Shipping Containers Blog

Posts Tagged ‘20ft container’

This shipping container conversion project was to consist of 7 second hand 20ft containers joined together to make a large “community centre” in Chiswick.

It is perhaps easiest to think of shipping containers as pieces of lego that can have sides removed and be welded together in order to make a larger building.   When planning this there are several points to bear in mind, not least of which is to balance up using new shipping containers over used containers.   Whilst second hand containers have the advantage of being more ecologically friendly, it is often more difficult and therefore more expensive, to find a large number have the same specifcation.  Essentially what this actually means is that they are built so that the top rails and floor bearers match and so can be married up successfully so that there are no obvious joins.  In new containers, this is not a problem because they tend to be all shipped together in a batch and therefore have identical build specification.

multi-container-build

Recently there has been a change in the world of shipping containers.   The scarcity of 20ft second hand containers has meant that we are beginnng to see the price of 20ft containers being the same as, or sometimes more than, 40ft containers.  This will come as a surprise to many who think that the price of containers goes up the larger they are!

20ft used shipping container

Yesterday we discussed the process of ordering a shipping container conversion.  Today I promised that we would go through some of the options that you might want to consider when converting your container.

If the container is going to be used as an office, site accommodation or a classroom, the first thing is to insulate and line it.   The most common method of doing this is with a combination of rockwool and melamine faced board.   This produces nice smooth walls and ceilings - although you can choose to have wall paper or a painted finish if you require.   Flooring is generally placed over the existing wooden shipping container floor.  The most common is a hard wearing lino although carpet (and in particular carpet tiles) are another favourite.

10 ft office conversion

The next thing to consider is the number of windows required.   For a 20ft container the normal requirement is between 2 and 4 windows and for a 40ft 4 or 8 windows.   The windows can be double glazed and are normally 3ftx3ft with lockable steel shutters for security.  As far as access is concered it is quite common for the double shipping container doors to either be sealed off or replaced with a blank end and  personnel door put into the container - usually on one of the long sides.

Shipping containers are then ideally suited to be fitted with electrics, lighting and heating.   Specify the number of double or single sockets you require and, if possible, where they are to be located within the container.

shipping container conversion

Do remember too that it is perfectly possible to have containers joined together along the length to give additional width.   Bespoke Container Conversions are able to do this with up to 5 containers and then go up to 7 storeys high due to the strength of the corner posts of a genuine ISO shipping container.

These are just the basic alterations that you can have to a shipping container.   Plumbing, glass frontage, internal bulkheads and air conditioning are also possibilities - in fact most things are possible so don’t be afraid to ask.  And if you are looking for something temporary on a short term basis, don’t forget that standard offices and site accommodation are available on a hire basis as well.

You may remember last Friday we featured shipping container cartoons set in Wales, Scotland and Ireland and completely left out England altogether.  Well, in order to redress the balance we are going to fly the flag for England in this post and apologise to all of you who thought we were showing an unreasonable Celtic bias! But first the Union Jack.

Before we go onto Susan’s brillant cartoons, here is a 20ft container with a  fantastic paint job!  I just couldn’t resist it.   Imagine having this at the Olympic games 2012 in a big wall featuring shipping containers with all the competing nations flags around one of the venues.  It would certainly be pretty amazing and very colourful!

Not to be outdone, Susan just dashed off a couple of very quick sketches of how she would see steel containers being used in London.  What this girl can turn out in a few minutes using a couple of felt tips and a piece of paper puts Blue Peter to shame!!

Anyway, I do hope that this redresses the national balance for all of you who felt that we had neglected England in our shipping container gallery of cartoons.  Next week we are going back to - by popular demand - featuring some interesting conversions that we have seen.  Mind you next week is going to be pretty busy as we hopefully launch our new website so we may just get a bit distracted by that and do something else altogether.   Hope you all have a good weekend!

When thinking about Shipping Container Sales (or even hire) there are quite a few things you should consider.   Here are 10 that you might want to keep in mind.

