A shipping container is a great way to preserve and transport diverse kinds of goods.
When you decide to buy one, the next step is to find the best area to place it, and before that, you need to think of how to prepare the site for container delivery.
The ground must be fully prepared for your shipping container. That is why you should ensure that the site is hard standing and that the area where you plan to place it is levelled. If the ground under the container is uneven, it can cause issues like items sliding out and also troubles with appropriate opening and closing the doors.
The racking can happen even if only one corner of the container is not levelled. So, to have a perfectly stable place for your storage item, there are many things you should pay attention to.
Here are some tips on how to support a shipping container that we think might come in handy for you. No matter what is the purpose of the container is it portable container office or is it for trade or customers, you should always consider the following:
Is There Enough Space?
This is the most important thing because the container needs to be the right size, so it can fit the wanted area. They come in various sizes such as 8ft, 10ft, 20ft, and 40ft.
Check if the Ground is in Order
When it comes to ground, first evaluate the site where the container is going to be grounded. Evaluating whether it is a level or not, an aligned site helps ensure the container is balanced, and it further ensures that the doors are easy to open and close.
The next step is to make sure that the site is compacted and solid enough to prevent the container and delivery vehicle from sinking into it.
Can the Truck Access the Site?
Here is another thing to pay attention to. There needs to be enough space for the truck to access so it can deliver the container, so do not forget that.
Foundation
This is maybe one of the most important steps in the whole ‘how to support shipping container process’. Shipping containers can be placed directly on the ground, or you can place footings to keep the container off the ground. To keep the container off the ground, you can use wooden beams, poured concrete footings and concrete slab.
Railway Sleepers
Railway sleepers are laid on the floor, below the corners, similar to concrete pads, to support levelling the container. These are delivered with your container, and you can place them down before the driver transports your unit.
Post Delivery Checks
When the container is distributed, before the driver leaves the site, to check if the container is levelled properly, is to fully open and close the doors. If there is any issue at that point, there are big chances that the container is not 100% level.
The haulier can help you to take care of the level of the container, and he should lift the unit back with small adjustments, to double-check that everything works properly.
And last but not least, another way of taking care of levelling the container out is to put pieces of flat timber under the corners of the container. It is recommendable to have a few pieces ready before the haulier arrives, just in case.
Having this information in mind, you should be completely prepared for supporting a shipping container. It is not that hard, right? But, in case you are still not sure how to adjust the site properly, you can always contact professionals who will make the entire process hassle-free.
