Secondhand shipping containers aren’t just boxes for moving things about in – though they can be used for that too! There really is no limit as to what you can do with them.
Let’s look at 10 suggestions for secondhand shipping containers:
1. As a transportation box
Yes, that’s pretty obvious isn’t it, as that’s what shipping containers were designed to do! They are tough as old boots and if properly maintained can remain in service for 10 years or more. As with any metal box, it needs any serious rust spots dealt with and also the seals on the doors maintained. Look after it and it will look after you!
2. As a storage space
A solid, secure 20ft used shipping container can keep your gear protected from unwanted visitors. They are lockable and can keep out everything from pests, to burglars. If maintained well, a used shipping container can last for decades as a storage space.
3. Document and archive storage
The idea above may have left you thinking of keeping things like tools and building equipment. Thanks to being designed to take the worst the weather can throw at them at sea, they are capable of keeping things like essential company documents secure and dry for as long as you need.
4. Workshops
This is where the idea of a used shipping container as a ‘pre-built shed’ can come into its own. Whether as a fixed or a mobile workshop unit, you can use it for on-site indoor work.
The round-the-world sailing regatta the Volvo Ocean Race has a mobile repair yard for its one-design ocean racing fleet, composed entirely of shipping container workshops, that can be dropped into any marina in the world to fix the yachts between sailing legs. That’s pretty cool, isn’t it? If they can do it, so can you!
5. Lunch rooms
Construction companies turn up to a site, put up a building and move on to the next. For businesses like these, a mobile lunch room is just a perfect idea. It can be taken to the site by truck, put in place for the length of the program and then lifted and moved to the next site. You invest in converting the shipping container once and it will serve you for years!
6. Toilet/ablution units
Whether for construction companies or for music festival organisers – or any other mass public gatherings – having a toilet/ablution unit that can be dropped in place and then shifted to the next site saves a lot of issues. The old ‘Portaloos’ chemical toilets are scary, smelly places but you can plumb in proper flushing toilets and have a septic tank for the waste to go into, making for a hygienic, portable room for your staff or customers.
7. Portable office units
These don’t even need to be shifted from site to site but can be a permanent fixture. You may have a business that uses a yard – a secondhand car sales company, scrapyard or builder’s merchants for example. Here at Gateway we can convert the used container into a portable office with windows and secure door that will keep out the weather. We can fit electrical and other utilities to it so all you need to do once on site is plug it in and furnish it!
8. Family escape pod
One or both adults in a family home may need an escape pod to do their own thing. A 20ft or 40ft used shipping container can be modified to your design and then simply dropped onto your property for you to have as your special place away from the demands of being a parent / spouse.
9. Granny flat
You may want your parents to live close for a while (perhaps after a baby is born) or for a longer time (as they get frail for example). You can convert a secondhand shipping container into a fully functional tiny home with kitchenette, bathroom, living space and sleeping space for your family or guests to stay in without everyone getting under everyone else’s feet.
10. A piece of architecture in its own right
Many an architect has a grand plan using just shipping containers as building blocks for a home or office building. Here on the Gateway Gazette we’ve covered dozens of such ideas over the years!
Did you know that Gateway Container Sales can help you convert used shipping containers?
Once you’ve read this article you might want to get in touch with us to see what we can do for you in that regard!
The limit of what you can turn a shipping container into is really only your imagination. Go on – surprise us! Get in contact with us for your secondhand shipping container needs today!
