$20 per SF Container garage

[denis4x4]

I bought a couple of 20' containers, ordered some pre-built trusses and roofing for a covered parking space and three of us put this together over the weekend. Containers, material, labor and roofing came it just under $10,000.

There's a lot of storage space above the containers. Putting a beam and chainfall would be very easy. When spring rolls around, I'll add some finishing touches

 

[DynoDave]

I bought a couple of 20' containers, ordered some pre-built trusses and roofing for a covered parking space and three of us put this together over the weekend. Containers, material, labor and roofing came it just under $10,000.

There's a lot of storage space above the containers. Putting a beam and chainfall would be very easy. When spring rolls around, I'll add some finishing touches

Very creative! What did you do for a foundation?

 

[PAToyota]

You know, for what it is it has a certain style to it! Very nice. I like that you did something a bit different with the roof rather than just a typical double slope. Are you going to add any doors from the "inside" into the containers? I could see wanting to go between spaces without having to go "outside" and open up the main doors.

 

[z28toz06]

a friend of mine just did that at his business. ill get some pix. hes using it for storage and a salt shed,

 

[sharpshooter]

Well thats a different wrinkle

 

[stupidjet]

are you going to build a fence out of pallets next?? J/K
can you actually work on things int he container?? i sent a car and stuff over seas in a container and i had to climb out of the sunroof to get out of the car. great for storage, but again, can you build/work on something inside? got any pics??

 

[denis4x4]

Used a blade to level the ground and then set the containers. Used a bottle jack to fine tune the corners. I'll cut some "man" doors at the end of each unit. The container floors are hardwood and the net width is just over 7' inside. Since there's a sawmill near by, I'll use genuine 2X10's for a floor in the parking space. I figure that the roof will go a long way towards keeping the units cool inside.

 

[Vermaraj]

I like the idea. I was thinking of building a wood shop using this technique. Port of Newark is selling containers for little more than the scrap price.

Salesman tells me you can cut out nearly an entire side of a container without sacrificing structural integrity. Anybody have any real world advice on how much modification these can take?

 

[mjribeiro]

interesting - I guess that's why they have building codes!

 

[gahi]

how much would a 500 sq ft steel building cost?

 

[Down Under Bloke]

Yep my local council wants to ban them but there are too many now.

If you want to cut most of one side out then just a RHS to take the weight.

 

[Firetrucks]

Down under, what is RHS?

Actually, I have a friend these would be perfect for. Any like this for sale in the midwest?

Scott

 

[Down Under Bloke]

RHS = Rolled Hollow Section, steel. In other words square, rectangular, round, etc steel stock, that is not solid.

 

[gahi]

That's an interesting point. About $25/sq ft, insulated, with overhead doors, 14' eaves, including concrete, paying someone else to put it up. That was for 2000 sq ft, the economics may change on a smaller building.

Thats about the price I've heard, but minus the insulation part.

 

[blue77]

I got an estimate for a 30x40' 14' roof, steel building with sheeting, roof, and trim included and it ran ~$12k (NOT INSTALLED and no foundation). They didn't do anything smaller, so i'm not sure the cost of a 500 sqft version

 

[CraigFL]

Saw a recent Bob Vila show where they built a house out of containers, in the Ft. Myers,FL area I think. They said it was very economical because so many containers are shipped to the US and abandoned.

 

[Matt2point4]

Some Germans made a shop from Containers.

 

[dodgepolara500]

I had one if front of my house during my home remodel. I stored my garage stuff in it for 10 months. It was extremely hot inside! The metal turned it into an oven. Do you think the roof covering yours will keep it cooler? Can a ventilation fan be added to make it cooler still?

 

[Blue]

The scrap yard I go to has a similar building. They used much longer containers, (40 foot maybe?) and a longer truss in the middle. I'd say they cut at least 15 feet out of each wall to increase access, maybe more. It's actually pretty slick. They put a large garage door in the middle, and a man door in the side. I must have been to that place 20 times before I noticed that it was made out of two shipping containers. They way they have it set up, painted, and trimmed, you can hardly tell.

 

[Ign]

Since there's a sawmill near by, I'll use genuine 2X10's for a floor in the parking space. I figure that the roof will go a long way towards keeping the units cool inside.

Any reason not concrete? I mean I know it's probably around $100/yd but how much will the wood run you? and how much concrete would it really need?

 

[denis4x4]

Oh that I could get concrete for $100 a yard! Try $300 a yard in place! Too, when you get old it's a ***** to work on concrete. Wood has more give.

 

[Ign]

Oh that I could get concrete for $100 a yard! Try $300 a yard in place! Too, when you get old it's a ***** to work on concrete. Wood has more give.

