Step By Step 53’ Reefer Shipping Container Modification | Insulated Overhead Garage Doors, Man Doors
In today’s step-by-step shipping container modification, we will be converting a reefer container into an air compressor/air dryer shack. We will install 2 insulated garage doors/overhead doors, 2 man doors, intake and exhaust louver frames, and a heat/air conditioning frame.For this mod, the customer used our 2D Planning Tool, PlanMyCan to assist in designing this sea can modification. If you want to design your own, check out, planmycan.com to get started!
Purchase Container Modification World Products Featured in The Video
YouTube Video Transcript
0:00
hi i'm channing mccorriston the container
0:02
guy today we're going to be modifying
0:04
this 53 foot x reefer shipping container
0:08
in this can we're going to be installing
0:10
two overhead doors two man doors and a
0:14
bunch of custom framed cutouts for
0:16
customer supplied intake and exhaust
0:19
louvers
0:22
the customer was able to use our online
0:25
2d modification planner tool at
0:27
planmycan.com
0:29
to place the overhead doors and the man
0:32
doors exactly where they wanted them
0:34
you'll see here we've marked out all the
0:36
doors and everything already and we've
0:38
got the container up on our modification
0:40
beams just off the ground we've
0:42
supported the underside of this
0:43
container in a couple places just so
0:45
that as we're cutting the openings out
0:48
prior to installing the frames we make
0:50
sure that we support that floor and
0:51
don't get too much sag
0:53
another thing to note is when we do cut
0:55
these out which we'll be doing
0:56
right away here is we use a metal
0:59
cutting skill saw so this saw right here
1:02
it's got the carbide tooth blade on
1:05
there it works really well and goes
1:07
through the aluminum very easily the
1:08
wall cavity here is just a lighter gauge
1:11
exterior aluminum there will be studs
1:13
every two feet or so and then on the
1:16
inside it's that white fiberglass frp
1:19
panel so we will let the boys get at it
1:21
and check in on them after they've cut
1:23
out all the rough openings
1:25
[Music]
1:41
so we're back here to check in on the
1:42
boys it looks like they've already
1:44
installed the man doors i'll just go
1:46
over them a little bit so these doors
1:48
here they're getting installed on this
1:50
aluminum insulated container uh
1:52
difference with the install is that up
1:54
at the header we don't use the raindrip
1:57
because we want to leave the container
1:59
as insulated as possible once i jump
2:01
inside i'll show you what that means but
2:03
you can use the raindrip it's optional
2:05
if you want to use one uh you want to
2:07
use the end wall version not the
2:10
sidewall version which has the the
2:11
angled profile give you an idea how this
2:14
door works here so it's got the
2:17
automotive grade door seal
2:20
that closes and seals very nicely and
2:22
allows for flexibility and movement and
2:25
here is the inside of the door uh you
2:27
can see we've cut the hole as tight as
2:29
we could so we'll be able to actually
2:32
just either silicone that or up at the
2:34
top
2:34
um you can stick a straw of spray foam
2:37
and then silicone so if we were to use
2:40
the uh the drip edge we would have had
2:42
to cut this opening two inches higher
2:44
and then we would have had this whole
2:45
void here with no insulation so we chose
2:47
not to up at the top on the outside
2:49
we'll just silicone the top edge if
2:51
someone's yeah concerned about water
2:53
intruding in you can use that range
2:55
right but then either have to fill it
2:57
with foam or you can chunk or sorry kind
2:59
of sliver
3:00
of this
3:01
uh insulation and the frp panel and
3:03
slide it back into that header as well
3:05
it's another way of insulating it so
3:07
yeah this
3:09
cans insulated
3:10
and so worthy doors
3:12
they're a rock wool insulation built to
3:14
a 60 minute fire rating spec all of the
3:18
openings are cut out now
3:20
here this is a intake louver for
3:23
the large exhaust fan that's going in
3:25
here this container is going to be used
3:27
for a very large air compressor and an
3:30
air dryer that's what will be going
3:33
inside of these uh
3:35
large insulated overhead doors so
3:38
they've got the two overhead doors cut
3:40
out we're just waiting on the special
3:43
