Shipping container hay barn

[3Lfarms]

I am in the planning stages of a barn I want to build. The purpose of the building is to eventually be a hay barn for a small cattle ranch and homestead. In the shorter term, the containers will store our belongings while we build a house on the property and be a place to park our 43’ fifth wheel.
I am not in the city limits, just the county to deal with and it is very rural. It’s not in the middle of nowhere, but you can see it from there. Since it will be considered AG, I do not expect any permit issues, but I want it to last at least 75 years.

I want to set both containers on poured footings and piers. Frost depth is 30”. I am planning on digging down 36” and pouring 24”x24” footings with rebar and then setting sonotubes on them, then backfill and fill the tubes to 6” above grade. My soil is 24” of hard clay on top of a mix of sand and clay. It’s very dry here, but it does get down to about -25f in the winter.

The containers would then be secured to the piers to prevent any movement.

My main question is since I intend to put a large roof across these, do they need footings other than at the 4 corners of each container? I saw a show on TV where they built a house out of shipping containers, and they poured 4 footings on each side of the container so it sat on 8 rather large footings. I know the containers are designed to only be supported by the 4 corners, but if it has to support a roof structure, would it be that much better?

Once the containers are in place, I intend to add 5’ or so of poles or beams to raise the the height of the trusses over the center part of the barn. This is where I do not know which method would be both strong and economical. I could weld short vertical beams on top of the containers to give me the height I want and brace them adequately with a beam running the length of the containers to support the roof trusses. Any ideas on how to do this are welcome.

I plan to work with a truss company to figure out the design and sizing of the roof trusses, I’m not willing to risk building those myself.

Here is a sketch I drew up to help illustrate my plan so far. I am planning on the two lean-to style roofs that are separate from the main span to give ventilation for hay and keep the top of the containers dry.



I am not set on the dimensions. I am planning on using 40’ containers, but have the main roof section over hang in front and back by 3 or 4 feet to make the total length 46 or 48 feet long to keep my trailer dry.
I imagine some dimensions are more economical than others on truss width, so the dimensions may change once I decide on what I am willing to pay.

I think this plan gives me enough storage, is something two guys and a 70hp tractor can build, and is good bang for the buck.
What am I not thinking of?

 

[Industrial Toys]

You might want to Google Andrew Camarata, on youtube, and his shop built out of containers. Quite interesting. He put one upright for an observation platform, like a castle, but that's optional.

 

[CMV]

They are designed to carry their load - and the load of others stacked on top - just at the corners. That's all you need for support. A few thoughts....

1. 6" is fine above ground. Just note the higher it is, the longer or steeper the ramp to drive in (if you are driving in - even ATV or whatever) and the ramp has to be below the locking lugs at bottom so there's a little lip to climb - on a steeper angle that little lip can be a wheel chock for smaller tires or hang a deck on a riding mower. 4" would be fine too - just needs a little air circulation underneath.

2. They settle. a Lot. Maybe not with the poured footings however. Just blocks, I've had to readjust mine. So, keep that in mind for the roof structure - if one settles a bit make sure it won't break anything on the roof structure.

3. You'll want to fix something in your poured footings to clamp the corners. It's not hard to nudge one - esp empty - off its blocks. Since either moving could break the roof (best case?) they need anchored pretty well.

4. You typically angle them a little higher in the rear if it only has doors on one end. That way if doors are left open in rain the water can find its way out the front door opening and won't pool inside.

5. The vents are for pressure equalization only and allow 0 airflow. With your roof structure you might want to incorporate a small roof vent that's screened so bugs can't get in. They get crazy hot in the summer. The roof will help that a lot on its own probably, but would be a good opportunity for a vent.

6. That roof will collect insane amounts of rainwater - consider a gutter along one side with a 330 gal IBC tote at the downspout. Amazing how quick mine will fill one.

7. I didn't have enough sense to check, but see if ones with doors on both ends are available and not crazy expensive. It's really hard for anything to "pass" anything else inside an 8' wide box. Can potentially waste a lot of time emptying things upfront just to get something near the back. Depends on how much big stuff you want to keep inside. My plan was store all my implements in it to keep them out of the sun/weather and secure them some. Seemed like a good idea and 40' is pretty long....but empty the whole thing to get the least frequently used one from the front out? Too much hassle shuffling around.