1. The cheapest  to buy are 20ft Shipping Containers or 40ft Shipping Containers.  This is because these are the most common sizes used by the Shipping Lines/Transport Companies etc and therefore the most readily available.   Sizes such as 10ft etc are often cut down from larger containers and, due to the labour involved, are often more expensive.
2. Your shipping Container should be made out of corten steel.   This is a highly rust resistant and strong material that is weather resistant.   If you are considering buying  second hand shipping container then it will probaby be painted in the colours of a Shipping Line Company.   There will probably be places where the paint has been scraped and a brown surface layer will have formed.   This is not rust!   Corten steel forms this patina to stop rust getting to the underneath layer.   Your steel container should last another 10-15 years.
3. You should check that your container comes with a wind and watertight guarantee.   When you take delivery of your shipping container walk inside it and look for any holes in the sides and don’t forget to look up and check the roof!   This should be easy in the daylight as the sunlight will show through any holes there might be.
4. The floor of a standard shipping container is made out of 27mm timber.   Check that there are no soft spots in the floor that might give way when the container is loaded.
5. Make sure that your shipping container is sited on level ground.   This means that the doors will open smoothly.   When the container is empty this potential problem is often not obvious as the doors will probably open easily.   However, once the container is loaded if the container is not sited on the level then things are about to get a whole lot worse!
6. If you are going to use your container for shipping then make sure it has a CSC certificate or plate.   This will ensure that your container is cargo worthy and that you have no problems when delivering it to the port for shipping.  Remember that a lot of people choose to buy their container rather than hire is so they can use it as a shipping container conversion once they get to their new country.
7. If you have any concerns about the security of your container have a lock cowl or lockbox put on at the depot before delivery.   This is a metal box that is welded on to the container doors to protect the padlock from illegal access and tampering from bolt croppers or angle grinders etc.
8. Some insurance companies offer a premium discount if you use an insurance approved heavy duty container padlock such as CISA.   It is worth asking the insurance company you use to insure your container’s contents whether they do.
9. If you are worried about condensation then it may be worth considering lining the container.   This can be carried out at the depot and can be done in a variety of ways.   The most common is done using ply either without or without the addition of rockwool behind.  You could also consider using a “thermal blanket” - the method used by a large number of the shipping lines themselves.  A cheaper alternative to the problem of condensation is a moisture trap.  These last for 4 months and suck up 2.5 litres of water.   They are extremely effective but you do have to keep replacing them.
10. Finally, make sure that when you arrange delivery of your container you take into account the access to your site.   If there are overhanging trees, low cables or the lorry has to cross a field then the lorry might not be able to deliver your container and you will be charged for wasted transport.   It is always worth checking at the time of purchasing your container and, if there are concerns, sending photographs of the site or arranging a site visit to make sure that your container can be delivered.

If you are planning on emigrating, there are two ways to move your home contents – by air or by sea.   If you choose to ship your items it will obviously take longer for them to arrive at their final destination although usually it will save you money.   When you are trying to decide which option to choose, look at both air and sea options in terms of cost and time and don’t forget to factor in any furnished rentals you may need to pay for in the interim.  You can undertake the whole move yourself, or pay an international mover to take care of it for you.   Much will depend on your budget but, even if this is comparatively small, it could be worth talking to a professional as there are various options available that mean you can take on some of the process yourself and keep the price down!
If you do decide to move by sea, you will probably use a shipping container.   These are available to buy or hire and are made of corten steel.  These steel containers are extremely rust resistant and strong and are able to be delivered to your home so that your belongings can be packed inside.  Remember that you can either load straight away if you do not have too much stuff, or you can have the container left for a few weeks whilst you pack at your leisure.
 If you do decide to buy your own shipping container – and many people do, finding it extremely useful to have as additional storage space or as the basis of a conversion once they have arrived in their new country – then you must make sure that your container is sea worthy.   The phrase CSC plated is often used to determine whether the shipping container is suitable for shipping.   CSC stands for “Container Safety Convention” and the plate is usually attached to the shipping container doors and acts as the equivalent of a passport for the container.  Second hand shipping containers over 5 years old, can be tested and awarded a certificate that needs to be presented to the shipping line that is moving your container.  Basically this ensures that your shipping container is strong enough to be lifted safely on and off the ship with your home contents inside.
But how do you decide which size of shipping container will take all the contents of your home?  The standard sizes are either 20ft or 40ft and the easiest way to judge the size is to imagine that a 20ft shipping container as the size of a single garage and a 40ft shipping container the size of a double garage.   Whilst there are other sizes of shipping containers available generally these would need to go as special cargo and therefore be more expensive to ship.     Shipping containers are normally loaded onto the boat as cargo and must fit into the boat’s schematic.   Therefore all the 20ft containers are usually stacked together and similarly all the 40fts.  
Once you have loaded your container, it should be collected and moved to the port by rail or road where it can be loaded onto the ship.   Once your goods have arrived in your new country, the container is then unloaded and must pass through customs.   International movers should be able to help you with all the necessary forms and are often responsible for clearing your goods.  Don’t forget that depending on which country you have moved to it may be possible to claim back the vat you will have paid on your container.
From there on in you are on the home straight (as it were)!  It is simply a matter of getting your shipping container to your new house and unpacking.  
Best of luck!

