FAQs

Shipping documents should not be attached to the physical container for transit, they risk getting damaged or lost. A lot of documentation is done electronically these days and it may be that there is no need to send physical paperwork with your shipping container. you freight forwarder or shipping agent shoudl be able to help with advice here specific to your shipment. However, established processes in this industry will often remain in place for a long whilst until he whole world can move onto new electronic systems, for that reason the paperwork process is still largely in place if needed. The paperwork process for shipping documents that need to go with an export shipping container is as follows.

• Once loaded, you sing any relevant part so the paperwork (as may the driver in some cases) and you hand this paperwork to the truck driver.
• At the port, the driver will hand this paperwork to the shipping line, they typically have a pigeon hole or similar at the port for each shipping line or booking agent
• The port collects this paperwork and make sure it travels with the ship.
• At arrival the containers are offloaded from the ship, and any paperwork for cargo arriving at that port is handed to the port
• The Port of arrival then will pass this onto the customs agents or relevant people at destination.

Hermetically sealed shipping containers are often requested, but for most customers (most budgets) it is not possible to provide a hermetically sealed shipping container Firstly all shipping containers will have a small number of cargo vents to allow for air flow as the container moved from warm to cooler climates, and to let the containers breathe as the air inside containers expands and contracts with these temperature changes. However even if we weld these up it is near impossible for us to guarantee a truly airtight seal on the rest of the shipping container. the door seals on standard shipping containers are not hermetic seals, and it woudl be very hard to guarantee a small air gap anywhere else on a shipping container especially if its used. Refrigerated shipping containers may offer the best chance of a true airtight seal, these units come with a thicker metal floor, no vents and a thicker door with better seals. Whilst we will say don’t’ stay inside with the door closed as you will likely suffocate, we are unlikely able to offer a cast iron guarantee of a perfect hermetic seal on the shipping container doors. We are aware that customers projects and requirements are often unique so if you have a specific project or ‘challenge’ at hand why not contact us as a brief chat about your

All standard shipping containers come with small circa 1 inch square vents on the top rails. This doesn’t allow for significant air flow but it does mean they are not airtight You may also find on a used shipping container that the doors seals may not be in perfect condition, and also minor damage or war tot he floor over time may mean that there is capacity for a tiny bit of air flow through the floor (although  this is unlikely). Door seals are only designed to prevent water from waves penetrating past the doors and damaging any cargo inside, they are not designed to be be airtight. Refrigerated shipping containers however do not have the same vents, they come with metal floors and if the seals are fully intact they should be considered airtight for health and safety purposes (for example limiting time spent inside a closed space or monitoring systems to check on anyone working withing such an environment). Wear and damage to any of the heat exchangers in the refrigerated container engine, mounting problems or other engine bay damage can mean that the refrigerated containers may not be perfectly airtight. Similar to above the door seals are not specifically designed to be perfectly airtight and on a used refrigerated shipping container some wear and partial damage to the seal may be evident. Of course every shipping container we sell as standard is offers with our wind & watertight guarantee. This does not guarantee thew unit is airtight, not does it guarantee its watertight to the extremes of dropping the whole container into the sea and expecting it to float – we are simply guaranteeing that the container we offer for sale is good to keep your goods dry and out of the weather whilst used in a static, on site storage basis. If your looking to source a shipping container please feel free to browse our online catalogue, we also have lots of helpful tips and guides in our news section, and you can of course contact us if you have any questions.

Shipping Containers can be used as an acoustic barrier and offer excellent sound protection. You will want to ensure that the area you a want to shield from any noise has its line of site to any potential noise source entirely blocked by any shipping container wall you wanted to install. Please feel free to check out our news article where we supplied 33x 40ft shipping containers to Tottenham Hotspur as part of their ongoing stadium redevelopment. The shipping containers were used to protect local residents from the dust and noise coming from site. The corrugated sides help deflect noise away, and the price of shipping containers make this a very effective and attractive option versus other means. We have also supplied shipping containers in the past to help farmers protect local residents from noise and dust coming from grain silos. There are a lot of potential applications for this sort of use.