8. Buy from a logistics company or a yard that does container sales. A lot of the ads you see on clist or wherever is literally a guy with an F350 & a rollback trailer. He has 0 containers. You buy, he goes to port and gets whatever they have, then brings to you 2 weeks later. Congrats - whatever heap he brought you is yours - you already paid for it..... You want to inspect them first OR have the option to refuse delivery and they bring you another - can't do that with the yahoo with the F350 who already has your $.

 

[EddieWalker]

About 15 years ago, give or take a year, I did something similar. I bought the land and lived an hour away, so to keep everything secure, I bought to 40 foot containers. I set them on gravel with 24 feet between each one.

I built "A" trusses for the roof and set them on a ledger board that I bolted into the top inside edge of each container. This is where I leveled out the containers. They where not perfect, and getting them perfectly level was more work then I wanted to do. Getting them parallel to each other was enough work!!! Then I ran 2x6's from the trusses, over the containers, and out another 12 feet to create a lean to type storage area on one side, and a one bedroom cabin on the other side.

The roll up door is 12x12.

I sold the land ten years ago, give or take a year, and I've only been back there a few times. I talk to the owner of the land about once a month and the only thing that he's done to it was have it painted a different shade of red.

 

[ArlyA]

We are looking into these shipping containers for temporary storage. So far, looking on Craig'slist, we haven't found anyone within 200 miles from us retailing them. I guess we really do live in the boonies! :laughing:

They are designed to carry their load - and the load of others stacked on top - just at the corners. That's all you need for support. A few thoughts....

1. 6" is fine above ground. Just note the higher it is, the longer or steeper the ramp to drive in (if you are driving in - even ATV or whatever) and the ramp has to be below the locking lugs at bottom so there's a little lip to climb - on a steeper angle that little lip can be a wheel chock for smaller tires or hang a deck on a riding mower. 4" would be fine too - just needs a little air circulation underneath.

2. They settle. a Lot. Maybe not with the poured footings however. Just blocks, I've had to readjust mine. So, keep that in mind for the roof structure - if one settles a bit make sure it won't break anything on the roof structure.

3. You'll want to fix something in your poured footings to clamp the corners. It's not hard to nudge one - esp empty - off its blocks. Since either moving could break the roof (best case?) they need anchored pretty well.

4. You typically angle them a little higher in the rear if it only has doors on one end. That way if doors are left open in rain the water can find its way out the front door opening and won't pool inside.

5. The vents are for pressure equalization only and allow 0 airflow. With your roof structure you might want to incorporate a small roof vent that's screened so bugs can't get in. They get crazy hot in the summer. The roof will help that a lot on its own probably, but would be a good opportunity for a vent.

6. That roof will collect insane amounts of rainwater - consider a gutter along one side with a 330 gal IBC tote at the downspout. Amazing how quick mine will fill one.

7. I didn't have enough sense to check, but see if ones with doors on both ends are available and not crazy expensive. It's really hard for anything to "pass" anything else inside an 8' wide box. Can potentially waste a lot of time emptying things upfront just to get something near the back. Depends on how much big stuff you want to keep inside. My plan was store all my implements in it to keep them out of the sun/weather and secure them some. Seemed like a good idea and 40' is pretty long....but empty the whole thing to get the least frequently used one from the front out? Too much hassle shuffling around.

8. Buy from a logistics company or a yard that does container sales. A lot of the ads you see on clist or wherever is literally a guy with an F350 & a rollback trailer. He has 0 containers. You buy, he goes to port and gets whatever they have, then brings to you 2 weeks later. Congrats - whatever heap he brought you is yours - you already paid for it..... You want to inspect them first OR have the option to refuse delivery and they bring you another - can't do that with the yahoo with the F350 who already has your $.

 

[ustmd]

What everyone else said with ++++1 on the venting.

We use one for hay storage. There are three issues:
1. It gets crazy hot in the summer.
2. There is no ventilation, so if you get moisture or hay that has a higher end moisture level, you will get mold.
3. Underneath is an ideal spot for every creepy/crawly in the area to set up residence. You are going to be 6" off of the ground, so you are better off, but beware.

 

[SirMaxwell]

I would seriously consider calling your local contractor lumber store, find out who they use to supply steel trusses and go that way. Likely they already have something for you and can discuss the load bearing. Obviously you are like most of us on here, you don't want to deal with the nanny state, but you plan to overbuild anyway. Fairly easy design, catch the knee bracing inside, carry load to footing, catch sill bracing on both sides, carried to footing

Steel trusses are fast, cost effective as ****, span nice distances and surprisingly available all over the place (turns out a lot are manufactured in almost every metro locale, but us little folk just don't know. I found 2 within 50 miles of my home, and another 2 within 200 miles. I time travel -20 years when I leave the interstate).

