Storage in shipping containers.

Hadenough

Hadenough

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Well after two years in the planning we are nearly there and hope to be moving aboard full time in August. We have some furniture, tools, clothing and stuff that we are hanging onto against the day that I am too decrepit to clamber aboard. (Probably not too far away the way I feel at the moment, who said retirement was relaxing!). We had planned and budgeted for using Big Box or similar but since "they" applied VAT to storage last October it has blown the budget a bit.
Anyway, I am now looking at container storage and have found a company with a good secure site with good, clean, well ventilated containers at half the price.
Does anyone have any experience of long term container storage for household contents with regard to damp, condensation etc.
 
Hadenough said:
Anyway, I am now looking at container storage and have found a company with a good secure site with good, clean, well ventilated containers at half the price.
Does anyone have any experience of long term container storage for household contents with regard to damp, condensation etc.
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Make sure the site is on high ground, and look closely at contents insurance. We once stored some odds and ends in a container, site flooded, at least 9 inches of water in the container, insurance then becomes a big issue. We were lucky, all items had no real value, but some containers were full of soft furniture.

Brian
 
halcyon said:
Make sure the site is on high ground, and look closely at contents insurance. We once stored some odds and ends in a container, site flooded, at least 9 inches of water in the container, insurance then becomes a big issue. We were lucky, all items had no real value, but some containers were full of soft furniture.

Brian
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Thanks, good advise, I'll check the site out on the flood plans.
 
Hadenough said:
Sorry, didn't read that right! Ziggy has done exactly what I am looking for. I'll get in touch. Apologies again!
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Hi,
You will seriously need to thoroughly insulate the container. We used an inch of polystyrene covered with tri-wall cardboard. That is floor, walls and ceiling. Everything was 'export wrapped' ie bubble (for fragiles) then paper blanket then corrugated cardboard. Boxes of 'smalls', the items were individually wrapped and packed into the appropriate sized cardboard boxes, labelled and numbered & marked fragile if appropriate. We made extensive lists of all contents and also a 'loading' list with all items numbered as they went onto the container so we knew where all items were. This will also stand in good stead if you should want to send your container abroad. Should you, for arguments sake end up in NZ. The whole container had several kilos of silica gel distributed throughout. The polystyrene/cardboard was also put in at the 'front' just before the doors were shut.
As was said in my original post 17.5 years and everything was as it went in.
Clothing & bedding was also fine but needed washing because of a slight odour, pretty much as you get on a boat when clothes are stored.
Good luck. I doubt you will find anyone as professional as my packers though :D:D.
 
Liz_I said:
Hi,
You will seriously need to thoroughly insulate the container. We used an inch of polystyrene covered with tri-wall cardboard. That is floor, walls and ceiling. Everything was 'export wrapped' ie bubble (for fragiles) then paper blanket then corrugated cardboard. Boxes of 'smalls', the items were individually wrapped and packed into the appropriate sized cardboard boxes, labelled and numbered & marked fragile if appropriate. We made extensive lists of all contents and also a 'loading' list with all items numbered as they went onto the container so we knew where all items were. This will also stand in good stead if you should want to send your container abroad. Should you, for arguments sake end up in NZ. The whole container had several kilos of silica gel distributed throughout. The polystyrene/cardboard was also put in at the 'front' just before the doors were shut.
As was said in my original post 17.5 years and everything was as it went in.
Clothing & bedding was also fine but needed washing because of a slight odour, pretty much as you get on a boat when clothes are stored.
Good luck. I doubt you will find anyone as professional as my packers though :D:D.
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Wow! Thanks a million. We can do all of that but one final question. Where was your container stored. Ours will be outdoors in Britain!
 
Ah, that might be a problem. Ours was stored under cover ie an open barn with a roof. You'll need to make sure the container is v.good condition and painted regularly. Maybe a wooden framework with a 'peak' roof and a good quality tarp covering. You'd need to have someone check on it to make sure it stays in good condition.
Correction about the bubble wrap, that should be put on after the paper blanket.
It would be a good idea to make sure that the wrapping/packing is carried out in a dry, warm environment to lessen the chance of damp being present initially.
 
I work for a shipping line and am a director of a container repair company which sells old containers for storage.

Be very, very careful about the roof. Containers are expected to spend a lot of their time under cover (eg under another container) when in use; as they age, holes in the roof become commonplace. I would recommend adding an extra roof - which will help with temperature issues anyway.
 
Hence the suggestion of a pitched covered roof. Water tends to 'pool' and eventually rusts through.

Just one other thought Haddenough, invest in 2 very good padlocks.
 
Agree entirely about the roof.

The International Maritime Bureau :

http://www.icc-ccs.org.uk/icc/imb

say that there are at least five recognised ways to get into an ISO shipping container without disturbing the door seal (i.e. your padlock). The easiest and commonest one is to twist the container along it's longitudinal axis with a fork lift and spring the doors off the hinges, empty the box and then replace them the same way.
 
Liz_I said:
If it is to be stored in the open why can't you put a 'false' roof on it???
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Presumably he's not buying the container itself, rather just the space inside it.

Our boatyard has a couple of rows of containers in one corner, rented out for storage. I don't think they'd approve of people climbing around nailing roofs on top of them.

Pete
 
Yep, was looking at renting a container. Anyway, just today I found a stack and store company where I can get an indoor "room" for just a bit more than an outdoor container. Thanks for the feedback.
 
Hadenough said:
Well after two years in the planning we are nearly there and hope to be moving aboard full time in August. We have some furniture, tools, clothing and stuff that we are hanging onto against the day that I am too decrepit to clamber aboard. (Probably not too far away the way I feel at the moment, who said retirement was relaxing!). We had planned and budgeted for using Big Box or similar but since "they" applied VAT to storage last October it has blown the budget a bit.
Anyway, I am now looking at container storage and have found a company with a good secure site with good, clean, well ventilated containers at half the price.
Does anyone have any experience of long term container storage for household contents with regard to damp, condensation etc.
Click to expand...

Shipping containers are NOT usually ventillated. Moreover by the time they get to bomb sites and storage yards for gwneral purpose use the structure may be slighty suspect or the skin punctured and no doubt the door seals suspect.

Goods stored in a tight good condition container might be fine but bear in mind that exposed to sunlight the inside temperature even in the UK can climb to the point that your Sheraton furnature might suffer. A container which is not water tight invites all sorts of problem as the interior goes through the seasons of the year in 24 hours. Ie humidity rises then condenses on the skin and then rains on the stored good goods.

As others have said it would be a good idea to give a sun/rain roof of sorts. If your containers really are ventilated that would be a bonus so long as the vents are designed not to allow rain to enter. This type of container might not be suitable for shipping!
 
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