Wednesday May 01 2019
Storage
Having large-scale storage on the block wasn’t a necessity – until Mum sold the family home. She then needed somewhere to stash all of the furniture and her wordly belongings, acquired over 40 years while living in the same house.
Location Location
The original planning permit included a garage that could double as a shed. The rough dimensions of the approved shed were that of a shipping container. I did consider building something more substantial using the leftover roof trusses, even in a different location and incorporating a rooftop deck, but time was of the essence and I didn’t want the hassle of amending the previously approved planning permit.
Options: considering where to put the container on the site
Suitability
Using shipping containers as houses are a pet hate of mine – they are not fit for purpose. Once you insulate and line a traditional shipping container to make it habitable the internal dimensions are then too small to be classified as a habitable space. Likewise once you start cutting large openings in a container and add them together or stack them the structural integrity is often compromised and you need to reinforce them. You would be better off starting from scratch, without the limitations, and make something more comfortable and pleasant – exactly how you want it. For a shed however, where you don’t need to comply with such strict building regulations, a shipping container might be appropriate.
Stack-em high: the container I selected is bottom right
Research
I phoned around a few suppliers before driving out to Brighton industrial estate to inspect some and have a chat. Containers come in varying grades, dependent on how banged up they are. They also come in different sizes: standard 20’ long (think 20 foot-long Subway sandwiches end to end), 40’ long, 20’ high-top (not the loaf – just a foot higher), palette-wide containers (wide enough to stack two palettes side-by-side), and containers with doors on the side rather than the end. I had researched all of this information myself before turning up at the depot.
I explained what I wanted the container for – to store mum’s furniture in, before later turning it into a workshop. I was then shown something I hadn’t even considered before: a non-operating reefer, or NOR. He said it looked like it had been to Afghanistan and back. A reefer is a refrigerated container with the cooling unit built-in; a non-operating reefer has a slit in the floor where cool air can be pumped when in transit on a ship. The main difference between a reefer and a container is that a reefer is insulated. It wasn’t an overly hot day in April but inside the reefer was comfortable – we also went inside a standard container and it was much warmer. A second-hand non-operating reefer was even going to be cheaper than a standard shipping container! Another difference though is because the reefer is insulated it is slightly larger – 2500mm / 8’ 2.5” wide. It’s only 100mm wider than a container but is also heavier, meaning it needs a different type of truck to deliver it to site – a Hiab (crane), instead of a tilt-tray.
Oversize: the dimensions of a 20′ reefer
Substitute
I tried to tee up my mate Luke to come down one day with his little excavator but he was too busy with work. He did offer to lend it to me though, complete with operator. Jack turned up and set about preparing a level site for the container to go. First he removed the top soil before leveling an area to sit the container on.
Patch of dirt: Jack removing the top soil
Leveling up: cut and fill
Cutting it fine
I had arranged for a 12t truck load of sub-base gravel to be delivered around lunchtime, but the truck driver was running a bit late. The container delivery was conversely running a bit early! Thankfully the gravel arrived before the container did and Jack started spreading it around.
Just in time: the gravel delivery arrives
Fun in the sun: spreading the gravel base
Murphy’s Law
Before Jack finished spreading the gravel the excavator ran out of diesel! So it was a dash down to the local shop while I spoke trucker to the truck driver to kill some time. Once the gravel was spread Jack compacted it some with the tracks on the excavator and then with his ute, using a load of top soil for weight. Then it was time to lift the container into place. One advantage of the Hiab is that you can place a container, not just slide it off the back of a tilt-tray.
Outta gas: excavator ran out of diesel as the container arrived
Roll it: using the excavator to compact the gravel
Easy does it: manhandling the container off the truck
Remote control: positioning the container
What container?
Carefully positioned, with the narrow end facing the road and also the house, cunningly concealed behind a couple of blackwoods, and you hardly notice it.
What container? Hardly visible from the house
Open wide: inside view of the non-operating reefer
Costs: container – $2,300; delivery – $700; gravel – $410; labour- $350
Disclaimer: Any advice contained within this blog is of a general nature only and cannot be relied upon. Details provided are in good faith and relate specifically to this project. Any author will not be held responsible for advice or information presented.