OOG is an acronym for ‘Out of Gague’ – a terminology used to describe a cargo what won’t fit within the ISO dimensions of a shipping container, or cargo that extends beyond these dimensions. Any load that extends beyond the standard dimensions for the type of container carrying it will be classed as ‘Out of Gauge’, so this would include all open tops with cargo sticking up above the roof line, all platforms and flat racks with cargo that sticks out beyond the sides, roof line or ends on the container.  

Whilst everything we sell comes with our 12 month wind and watertight guarantee, we suggest that you should expect: Circa 10 years plus of good use from a used shipping container (with minimal to no maintenance) Around twice the lifespan from a one trip (new) shipping container. This is possible due partly to the way a shipping container is built. (Built from COR-TEN A Grade steel which rusts very slowly compared to normal steel) and as our used shipping containers are sourced direct from import use, and are always checked and repaired in our US depots before resale, you can be assured that the container has been well maintained up until the point of sale. With any container, the door hinges and seals will wear over time and the biggest factor for the wear will be how often the container is opened and closed. If you are accessing your container frequently, you will find the door seals and hinges / gaskets wear faster. These can be replaced if needed.

Yes is the short answer Shipping containers and strong, sturdy and cheap. They can make an effective structure for a wide range of building options, there are a number of examples around the world of successful container houses. Whilst examples have been built its far from being adopted by the mainstream and in the US if your looking at building a house from containers we’d suggest to look into detail at any local planning restrictions first. There are a lot of online resources available, but this is still a relatively new field for construction. We generally recommend it can work as a very good value option for self builders, but at this stage if you get a builder in to build this for you, as its likely a new material they wont’ be experienced with – there likely won’t be a significant saving versus a traditional building.

The floor depths on a shipping container (the difference in height between the internal floor line and the bottom of the shipping container externally) can officially change a little between 2 different shipping containers. The reason for this – the eternal measurements on a container are tightly controlled by ISO regulations, but the internal dims are not restricted by international standards. Standard 20ft, 40ft and 40ft high cube dry containers will all have a circa 6 inch (15cm) deep floor and although slight variations will be experienced – these will typically be minimal as large volume shippers expect to fit the same amount of their cargo into any shipping container of that size and type. Open top containers, open sided containers and any container that might need extra rigidity in the floor as it might not have strength available in another panel will typically have thicker floors, circa 8-9 inches (20-23cm) Flat rack and platforms which might also be rated well over 30 tonnes may have anything up to a 18-20 inch floor depth, (circa 50cm), as the entire strength of the container is supported by the floor If you need to know the depths of a container floor that you are buying from us, let us know and we can send someone into the yard to physically measure and check your container for before delivery.  

Update* As of July 2019 we no longer accept card payments Yes we accept all major Credit and Debit cards but not American Express. We treat all customers as ‘non consumer entities’ unless you specifically request a consumer price (which will involve a re-quote) As such as standard there is a 2.75% credit card surcharge, no surcharge on debit card payments. Due to card fraud concerns, we do not accept card payments from cards with registered billing addresses outside of the US, and we do not typically accept credit card payments for containers being used for export.

When fitted with a lock box (padlock cover) and a heavy duty padlock, in our experience to break into your container you will either need to be an expert lock pick (a good quality padlock will be very hard for even a professional to pick) or you will need some form of heavy cutting equipment to physically cut through the sides or roof of the container, or to cut the lock and padlock cover off (both are a similar amount of effort) Doing any of these with the correct hand tools would likely take hours, and from the would-be criminals point of view, there’s little to no guarantee that there’s anything worth nicking inside your container. Our general advice, a lock box and a good quality padlock will deter your average ‘chancer’ without questions, its just too much effort to break into a container, a reasonable risk of getting caught (as there would likely be a lot of noise involved) and no guarantee of it begin worthwhile. We recommend a lock box in its own right will often deter anyone from taking a look at your container, but if you leave it unlocked – you can expect people will be very interested to see what you have inside!