frames that we had to do up for this
3:44
type of container this is the exhaust
3:46
vent
3:47
uh we'll just finish trimming this up
3:49
the customer is gonna be installing
3:51
everything themselves so we're just
3:53
cutting out the openings and then
3:55
uh yeah providing them a galvanized
3:58
flashing something more structural that
3:59
they'll be able to
4:02
screw into
4:03
so here they're going to have a heat and
4:06
ac unit just to help
4:09
temperature control this thing
4:11
it's going to get super hot in the
4:13
summer time they'll probably just
4:15
continually run that fan to be
4:16
exhausting all the hot air out but in
4:19
the winter they'll probably not run that
4:21
and you know their compressor probably
4:23
generates enough heat to heat this
4:25
building but if not there is some
4:26
auxiliary heat here
4:28
so yeah second overhead door another man
4:31
door for access because
4:32
uh you won't be able to get around the
4:35
generator that's in here
4:36
and then the other louvers so they'll be
4:38
pulling air from kind of the bottom on
4:40
on both sides and then across the can
4:43
out the exhaust vent and so here on the
4:46
end wall uh the guys one of the cutouts
4:48
from the overhead doors we've reused the
4:50
cutout so we have a similar interior
4:53
finish on the inside of the cam we like
4:54
doing it this way so
4:56
here we got the fiberglass frp panels
4:59
the same two inches of foam and then on
5:01
the outside we've left a flange all the
5:03
way around that allows us to self-tap
5:06
and screw back into the frame here and
5:08
then if there's any little gap there
5:10
we'll fill that up with foam and
5:11
silicone one thing i'd like to point out
5:14
is when you're marking out your openings
5:17
for cutting into the structure of these
5:18
containers they have vertical studs
5:21
running every two feet or so so rather
5:23
than install this opening right here and
5:26
get rid of two of the structural uh
5:29
j-channels we can just
5:31
center it in between and only get rid of
5:33
one so if you do proper planning when
5:35
you're modifying these x-reefers same
5:37
goes here
5:38
then you're going to make sure that yeah
5:40
you retain as much structure as you can
5:42
and reduce the you know
5:45
opportunity for sag so we've centered
5:47
the mandor between
5:49
two posts we've only cut through one i
5:51
think the customer wanted it
5:53
you can see right here they wanted it
5:55
this far over we just
5:57
gave them a call and said hey if we move
5:59
it over this far does it matter because
6:01
it's going to make your cat a lot
6:02
stronger this container had a few cuts
6:04
and bruises on the outside so uh another
6:07
thing to show you is we had to do a few
6:09
patches so from the other cutouts we've
6:11
taken the the same aluminum sheeting
6:14
that's on the exterior of the container
6:16
cut out a patch larger than the hole
6:19
drilled multiple holes in it
6:22
riveted it all the way around and then
6:24
a very good silicone job to make sure
6:26
that no water protrudes through the
6:28
opening
6:32
so i'm just getting back to the yard i
6:34
was at the steel processors we picked up
6:36
the
6:37
overhead door frames we had to develop a
6:40
special overhead door frame for this
6:42
customer
6:43
because uh the height requirements of
6:46
the compressors that are going in this
6:47
container so a lot of times we have to
6:50
go back to our 3d modeling software and
6:54
tweak our model just to
6:57
meet our customers demands and so yeah
6:59
definitely this time
7:01
there's some custom framing required and
7:04
so here is our uh overhead door frames
7:08
these are slightly different than our
7:10
roll-up door frames
7:12
it's more of a j-channel style that
7:14
surrounds the the uh the foam
7:17
wall structure that it's encompassing so
7:20
the header here this is on the outside
7:22
this is on the inside for the overhead
7:24
door we do a nice big tall header that
7:27
helps you know span that distance but
7:29
also in the middle gives the overhead
7:31
door installers a place to mount their
7:33
spring hardware the threshold plate we
7:35
return fold it downwards that allows us
7:37
to bolt into the bottom channel or
7:40
footer of the container just to help
7:42
with the rigidity of the seven foot span
7:44
here and then finally
7:46
these side pieces are very similar to
7:48
