rather than sealed in behind it. The original timber floor is often oil-stained and treated, and what happens with it is a separate decision from the shell.
Who does the work
You are dealing with the contractor directly on shipping container spray foam insulation Wainwright. We quote the job, we schedule it, and our own installers do the work.
Shipping Container Spray Foam Insulation Wainwright: Common Questions
Why does it rain inside my sea can? Because bare steel tracks the outdoor temperature almost instantly and goes below the dew point of the air inside. The water is condensation, not a leak.
Can it be insulated with rigid board instead? Board only touches the ridges of the corrugation and leaves a void in every valley against cold steel, which is exactly where moisture gathers. Foam fills the profile.
Does the ceiling have to be done? It is the most important surface, because it is the one that drips onto the contents. Walls alone leave the main problem in place.
How much does shipping container spray foam insulation cost in Wainwright? Priced by the interior surface area and the depth applied, which on a standard can is a predictable area. The variable is prep: rust treatment and clearing the box out.
How do I choose a shipping container spray foam contractor in Wainwright? Ask what they do about rust and whether the ceiling is included. Those two answers separate a durable job from a coat of foam over a problem.
Size the depth with the R-value calculator, then get a free Wainwright quote. More on Shipping Container Spray Foam Insulation Alberta province-wide.