Good luck. Please keep us all informed, and know that we love photos and all the little stories that go with them.

 

[ArlyA]

If it was our barn project, I'd raise the center portion of his monitor roof enough to add light panels to the gap between the 2 roofs. I've used those translucent panels and really appreciate them for letting light in.

 

[fjcruiser]

About 15 years ago, give or take a year, I did something similar. I bought the land and lived an hour away, so to keep everything secure, I bought to 40 foot containers. I set them on gravel with 24 feet between each one.

I built "A" trusses for the roof and set them on a ledger board that I bolted into the top inside edge of each container. This is where I leveled out the containers. They where not perfect, and getting them perfectly level was more work then I wanted to do. Getting them parallel to each other was enough work!!! Then I ran 2x6's from the trusses, over the containers, and out another 12 feet to create a lean to type storage area on one side, and a one bedroom cabin on the other side.

The roll up door is 12x12.

I sold the land ten years ago, give or take a year, and I've only been back there a few times. I talk to the owner of the land about once a month and the only thing that he's done to it was have it painted a different shade of red.





View attachment 597447


View attachment 597448


View attachment 597449


View attachment 597450

That is a great looking building. I'm intrigued.

 

[traderfjp]

You might also want to talk to several companies that sell the containers because I've seen this setup a few times when I was shopping for a container to use as a shed. They might have insight on what works best. I wonder if you can weld the trusses on to the containers. Containers are quite heavy so I doubt they will blow away once everything is secured together.

 

[TomIre]

Been thinking about something exactly like this. Anybody want to give a SWAG at total cost involved?

 

[sailfast]

Depends on where you are...
35k?

 

[ddbackhoe]

I am in the planning stages of a barn I want to build. The purpose of the building is to eventually be a hay barn for a small cattle ranch and homestead. In the shorter term, the containers will store our belongings while we build a house on the property and be a place to park our 43 fifth wheel.
I am not in the city limits, just the county to deal with and it is very rural. It痴 not in the middle of nowhere, but you can see it from there. Since it will be considered AG, I do not expect any permit issues, but I want it to last at least 75 years.

I want to set both containers on poured footings and piers. Frost depth is 30? I am planning on digging down 36 and pouring 24肺24 footings with rebar and then setting sonotubes on them, then backfill and fill the tubes to 6 above grade. My soil is 24 of hard clay on top of a mix of sand and clay. It痴 very dry here, but it does get down to about -25f in the winter.

The containers would then be secured to the piers to prevent any movement.

My main question is since I intend to put a large roof across these, do they need footings other than at the 4 corners of each container? I saw a show on TV where they built a house out of shipping containers, and they poured 4 footings on each side of the container so it sat on 8 rather large footings. I know the containers are designed to only be supported by the 4 corners, but if it has to support a roof structure, would it be that much better?

Once the containers are in place, I intend to add 5 or so of poles or beams to raise the the height of the trusses over the center part of the barn. This is where I do not know which method would be both strong and economical. I could weld short vertical beams on top of the containers to give me the height I want and brace them adequately with a beam running the length of the containers to support the roof trusses. Any ideas on how to do this are welcome.

I plan to work with a truss company to figure out the design and sizing of the roof trusses, I知 not willing to risk building those myself.

Here is a sketch I drew up to help illustrate my plan so far. I am planning on the two lean-to style roofs that are separate from the main span to give ventilation for hay and keep the top of the containers dry.

View attachment 597374

I am not set on the dimensions. I am planning on using 40 containers, but have the main roof section over hang in front and back by 3 or 4 feet to make the total length 46 or 48 feet long to keep my trailer dry.
I imagine some dimensions are more economical than others on truss width, so the dimensions may change once I decide on what I am willing to pay.

I think this plan gives me enough storage, is something two guys and a 70hp tractor can build, and is good bang for the buck.
What am I not thinking of?

Why not just stick build the whole thing? Locally a decent 40 foot container isnt cheap.

 

[ArlyA]

3Lfarms, Please keep us informed of your barn project.

 

[rd_macgregor]

FWIW, a year or so ago I got a (unsolicited) email from a prefab steel building company advertising clearance specials. Among the specials was a "CC" style building that consisted of two 40' containers and an arched steel (quonset?) roof:

 

[3Lfarms]

FWIW, a year or so ago I got a (unsolicited) email from a prefab steel building company advertising clearance specials. Among the specials was a "CC" style building that consisted of two 40' containers and an arched steel (quonset?) roof:
View attachment 597613

I have looked at commercial products like that. They are pretty spendy. I was seeing things like that and only 20 feet wide were going for $15k. 40’ wide and its like $25k and that doesn’t include the containers or anything. It’s just the roof structure. I know I can do this a lot cheaper than that.