When you buy or hire a shipping container usually you do so by size.   The size you choose is normally to suit what space you have available or how much you need to store or ship.   In fact shipping was responsible for determining shipping container sizes.   For what you probably don’t realise as you choose is that the standard sizes of shipping container – either 20ft or 40ft long by 8ft wide and 8ft 6in tall – revolutionised the cost of shipping.
These standard sizes meant that the loading and unloading of shipping containers could be mechanised.  Only a few pieces of equipment are needed to move the containers rather than the considerable manpower and different types of machinery that had been needed to move the varying shapes of palletised goods that had up until then been the norm.  It also meant that large numbers of shipping containers could be organized on a single ship as they are easily arranged in large stacks.
Of course the standard 20ft and 40ft are not the only sizes of shipping containers available.   There is a 20ft and 40ft high cube available which is 9ft 6in tall and is particularly useful for putting taller machinery and equipment in.   Smaller sizes of shipping container are also available such as the 8ft and 10ft long containers although these often have to be shipped as “special cargo” rather than going on the main container decks.
But nowadays, shipping containers are not just used for shipping.   They are used for secure, dry storage.   As such, they can be altered to any length from 40ft downwards.  Frequently, people ask for an 8ft or 10ft container believing that they will be cheaper than the 20ft.   Yet because a 10ft or and 8ft is usually cut down from a 20ft container, the additional labour means that the 10ft or 8ft is as – if not more – expensive than the standard 20ft size.  So, if you have room for the larger size, it is often worth buying as you get more storage space for a similar amount of money.

After yesterday’s post, a few of you contacted us concerned about condensation in shipping containers. In an earlier post relating to shipping container housing, we discussed the fact that all shipping containers have vents with pvc baffles inside to help promote air flow and keep water - be it rain or sea water - out of the container itself.

Why, therefore, is there a risk of condensation within a shipping container anyway? Well, when talking about containers used for store, if the doors of the containers are opened regularly there really should not be much of a problem. Where the risk comes in is when you take into consideration the moisture contained within the items being stored in the shipping container itself. All items, from sports equipment to clothes, from mattresses to shoes contain moisture and it is because of this that problems can occur during the autumn and winter months.

It is as a result of the difference in temperature between the night and the day - particularly when the day is sunny. These conditions cause the moisture to come out from the stored items as vapour, and, if no contingency is in place, settle on the ceiling ready to drip down when the temperature cools.

There is, however, a really good and affordable solution in the form of moisture traps which really do help keep the contents of the shipping container dry. These take the extra moisture into the specially PE/PP plastics and salt and lock it away within the moisture trap. One moisture trap will keep a 20ft container dry for 120 days. At under £30 it could very well be the affordable answer to any worries you might have.

The showpiece at the Singapore Biennale 2008 this year is the Containart Pavillion.  It is made from 150 Shippng Containers and 35 ten metre recyclable paper tubes.

The 20ft containers were fashioned into this extraordinary pavillion by Japanese Architect Shigeru Ban and now house works of art by over 50 different artists.

The Singapore Biennale runs until the 16th November so anyone wanting to go and see just how amazing shipping containers can look has until then to go and see the Containart Pavillion.

Having written about the Aces Basketball Team yesterday, we started to think about all the schools and sports clubs that have been ordering shipping containers to use as stores for their sports or ground equipment.

At this time of year, even though it feels as though we haven’t really had a summer, there is a change over in the sports played. Cricketers are looking to pack away bats, stumps, lawnmowers and rollers so that they will be safe and ready to use next year. Bath Ford Cricket Club, for example, took delivery of a 20ft container earlier this month to store their ground equipment in. The fact that it is a steel container means that they can leave it on site knowing that their equipment will be as secure as possible. With the lockbox and security padlock in place they have taken every precaution they can.

Schools too have been ordering shipping container conversions for PE storage. High View School in Barnsley had a container shelved with lighting and electrics and a personnel door so that pupils and staff could use it to store all the PE kit on site. Hindleys Community College had a 25ft container specially made to site alongside a sports pitch for the same reason.

But it doesn’t stop there. In the last month we have taken orders for shipping containers to be used for canoe storage, tackrooms, to house quadbikes as well as for a clubhouse for a football team.

Shipping containers being made of steel, with a secure locking system in the form of the lockbox or shroud which is welded on to the door to make illegal access to the padlock difficult, and the hardened shackle CISA padlocks really do offer a secure answer for sports storage.