Shipping Container Shops anyone?

[woodlandfarms]

Looking for a semi temporary (2 year plan) shop space. I will be limited to one container, probably 40ft. Would love to see what everyone has done and what work and what does not. It will be wood oriented, but happy to see metal shop ideas as well.

 

[ishiboo]

Looking for a semi temporary (2 year plan) shop space. I will be limited to one container, probably 40ft. Would love to see what everyone has done and what work and what does not. It will be wood oriented, but happy to see metal shop ideas as well.

I can't imagine having a wood-shop space that's only 8' or 8'6" wide.

One thing I've noticed with containers though is any decent 40' seems to go for about $2500+ plus transportation costs. For that price you can often find a running driving 60-72 passenger school bus which gives you similar space, and it's mobile. Just something to consider.

 

[EddieWalker]

I put two of them side by side and put a roof over them that worked well for awhile. I needed secure storage before I moved to the land and felt they where the best bang for the buck. I've also modified several of them by adding windows and 3 foot exterior doors to them for clients. I currently have a 40 foot container that I use for storage that I paid $1,000 for. In my opinion, it's better to spend a little more for a premade shed then to try to modify a container for anything other then storage. You can also build a small pole barn for less then it costs to buy a 40 foot container and modify it.

A 40 foot container is 320 square feet. Figure $2,500 to buy one, add another grand to modify it and you are now over $100 per square foot.

 

[rustyshakelford]

I put two of them side by side and put a roof over them that worked well for awhile. I needed secure storage before I moved to the land and felt they where the best bang for the buck. I've also modified several of them by adding windows and 3 foot exterior doors to them for clients. I currently have a 40 foot container that I use for storage that I paid $1,000 for. In my opinion, it's better to spend a little more for a premade shed then to try to modify a container for anything other then storage. You can also build a small pole barn for less then it costs to buy a 40 foot container and modify it.

A 40 foot container is 320 square feet. Figure $2,500 to buy one, add another grand to modify it and you are now over $100 per square foot.

I agree with the shop over conex. Mine is awfully tight and gets hot. As to the money, isn't it about $11 per ft? $3500/320?

Brett

 

[EddieWalker]

hahaha. Your right. My math was way off.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Maybe Eddie's came with gold plated floor tile... *grin* 'delux conex box'

 

[prichard]

Maybe Eddie's came with gold plated floor tile... *grin* 'delux conex box'

Obviously you've seen Eddie's canning kitchen build.

 

[Steave]

A buddy of mine added a sliding door on the side of his shop/storage. Instead of cutting the opening all the way around he cut the two vertical cuts then the bottom and raised the side up and put two posts one at each corner. That way he had a roof for a porch. Made a good place to sit and have a beverage :drink:

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Here in the NW those metal containers drip condensation all winter, unless insulated and heated. Ventilation will stop the condensation if CFM is high enough, but gets real cold in the winter. Consider using a reefer van, probably cheaper than doing the modifications.

Ron

 

[xzcVAbc5]

I understand the better containers that you can buy are ones that have only been shipped across the ocean once. They aren't likely to be as beat up and roofs don't leak.

I don't have any experience buying containers, but that's what I've gleaned from other discussions, FWIW.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

Compare the cost to stick building it yourself. I think it's about the same money, and the stick built is going to be much nicer.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

I have a 20 foot behind my garage. I agree a shop would be tight in that space but doable and better than nothing. I will probably
Move it to my land this winter to have secure storage for my tools.

 

[sparc]

That's what I am thinking of. A 40 footer hopefully if I can squeeze it in and use half as a shop and the other half to store some smaller implements in that might grow legs when no one is around. If not one 20 footer and forget the shop space. All my equipment is located on a property about 6 miles from my house so I can't keep an eye on it easily. If I had a container I could be reasonably sure it was secure or present an obstacle to someone breaking easily. I've used them many times on jobsites and know how the lock can be protected against prying and such. Yes, I know that its not that difficult to lug a portable cutting torch or one of a dozen other tools and make short work of any lock but it will stop the opportunistic thefts. I can get electric to it underground without much trouble so it would not be exposed where power could be interrupted and could rig up an alarm and maybe a camera or two and have all that connected through a cell modem for monitoring. There is no telephone or cable service nearby, only electric. Now if we had BPL (Broadband over PowerLine) I'd be all set, but no.

 

[Al 2]

Sometimes a container is needed to bypass zoning bylaws.
Al

 

[nap61]

Has anyone had a problem with chemicals that might have been used to kill critters during shipping? It probably wouldn't be a problem for storage, but might be if you were in the container for long periods. Just thinking.

Norm

 

[WoodChuckDad]

Has anyone had a problem with chemicals that might have been used to kill critters during shipping? It probably wouldn't be a problem for storage, but might be if you were in the container for long periods. Just thinking. Norm

Mine smelled like manure. I painted the wooden floor with grey deck/porch paint any the problem was solved.

 

[2458n]

+1 for the zoning. My property was part of a factory, so the building was sold off by itself leaving me with less then 10 acres with my house and garages. I was told by the local zoning God that I could not put up a tent let alone a pole barn. Three containers later my problem has been solved.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

+1 for the zoning. My property was part of a factory, so the building was sold off by itself leaving me with less then 10 acres with my house and garages. I was told by the local zoning God that I could not put up a tent let alone a pole barn. Three containers later my problem has been solved.

This county is mostly a rural area but still the County requires a fence high enough to screen containers from roadways and neighbors. A friend of mine got caught due to fly over mapping program the county does routinely to find zoning and building permit violations. There was 200' green belt between the containers and the road and neighbors didn't care. Getting to the point you cannot get away with anything that generates a fee for the county bureaucrats.

Ron

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Here in the NW those metal containers drip condensation all winter, unless insulated and heated. Ventilation will stop the condensation if CFM is high enough, but gets real cold in the winter. Consider using a reefer van, probably cheaper than doing the modifications.

Ron

Hope this was read by the OP. My neighbor had $10K worth of tools and equipment destroyed in a container he loaded up and let set for 6 months over the winter before he started the project it was all for. Everything was soaking wet and rusted/corroded up.

Ron

 

[woodlandfarms]

Yup, the OP got the news. Back to the drawing board... Just got the quote for my 80x100 shop with 20 foot overhang. Ka Ching.