our roll up door sides just slight
7:51
tweaks for the way that the header
7:53
connects to them and then still on the
7:55
inside of the can we allow it to come
7:57
further up and that's where the overhead
7:59
door installers will install their
8:01
tracks
8:02
so we got the
8:04
the left
8:05
right
8:10
and lastly the header
8:13
these are all purpose-built for this
8:15
exact modification this exact customer's
8:18
demand
8:19
ever any other customer looking for
8:21
something completely custom
8:23
we can always play around with our our
8:25
spans we don't like to go much more than
8:27
you know typically eight feet on this
8:28
style of container and you know you can
8:31
span up to 10 on the steel corrugated
8:34
containers but beyond that then you get
8:36
into needing some you know engineer
8:38
stamped structural kits
8:40
now today new day we're just going to
8:42
get this these two frames installed and
8:44
ready for the overhead doors they're
8:46
coming tomorrow so
8:48
one thing i'd like to note about these
8:50
door frames is that the order's slightly
8:51
different than the roll-up doors so we
8:54
actually start with the footer on these
8:55
ones so that we know our framed opening
8:58
width and the reason for that is because
9:00
up at the top on the the headers the
9:02
side frames don't connect to the header
9:04
which they did on the the roll-up door
9:06
frame so order of this is the footer the
9:08
two side frames and then we slide the
9:10
header up uh make sure everything's all
9:12
squared up we use a 5 16 self threading
9:15
bolt into this thick aluminum frame down
9:17
at the bottom and then just rivets all
9:19
the way around for the rest of it so
9:21
we'll get started so riley just uh
9:23
pre-drilled the first two holes we are
9:26
going to just throw in uh the first
9:27
couple of uh self-threading bolts just
9:30
that'll hold the footer in place and
9:32
then when we continue to drill the
9:33
footer's not moving around and our holes
9:35
are actually in the right spot so
9:38
these are an awesome case hardened screw
9:41
there's super high
9:46
shear strength on them so yeah we love
9:48
we use those screws often when we need
9:50
something bigger than the quarter inch
9:51
self toppers we'll let riley finish up
9:54
here
9:54
and then get on to the side frame
9:56
installation
10:04
another thing to note is we're using a 9
10:06
32 drill bit that size can potentially
10:09
change so i think this beam here is like
10:12
three millimeters thick so depending on
10:14
the material thickness that you're going
10:15
into you might need to upsize or
10:17
downsize that drill bit with this footer
10:19
here now that it's all screwed in it's
10:21
solid so normally we actually laser cut
10:24
holes to be able to screw them into the
10:26
wood floor containers but this one isn't
10:27
wood but the threshold plates are not
10:31
uh typically return folded downwards so
10:33
with this it's actually a lot more of a
10:35
solid connection even without any screws
10:37
here than what a normal threshold plate
10:39
would be in the wood floor so we're
10:40
happy with it so make sure everything's
10:42
all flushed up nicely here uh riley's
10:44
pushing on it and
10:50
held it in place there for me so we just
10:52
want to tack the bottom corners
10:54
of the side frame
10:57
now that's held in place we'll do the
10:58
other or the same thing on the other
11:00
side and then we'll jump up to the top
11:02
make sure that the the framed opening is
11:04
nice and square and then get the header
11:07
tacked up and finish up the sides so
11:09
we've got the header held up here
11:12
we can kind of square it off make sure
11:14
that the opening square and we'll jump
11:15
inside and we'll just tack it in place
11:18
with a few rivets up at the top there
11:20
and then we'll jump back out here we
11:22
have to uh pre-drill the hole so we want
11:24
to hit these
11:26
aluminum studs in these aluminum
11:27
containers so we're going to pre-drill
11:30
where the studs are and so it's a good
11:32
idea just to measure corner to corner
11:33
and make sure that you're square
11:37
hang on
11:40
so if you've ever installed an overhead
11:42
door you know that your tracks actually
11:43
come up higher than the door opening
11:45
itself and that's why we continue these
11:47
side frames further up as pretty much as
11:49
