Lumber and sheet good storage in a shipping container

[andrew whicker]

Hi all,

I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do w/ lumber storage w/ my shipping container.. I'd like to just see the end grain and pull the piece out towards me. So basically I open the doors and all I see are the ends of the boards and sheet goods w/ labels on species, etc. So a bunch of boxes with lumber or ply stored. I'd like to store the sheet goods vertically, long side up.

That's my thought.

I'm wondering if any of you also store materials in a container.. and if you have photos.

I should note, I live in a dry climate so I'm not super concerned w/ humidity. I will at least punch some holes in the container for airflow... was thinking of using one of those attic vent fans possibly?

Thanks much and cheers,

[Jamie Buxton]

If I understand you, you're going to fill the opening with sheet goods. If you do that, aren't you using just the first 4 feet of the container, and leave the rest of the container empty?

The only shipping container I've measured was 7'6" floor to ceiling. So you couldn't store most sheet goods short side up.

[andrew whicker]

I'm going to install a door at the back so I can walk in behind the lumber (10 to 12 ft max length) where I'm storing my on site / rarely used tools.

So I'm thinking the first 12 feet of the container will be all lumber and sheet goods (and steel) and the back 8 ft will be onsite tools, etc.

"short side up".. what I mean is the 4ft edge (or in some cases 5ft edge) will be what I see when I open the door. The 8ft edge will be on the ground.

[Cameron Wood]

I have an 8'X20' shed & try to keep a center isle. One side has supports maybe 40" high and 24" deep stacked with lumber, more stack ed below, and a cantilevered rack above for lighter stuff. The other side has a high rack that is mostly pipe. Below that are sheets and shorter wood standing vertically. The middle is stacked with planks as well. Toward the front is yard type tools and a shelving rack that holds bins, cribbing, shingle bundles, etc. It's less than 8' tall so I don't store full sheets.

Having to pull everything out from the end sounds horrible. To select a piece of wood would mean having to pull a bunch out entirely as by Murphy's law it will be on the bottom, and it will also be raining.

[Kevin Jenness]

My former outfit uses shipping containers for storage of materials and tools. They do have roof vents. I am dubious about maintaining consistent moisture content and would recommend monitoring.

Cameron's comment has some validity. Racking lumber accessible only from the end means you will be doing a lot of shuffling, hard enough if you have an aisle and racks accessible from the side. Sheet goods will work as you describe, but how much inventory do you want in an unconditioned space? I usually bring in what I need for a job and rack only the surplus and offcuts. Put down some plastic laminate on the floor for easy sliding and have some vertical dividers every foot or so.

[Jim Becker]

Andrew, support and racking is what it is, so what I think is most important is that you clearly mark the material so that the information is easy to see; on the ends of boards in the horizontal rack and on the visible edge of however you put your sheet goods in. Organization really counts, especially in what is kinda a confined space. For lumber, species, dimensions/bd ft, figure/grain and any other information that's important to you as a maker. Similar for sheet goods. If you can avoid having to move a bunch of stuff to get to something, that's a win!

[andrew whicker]

I guess I'm missing how pulling from the side is better. If the piece you want is at the bottom its a huge pain, right?

If I make the boxes wide enough for two 8 inch wide pieces to lay side by side I can shuffle things around pretty easily.

I also don't like accumulating lumber.. I try to order what I use and burn thru it, but I always order extra. I don't personally have too many times where I want THAT piece. I order the material for the project, it's delivered and I use what I get.

And I agree on the marking well and using colors to make things easy. A box for oaks, maple, walnut etc.

Sharpie the end of sheet goods.

We put some straps up that I'll screw some Osb onto for walls. Didn't want to poke thru the container walls.

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[Tom M King]

We have one full of antique family furniture that we don't have anywhere to use but don't want to get rid of it. They have a couple of small vents built in, but they're probably only good for equalizing atmospheric pressure.

I mist it a couple of times a year with this stuff, and it still smells fresh with no mold. I also use this in old museum houses I look after and it even gets rid of old book odor with no staining. I just use a Ryobi mister.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FJPWZRF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Kevin Jenness]

I guess I'm missing how pulling from the side is better. If the piece you want is at the bottom its a huge pain, right?

