Shipping Container shed and building a door

[therestshed]

Hey everyone, I'm new to this site and been really enjoying it so far. I have a question hoping someone could help me with. I wanted a shed to clean up my garage and make it to where I only have tools in there. Since I didn't have the money to buy a pre-fab one I had to opt to make one. I thought it would be fun project but I ran across what I thought was a good deal. A wood shipping container that moving companies use to store people's stuff. It was a great deal at $50. It's not perfect at all but for what I need it's enough. It's also not complete in the sense that it needs roof and other things. One of the things it needs is a door since the only way to open it is to remove a whole "wall". It's not practical. So my question is, how should I go about making the "shed" shipping container ready to install a real shed door. Do i make just the one framing wall for the door to installed?

[leehljp]

Brings back old memories. First thing is to put a water proof roof on it. I added 2x4s, plywood and roll roofing. I made rafters with about 12 inch height in the center, sloped down to the edges. Make sure your roof extends about 6 inches front and rear and each side. It will last longer.

Door: my idea would be to cut out the size door you want with a jig saw or circular saw, Frame the wall edges at the cut-out with 2x4 both side; and the cut-out door with 1x4, both side (using the cut-out). Find hinges and attach.

I did this when I moved to Japan back in '86. I asked to keep one of the crates, and made a playhouse for my kids. The disposal fee was going to be something like $200 back then. They were glad that I requested to keep one. It was still there in good shape when we moved from Tokyo to Osaka in 1992.

[trungdok]

You should probably want to check with local codes to see if you need a permit for something that size there or not. I would hate having to tear it down because of permit issue. Besides what Hank suggested, I would also ask whether this is strong enough to withstand local weather (strong wind). I think I would add 2x3 (or 2x4) framing to the interior to strengthen it up. Then I would worry about how will it withstand moisture in the long run. These probably were made cheaply and not with marine grade plywood (i'm guessing), so it might deteriorate quickly after a season in the rain. So, you might want to add some protection to it. After you have done all of that, you're probably in it with quite a bit of money and wonder if it was worth it to build a proper, bigger one from the beginning Good luck with it though, and hope to see pictures of progresses.

[leehljp]

Zoning codes, permits, yes of course!

I wouldn't want you to go through what we did in Tokyo. The local government did yearly aerial photos in Tokyo. After being there for about a year, we suddenly got a visit from the housing authority and a few high ranking police and several lower ranking police. Their aerial survey showed we had a new house in our back yard! We walked them back and they saw it was a play house and all began to laugh. The roof was 2 meters by 3 meters which was large enough to be considered a "living space". No warnings, no fines, just a few laughs and scared foreigners.

[cwsmith]

Absolutely check with your municipality on whether a permit is required as fines can be heavy and embarrassing. I put an Amish-built shed in my backyard about a year ago and I had to get a permit to do so. It had to be positioned a minimum of 3 ft from the property lines Likewise a second permit was required for electrical wiring. Requirements here in the City of Binghamton was that it had to be no more than 16-ft in wall length and that I have no other shed-like structure on the property. My shed is 12 x 20, so that then required an additional "variance". The latter proved to be rather humorous as I had to present a "plan", as well as a sign-off from any neighbor within 100 ft of my property. Funny part was that I had to go to a Zoning Commission meeting to make my presentation. There I was in the midst of other "Zoning" request: Million $ structures, Attorney's for the builder, Architects, and Engineers. When it was my turn I just gave a little humorous presentation that lasted all of 10 minutes, showed a satellite view (Google Maps) of my property, and a sketch of the proposed shed. I got my permits and a variance approval two days later.

As far as the "door" is concerned, I simply frame the wall on which you wish to install the door and do it per normal framing standards... there are plenty of books and websites that show how to do that.

Nothing like having a place to store your tools or even do a bit of work out and away from the house.

Good luck,

CWS

[capncarl]

One drawback I see to using this type container outside that hasn't been mentioned would be bottom rotting out because of ground moisture. Plywood doesn't like moisture and this will be shaded moisture. Nothing much you can do about this now, just smear on a coat of paint, cut in a door and enjoy it.

[tfischer]

One drawback I see to using this type container outside that hasn't been mentioned would be bottom rotting out because of ground moisture. Plywood doesn't like moisture and this will be shaded moisture. Nothing much you can do about this now, just smear on a coat of paint, cut in a door and enjoy it.

I built a shed in 2003 and used 3/4" OSB for the floor. It's raised up off the ground by blocks plus 10" (I think) PT floor joists. The only place it hasn't held up well is by the door, where it was partially exposed. After 8 or so years that section rotted out so I cut out a small section and replaced it with PT deck boards. That seems to have held up and the rest of the floor is in good shape.

If I had to do it again I would have used PT plywood for the floor.