high as we can go to the roof and then
11:51
we've also laser cut holes
11:53
up at the top here to make sure that
11:55
we're hitting this aluminum flashing so
11:58
here with the header we just have to
11:59
push up to make sure that it's uh
12:01
nice and level across at the bottom of
12:03
the header so
12:04
[Applause]
12:05
now we got that tacked in we'll just
12:07
quickly rivet
12:08
the side frame
12:12
and continue on all the way along so we
12:14
got the header up in place here we're
12:16
going to tack the two front corners of
12:18
the header
12:20
just to make sure that the openings nice
12:21
and square and then once we have those
12:24
tacked we're going to drill through the
12:27
aluminum studs that are in this
12:29
container and then use our 5 16 self
12:32
threading bolts in there because they're
12:33
much stronger than a quarter inch rivet
12:35
or self tapping screw so we have this
12:37
container all ready the frames are in
12:40
and and
12:41
prepped for the overhead door
12:42
installation the contractor is coming
12:45
tomorrow to install the doors and
12:47
hopefully they'll allow us to follow
12:49
along as they get those installed and
12:51
show you guys how that's done
12:57
[Music]
13:06
okay so we're back here uh the
13:08
installers we've got a few clips of them
13:10
yesterday putting this door in but they
13:11
finished up last night while we're gone
13:13
so i'll just go through
13:15
uh the pros and cons of these doors and
13:17
then we'll take a look at how it was
13:19
installed so first
13:21
these overhead doors they're available
13:23
in insulated and non-insulated options
13:25
so when we're using a 53 foot x reefer
13:28
container we're able to select an
13:30
insulated door and that's the big key
13:32
here is this customer is going to be
13:33
heating this can and they need that
13:34
insulated door reason why we don't go
13:37
with the
13:38
the
13:39
tin roll-up doors that are just a sheet
13:41
of steel that condensate and sweat
13:43
throughout the winter so
13:45
great that these door slabs are
13:47
insulated uh the con to these is that
13:50
they
13:51
go up and inside the can and remove
13:54
headroom in the container so there's a
13:56
max height of you know shelving or you
13:59
know components that they can put inside
14:00
this can because it does take away from
14:02
their interior headroom our framing kit
14:05
allowed them a very nice
14:07
finish here to install their weather
14:10
seal a few things to note about these
14:12
doors it's a it's a commercial slab and
14:14
then they use a two inch residential
14:16
track that track allows the 12 inch
14:18
radius and gives us the maximum height
14:21
on the interior where commercial tracks
14:23
often are 15 inch radius so yeah we get
14:26
that at max rough opening height with
14:29
this combo make sure that your container
14:31
is level when they show up so if they if
14:34
your container we've had this happen
14:35
before is sitting on an angle
14:38
they'll bring their level here they'll
14:39
install stall the door perfectly plumb
14:42
and then once you level your can uh your
14:44
whole door will be a parallelogram one
14:46
way or the other and not operate
14:48
properly because it needs to be
14:50
level side to side to run down the
14:52
tracks properly another thing about
14:54
these doors is that uh common stock
14:56
panels are 21 inch or 24 inch heights so
15:00
if you can size your door openings that
15:02
match those then the
15:05
the installers don't have to trim these
15:06
panels down and cap them so to save
15:09
money if you can size your door openings
15:11
to be multiples of 21 or 24 inch door
15:14
slabs now we'll jump inside and take a
15:16
look at the mechanics of this door and
15:18
show you how well this thing seals up
15:25
another thing here is this is a
15:28
manually operated door so just lift uh
15:31
it's spring tension that allows it to
15:33
raise and stay up high
15:35
these do come with electric operators
15:38
they have two different types there's
15:39
either the one that just runs along the
15:41
center like every garage door or
15:44
there's actually a side operator system
15:46
so on the side walls of containers we
15:48
actually like to go with that side
15:49
operator but when we put these overhead
15:52
doors in the end wall of cans there's no
15:54
room on the side to mount that and then