If I make the boxes wide enough for two 8 inch wide pieces to lay side by side I can shuffle things around pretty easily.

As long as you keep the bunk spaces less than half full and tall enough for rolling as well as sliding the boards it can work well.

[Cameron Wood]

As long as you keep the bunk spaces less than half full and tall enough for rolling as well as sliding the boards it can work well.


Aside from standing in the rain while rolling and sliding...

[Kevin Jenness]

Aside from standing in the rain while rolling and sliding...

Not so much rain in Utah.

[Michael Burnside]

Andrew, do you really want to stand outside in rain, wind, snow, cold, blazing heat, nighttime with no overhead lights?

I guess nothing is permanent but this wouldn’t be my starting point.

[andrew whicker]

517161

This is my setup. I could add an awning later and some exterior lights. But I'll be outside for something like 10 ft. And like Kevin said, Utah is the 2nd driest state in the nation... If it rains in July or August it's a nice respite.

Edit: The "man door" will be on the right in the photo. So behind the lumber storage.

[mike stenson]

I'm seriously considering doing the same in southern Arizona. I really see no reasons not to, although I really also need to be concerned about pack rats.

[andrew whicker]

I'm not sure if you are joking about yourself storing too much stuff or talking about actual rodent issues... but I should probably lift mine up a few more inches. I understand that if the bottom is high enough that cats can get under it then the mice and rat problems become a lot less?

[mike stenson]

I'm not sure if you are joking about yourself storing too much stuff or talking about actual rodent issues... but I should probably lift mine up a few more inches. I understand that if the bottom is high enough that cats can get under it then the mice and rat problems become a lot less?

I live outside the city, so no. Real rodents are a real issue for me. Always. The cats around here are of the wild sort, and the other natural predators are snakes. For the most part, a steel box should be relatively rodent resistant, but any vent holes present ingress possibilities.

[Michael Burnside]

517161

This is my setup. I could add an awning later and some exterior lights. But I'll be outside for something like 10 ft. And like Kevin said, Utah is the 2nd driest state in the nation... If it rains in July or August it's a nice respite.

Edit: The "man door" will be on the right in the photo. So behind the lumber storage.

I lived in Utah for 32 years (Layton/Roy areas) and while it doesn't rain, it still has weather that I'd like to avoid when making lumber selections. If you have to pull out a couple of pieces I really wouldn't want to set them down on the ground that may or may not be wet/snowy. If you can access via the man door, then it seems like you have a reasonable option should you be in inclement weather.

[Cameron Wood]

Not so much rain in Utah.

True- substitute local inclement weather.

[Cameron Wood]

Here's my equivalent. In addition to misc construction lumber and supplies, there's teak, mahogany, oak, madrone, walnut, redwood, cedar, poplar, ipe, vg fir, pine. Maybe 2,000bf.

Somewhat accessible, but the long stuff underneath must be pulled out the door to access (into the rain). Lighting would be nice.

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[Daniel O'Neill]

I suppose if you're willing to deal with double the length to move wood vs double the width then it's up to you. That's how my wood cart is built with a couple of sections for varying widths. You could easily drop on those saw horses as you sort lumber. I wonder if the box would get too hot for lumber. I have some clear pine sitting on the rafters of my shop and noticed that it has a huge split in it.

[andrew whicker]

We may have been neighbors for a short time!

I plan on opening the big doors, opening my garage door and just pulling things out, turning 90 degrees and heading inside. Nothing crazy. I can always get an awning built eventually. I don't machine raw lumber every day.

I only expect to use the man door for my construction saw, miter saw station, collapseable sawhorses, whatever else is on site only. I don't expect to pull lumber from that side.

[andrew whicker]

Yeah, I definitely want some airflow. There is a much more established woodworking business down the road that uses these to store lumber. They go thru inventory faster than me, so maybe it's not a big deal. I don't want my inventory to just sit there for years on end. I think that would be a failure on my part.

[Cameron Wood]

I shoot for having some vents low, & some high, for a stack effect.

[eugene thomas]

to much wood

[Wes Grass]

Lack of appropriate shop space, and plans to move, led us to assemble a 2nd CNC router in a shipping container. Router was 4x16 ft travel.

We got a shipping container with double, double doors on one side, in addition to the doubles on one end. Made for excellent access for material and setup.