All standard shipping containers come with a circa 1-inch thick marine treated plywood floor Underneath this there is a waterproof coating, often a bitumen based coating and some very heavy duty cross-members, which take the cargo weight whilst the container is being lifted. This covers all standard types of shipping containers including side opening containers, open tops, and flat racks as well as all of our storage containers The Exceptions Modern refrigerated shipping containers typically come with a jet-washable raised aluminium t-bar floor DNV (offshore oil and gas industry spec) containers will typically come with a metal plate floor as standard.

A wide variety of modification options are available, from a basic external repaint all the way through to a custom built cafe, bar or even shipping container house. You can see some examples and write ups on our previous jobs in our news section, or of course please feel free to contact us if you have a specific project in mind.  

All containers bought from us have been repatriated and no import duties or other taxes will apply. The only possible thing we cannot account for will be future changes to the laws that are applied with a retrospective period (i.e. into the past) – we believe this to be extremely unlikely though.

Yes, around two thirds of the containers we sell are for this very purpose. Shipping containers make excellent secure storage units, we can deliver them pretty much anywhere in the US for you and we have cranes on our trucks to allow us to lift the containers onto the ground when we are on your site.

Containers should class as temporary structures as they do not have foundations and because of this they should not be subject to planning laws. However, we do always recommend double checking with your local council if there is any doubt. Local special conditions may apply and one Council can often take a different viewpoint to another and we’re unable to offer a nationwide blanket guarantee.

Yes, we will offer to buy any shipping container, subject to pickup costs and general condition. If your looking to sell a container, please send a general description (how long have you had it, does it leak? how are the doors and door seals?) some photos and details of the collection address through to our main email address (available on our contact page. We can usually have an offer back to you within a few working hours.)

Shipping containers will not come ready ply lined, they will always come into us in the most basic form. As we source all our containers from the major leasing companies and shipping lines they don’t come into us with any ‘extras’ included. We can however ply line and insulate a container for you, this is possibly the very best quality condensation treatment option. If your considering this as an option we’d suggest calling us to discuss your project or problem as there may be other options we can also suggest. Commonly most customers want  to line a shipping container to prevent condensation build up inside. Our Insulation kits achieve this at a fraction of the price of ply lining a shipping container. Our Ultimate guide to shipping container condensation treatments may also offer some handy background info  

Short Answer: Yes More detailed Answer: The floor on the inside of the container is raised slightly, so any potential rat or similar would have to climb 3-4 inches up past the metal cross-members and then gnaw through a layer of bitumen paint before around an inch of marine treated plywood. In reality we have not yet met a shipping container being used for storage that has had vermin get into it. The design of the floor would mean its very unlikely any rats, mice or similar would get in. Of course for foolproof option we can look to add a steel plate floor inside a standard shipping container (at additional cost), or we also have ranges of refrigerated and non operational refrigerated containers which come with food grade aluminium t bar floors and stainless steel internal paneling  

There is more information available on our shipping container sizes page or please contact us to talk this over.

Everything we sell comes with our 12-month guarantee as standard to ensure your peace of mind. A used container should provide circa 10-years of good use with minimal or low maintenance. With a refurbished container you should expect a similar if not slightly increased lifespan. A one trip or new container, when sat static, will last a lot longer. How long largely remains untested (container designs change more frequently than their expected static lifespan, so by the time we tested on and came back to say it can last 30 years, a newer design of container will be in use. We typically suggest ‘circa a generation of solid use’ perhaps with a basic maintenance scheduled every 10 years or so. 

In a standard, non-insulated container you will find you get some condensation form on the inside of the roof as it cools overnight. The heat escapes through the roof as the container cools and this is where your condensation will form. The amount to condensation that forms is not a standard answer, this will vary depending on how much moisture was in the air (how humid it was) when you loaded the container, how much and how quickly it cools down overnight and how much free air is left inside your container. If you’re storing moisture sensitive goods, papers, fabrics and textiles, artworks, or finished products ready for retail sale we recommend considering some of our condensation treatment options. However for many customers who might be storing less sensitive goods we may recommend that condensation treatment is not necessary.