15:56
we're stuck with that uh centralized
15:58
electric operator so here's the inside
16:01
of the the door
16:02
they come with
16:04
an
16:04
interior locking mechanism
16:07
we got the rope here just to help you
16:10
grab the door and pull it downwards once
16:11
it's open
16:13
uh these doors here use a two inch it's
16:16
a residential style track that track
16:18
allows us to have the 12 inch radius and
16:21
then allows us to spec our door openings
16:24
as high as we possibly can one thing i
16:26
learned from the installer there
16:27
yesterday is that actually
16:29
you know they can kind of even get away
16:31
with like a 10 inch header height and
16:33
squeeze these doors in that you know
16:35
they prefer 11 or so but i always
16:37
thought that was 12 inches was the the
16:39
dead minimum so interesting to know you
16:41
know if we ever need to squeeze for a
16:43
customer we can but yeah if you see up
16:46
here
16:47
i talked about earlier about the side
16:48
frames
16:49
that the installer needs to be able to
16:51
secure their track to that there always
16:53
needs to be something dead center of the
16:55
door where they can mount that to middle
16:57
plate one thing to caution is always
16:59
talk to your overhead door installer or
17:01
the contractor that arrives to do it and
17:04
make sure that you explain to them
17:07
where they can and cannot mount their
17:09
tracks so we've had you know if they
17:11
just show up and get things done we come
17:13
inside a can and they've got screw holes
17:15
all the way through the roof of a brand
17:16
new container it's horrible so yeah i
17:19
always have a plan for them where they
17:20
can secure their tracks they're going to
17:22
need to secure them on the opposite end
17:24
of the can so this being an insulated
17:26
container you know it's two inch thick
17:28
wall system three and a half in the
17:29
ceiling they were able to use tech
17:31
screws and secure their uh perforated
17:33
angle iron up the roof there and it's a
17:35
nice durable connection that will sport
17:38
the weight of the door when it's fully
17:40
open so that pretty much wraps up our
17:43
scope of this project the customer still
17:45
has a bunch more work to do in this
17:47
container once we deliver it to their
17:48
site i'll just uh crack open the doors
17:51
and give you guys a final tour of how
17:53
everything landed one thing to note
17:55
about these x reefer doors is that they
17:57
got like four door seals on them so if
18:00
you try to open just one door at a time
18:02
they seem to jam so a trick here
18:04
is when you're opening the doors you
18:06
just get
18:07
the first one popped and you gotta go
18:10
and open the second door
18:14
and then they open nice and easily
18:17
and so here we can just jump inside and
18:19
give a look at the final modifications
18:22
that we performed on this container and
18:23
so here is the first mandarin it's right
18:26
close to the container doors we have our
18:28
frames all installed that's where their
18:29
intake damper is going to be which pulls
18:31
the air in for their exhaust fan
18:34
their first overhead door so here will
18:37
be either their compressor or their air
18:38
dryer not sure
18:42
two openings here so that is their
18:44
exhaust fan and then we got our uh heat
18:46
pump and ac unit
18:48
the final overhead door here with the
18:52
man door that just provides them
18:53
additional access into this end of the
18:55
container it's probably going to be
18:56
pretty tight walking around this and
18:59
then the final intake down for these
19:01
aren't fully finished up but once their
19:03
unit mounts inside here that's going to
19:05
seal everything up they'll be able to
19:06
silicone around
19:08
all of our flashing kits that we
19:10
provided them and this thing should be
19:11
pretty tidy so that concludes this
19:13
compressor shack modification inside
19:15
this 53 foot x reefer container if you
19:18
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19:20
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19:22
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19:24
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19:25
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19:28
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19:31
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