 

[3Lfarms]

Thanks for all the replies! Please keep the comments coming. I know there are a lot of you that are way more experienced with this than myself.

As to why not a regular pole barn, I need a large area that is not only secure, but sealed up tight enough to keep out rodents while I build a house. The shipping containers are the only way I know of to do that without pouring a slab. 40 foot containers around here go for right at $3k.

I don’t really like the idea of sinking wooden posts into the ground. I prefer to build it so that it should essentially last forever without rotting. I also plan to install a large grid-tie solar system since the open ends of this barn will face due East/West, which means the roof will be ideal for solar. That would be very difficult on a Quonset style structure.

I had thought about steel trusses, but it haven’t looked into them yet. I have not done any real legwork on this project yet other than thinking about it. I need to figure out the most cost effective way to span 40 or so feet.

I am not planning on enclosing the ends and I am not going to enclose the gap between the upper roof and the roofs over the containers. I am thinking that will be about a 2 foot opening all the way along the entire length with overhangs long enough to stay dry except in horizontal rain or snow. That should provide plenty of air movement to let hay dry and keep the temps down. The area I am building in is usually fairly breezy with winds predominantly from the South. Orientation of containers will be broadside to the wind so it should not be a big wind tunnel.

On a side note, I planted 120 wind break trees last year, so by the time I am ready to start building the house, the tallest trees should be starting to provide some protection from the wind.

This weekend I am going down there and am going to talk to the county planner. Then I’m going to talk to the electric company to see how far back from their right of way I need to be as well as what I need to do to have a meter installed on a temporary pole and ask if 400amp service is an option.

There is a place about 10 miles from the farm that sells containers. They have quite a few on site. I am going to talk to them and see what they think and ask what the best way of setting 40 foot containers on poured piers is. I am figuring I will have to hire a crane to set them in place.
I will also ask if the container will need support other than at just the 4 corners so it’s doesn’t sag in the middle.

My thoughts right now are that when I pour the piers, I will weld a 12 x 12 piece of 1/4” plate to a couple pieces of 3x3 angle and set that in the wet concrete so the 12x12 plate is set flush into the concrete. Once cured, I will place the container and weld the container to that plate. I figure it will be easy to shim up with more plate steel as necessary to level the container so all 4 corners ares resting solidly on the pier, then burn it in.

 

[ddbackhoe]

Thanks for answering. Sounds like secure wont be an issue

 

[Rustyiron]

3L, As far as I know just the corners need support, that's all I've ever done and they get (floor) loaded heavy. My thoughts would be to put your concrete piers (4) on the 2 outside walls, then pour an actual wall (front to back) to support the "inside" of the containers also creating a shop (the portion under the trusses) that's going to keep out the wind, snow & critters. At this point if you poured this ''wall" about 12" wide you'll have room to support the 'tainer and frame a conventional wall on this footer to support your trusses. You could shoot that wall up 16' for a "clerestory" with windows and have room to properly flash the lower shed roof's to your side walls. The concrete will be extra but in the end you'll have pretty conventional framing* that will allow you to run wiring (receptacles) along those wall and insulate in the future along with not having a bunch of structural or engineering issues and additional costs for any local inspections, codes and possibly a lender. I'm positive you could "beef up" the side wall to support the roof but I would think it would involve a beam of some sort from the corners, 40' apart.

* I'd be very hesitant of transferring your roof/snow loads to the side walls of a container without further support.
Cool project, you need to do a build thread for us :thumbsup:

 

[shootemup604]

You really only need 4 sonotube piers at the corners - down to the frost line for your area and you are set. If you sink some plate or brackets in the concrete you can weld the container to them later and it won't go anywhere, but pouring a concrete ramp up to the doors at the same time is a good idea. I painted my brown seacan white, dropped the summer interior temperature by over 10 degrees - just thinned down some tremclad and sprayed it on with a Princess Auto HVLP gun. I sourced some 24' steel trusses from a greenhouse operation that had been damaged by snow. Cost me $20 each. Perfect to weld to the containers. Torch a hole in the top and put in a whirlybird roof vent, it will suck the hot air out, and fresh air in through the current vents. You can buy the hardware and "puck lock" sets on ebay and they bolt right on, makes them much harder to break into.