I've heard and read about using the shipping containers for building sheds, shops, and even houses! Can I ask what they cost and their size? And how did you go about finding them for sale? I've heard they are cheap because of all the importing the US does, it doesn't pay to ship them back empty.
Local code says buildings over a certain size (100 sq. ft.?) must be anchored into the ground.
Why would the shed dealer stake them down? If they blow away, insurance covers them. Then he doesn't have to sell them!
Three sided horse shelters used for horses and other livestock are notorious for flipping over. The open front allows wind to just flip them. People who know what they are doing, know to face them south to protect the animals as well as it's less likely strong winds come from the south. But winds CAN come from the south at times, and sometimes because of the land layout or other factors it's not always possible to face them south. East is the next best choice. I have one shed like this. If I faced it south, the opening would be against the barn. If I moved it away from the barn, it would be going downhill where all the water would run inside. I had to face it east.
Getting back to the original point, horse shelters almost MUST be anchored. They are made to be moved and have railroad ties under them that are meant to be moved (slid on the RR ties). It dont take much wind blowing into the open front wall to flip em. I rarely move mine, but I always put 4 of the three foot screwin anchors into the ground in each corner. There's a large eye bolt in each corner connected to the upright posts (not the bottom RR tie). I take a short piece of heavy duty chain and go thru the anchor and eye bolts, and use a good solid grade8 bolt thru the chain to form a loop. They are almost straight up and down so horses dotn get a leg under them. If the chains stick out, I put a large rock or concrete block under them so horses dont get a leg under them.
This way they are safe from average high winds (not tornados). They're also safe if a horse was to slip on mud and fall against the building (yes that does happen). This not only protects the sheds, but also the horses. Having a shed fall on a horse is not a good thing.
I'm not taxed on these portable sheds, and anchoring them does not make them "permanent". I'd do the same thing for any other shed larger than a doghouse.
Not sure how you're moving the shed, but certainly you could get your piers in place and leveled with a laser or water level first and then just place the shed on top of them.
Cheap is relative, a 40' container in good shape runs around $1.5k - $2k delivered. They are big steel "LEGOs" and if you can cut and weld steel you can make just about anything out of them. At a friend's place we are in the process of building a barn/shop/cabin out of three 40' containers along with some additional steel truss roof framing to enclose a larger area.
Water levels tend to work better for this application since they work around outside corners as well as between piers in a pier-beam setup.
Tampa, Florida has a small community of homes built with shipping containers. Placed on a slab foundation, welded together (hurricane code) and doorways cut in for each room. Neat stuff.
Guide for buying one (others out there)
A 10' unit may be harder to come by, at least 'round here.
Video:
That's all I know. Use a marble and not a tennis ball.
From the '50s I recall homes, schools, churches and historic buildings being moved across town. One guy on the roof to lift the red light signals.
They didn't have a laser in those days, as I understand.
Of all things, I never asked the company how they leveled the house after moving it. I would bet they had an answer.
Dang, I paid $2300 each for my two forty footers. But that was the cheapest in the area. I have them parallel, 16' apart. I got some very good steel roofing, and going to put some trusses over it, and shade it in. I already put two doors in, one in the center of each, opening out to the area between. They are six by eight. I will eventually concrete the floor between them, and add swing doors made out of the cutouts to block wind. I currently either get free six by eight feet door cutouts or for five dollars each. Then I take telephone poles, cut them to eight feet, put them a couple of feet in the ground, and use the panels for a very stiff tough fence. I put them into the poles with long allthread, weld them together, and cut the top into a mountain shape on the longer panels. The poles are $20 each, so it comes down to $2 per foot for a fence that would stop a HumVee.
There are some sites dedicated to the use of containers in unusual ways, from making mountain cabins, to multilevel shops, to lots of things. I am considering setting another across mine to achieve shade, a second level, and a hoisting beam over the patio. I am in an AG zone, and can go up to
35' vertical with no permit if it is used for agricultural purposes. I am also considering adding a couple of smaller ones here and there for insulated offices, or even a guests remote bedroom.Steve
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Local code says buildings over a certain size (100 sq. ft.?) must be anchored into the ground.
That is why they call it a "local" code and not a "planetary" code. They are different in different locales.
HTH
Steve
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