Are you saying $300/yd including labor? I suppose so. And while I agree that concrete work is hard labor, how big is the parking area? You could frame it out yourself, rent a float and have the mud delivered. I bet you could get by without any mesh or rebar or even an expansion joint. I poured something like a 12x14 this way and nearly 5 years later it was showing no signs of failure. I just put a 1" layer of gravel down before the pour.

 

[Hades12]

Very nice, Price feels a bit high for it, How much were the containers each?

 

[mas]

www.fabprefab.com is a great place for container related stuff.. I recently purchased 2 20 footers as construction storage. Atco sells metal roofs to go between containers I see them used on construction sites to store materials between to keep dry

 

[tokyo]

That is kinda neat. Are those containers expensive??

tok

 

[C_F]

Some Germans made a shop from Containers.

Nice!

 

[Kevin54]

All of those are probably where PODS got their idea.

 

[BooUrns!]

Very innovative!

I've heard of an west coast architect who is building homes out of these containers. From what I've seen of his designs, you can't tell they were shipping containers when he's done with them. They get surfaced and finished just like any other building. The containers just provide a cheap source for structural steel.

 

[rsanter]

thanks for showing that
I have had the idea to do that for several years now.
my plan was to make the center portion about 2 cars wide to provide an area to work on the cars and then one container could be storage and the other could house the machine tools and a workshop area
I was also going to wood clad the sides of the container to give it an 'old barn' look, similar to what you went for

really makes me wish I had the space to do it

bob

 

[Lloydthumper]

I do have a question Because I have considered purchasing one of these instead of building a lean to on my garage I was wondering if these just setting there counted on you taxes as a structure/storage building? I could get one and paint PODS on the side of it and they would not think it was mine?

 

[z28toz06]

Some threads never die!

As far as taxable property goes, my area only counts it as square footage if it has a permanent foundation. technically he can move that, so i thinkit could be argued as temporary storage.

 

[Vinko]

I like the idea. I was thinking of building a wood shop using this technique. Port of Newark is selling containers for little more than the scrap price.

Did he give you a price for the container?

I'm getting about 10c per pound for scrap steel, mixed, (relatively) unsorted. So the container would probably fetch more.

++

I love container bldg. Great idea! Esp. the roof!

 

[Kevin54]

Some threads never die!

I don't know how I answered a dead thread because I didn't go back and dig it up. It was at the top of the first page when I answered my reply. Unless someone deleted the thread that they had. I just now seen the thread was two years old.

 

[comp]

I don't know how I answered a dead thread because I didn't go back and dig it up. It was at the top of the first page when I answered my reply. Unless someone deleted the thread that they had. I just now seen the thread was two years old.

true but i need to do this

 

[Vinko]

Very innovative!

I've heard of an west coast architect who is building homes out of these containers. From what I've seen of his designs, you can't tell they were shipping containers when he's done with them. They get surfaced and finished just like any other building. The containers just provide a cheap source for structural steel.

If we're thinking of the same article, I live right across the street from the house that's been featured in a few papers. I was surprised by how much he claims to pay for his containers.

 

[55dude]

i own 3 40' containers and mine are insulated and lined with stainless steel. they were used to ship meat around the world originally. they don't sweat and controlling the temp is easy. i have one as storage and the other two are going to be used at a different location as a 40'x40' garage. they are secure and setting them up this way gives you the arena effect. my cousin did this setup and when he purchased his trusses the place had some that were cut wrong for a customer and damm near gave them to him. i will see about getting some pic's and posting them.

 

[B-Power-B]

I bought five 45 foot containers.

We bought some used shelving (the kind you see at home depot) and put a man door in the side.

One of them is our storage, while the other four are home to our friends car restore projects. He fit 3 cars in each container.

Thieves did get into our container once, but I dare them to try again

Oh and it does get hot/cold in there. We mostly have to worry about rain up here in the great Northwest, and so far they have stayed water tight. KNOCK ON WOOD!!!

We paid $2200 delivered, and put 2 inch heavy gravel down. Then we laid rail road ties every 15 or so feet and set the container on the ties.

 

[billspit]

I bought five 45 foot containers.


We paid $2200 delivered, and put 2 inch heavy gravel down. Then we laid rail road ties every 15 or so feet and set the container on the ties.

Is that $2,200 for all five or each?

 

[B-Power-B]

Each, and that was..... 3 years ago now. We have people come by our business and leave their business cards wanting to buy them in order to recycle. I guess recycling them can be good money if you get them cheap enough. Mixed steel brings in about $230 a ton.

I dont know how much the average 45 foot container weights.

 

[BajaScout]

I bought a couple of 20' containers, ordered some pre-built trusses and roofing for a covered parking space and three of us put this together over the weekend. Containers, material, labor and roofing came it just under $10,000.

There's a lot of storage space above the containers. Putting a beam and chainfall would be very easy. When spring rolls around, I'll add some finishing touches

I know this is an old post. Did you do any further mods? This is an interesting concept.