So, wheel loader doesn't need much weather protection but a nice space to work on it would be dandy, and under cover equipment lasts longer. What I'm thinking is a couple 40' connex boxes spaced 14 or 15 feet apart, Loader needs some height and its bigger than the current garage. Make a well compacted pad between the boxes, short lifts and damp plate compact, keeping a foot below finished height, put down six inches of graded base, rototill in portland cement, wet till and smash it down into a weakly cemented layer, then top it up with six inches of concrete after its settled. Concrete with #8 wire mesh. Just want a nice solid surface that won't crack over time without making it a foot thick. Also a truss roof over the connex boxes as we could use some good storage.
My across the street neighbor did that.. had it up in a couple of days.. 2 conex boxes and some steel trusses w/ a metal roof.. painted white.. looks fantastic..
2x6s are cheap. Conex boxes are not. I wonder if the boxes are as tall as the loader? Drain the area, flatten it. 2" of Styrofoam will keep the depth of frost under control. Pour your floor 8" thick with wire. 2 layers of PT 2x6 as sill keeps it off the concrete. Frame 2' on center with 2x6s. I used 16 gauge strips 3" wide as diagonal bracing mortised into the studs. Horizontal strap over that with 2x4s 2' OC. Two layers of Tyvek will stop wind. Board rough vertical. No paint needed.
The way I see it, the main advantage of containers is if you plan to move them again. If you're going to go to the work of pouring concrete you might as well put up a pole building. A semi open 30'x40' pole building would be more economical than stick building in my guesstimation. The other way to look at it is the containers come with two floor levels, saving some concrete on grade. If that storage is as useful as a pole barn storage, then that makes a big difference.
Well, in the spot there is 1 20' connex box full of supplies, and another group wants a 20, a 40 is only about 100 bucks more than a 20, usually get them delivered 2400 or 2500, but we're not far from the east coast ports. Adding another 40 would give us spots for some of our stock and rarely used supplies.
The thing you gain with a container that you don't with pole barn walls is more storage inside the container. What you could do is get 4 containers and stack them 2 high on each side, tie it all together across the top with your trusses and you would have a 16' ceiling plus 2 levels of extra storage on either side, throw some steps on the inside of one end of both base containers and you're good to go.
The boxes I shifted the other day were for two sheds that a neighbour is building. The one on the 40 footers will have a span of around 80 ft. These pics are from the website of the company supplying the roofs.
That looks like a hell of a roof, very nice!! Not sure how it'd like a snow load though. Likely might be allright! Steel roof and add a little heat to get it moving.
Fast> if you go to a "steel building" website.. they give a certified load rating for their roof systems.. My neighbor has STEEL truss's.. about 6.. on a 20ft long span..!! slightly overkill.. especially in sunny SC.. AND our properties are surrounded by 100 ft pine trees.. lol I see in the middle pic.. they have 3 wooden.. that looks awful shakey to me.. I like the 1st set-up.. if it was painted all white, it would be like lookin out my front door.. Living on the East coast by the ports, they go for 17-2000.00 all day long.. delivered.
Year before last, first time I ever shoveled off a roof, had nearly six feet of snow built up.
With the shape that world trade is in there are a lot of boxes stacked up and reasonably priced. I have been looking at prices for one to use as tool storage.
I've been thinking of doing similar, but with one of the pre made tent structures. Some of these are snow rated, although not a worry for me. Graham
Damn nice set-up, Graham!
Equipment under roof cover is money in the bank ! Customer calls ... You pull the equipment out of " bank " & go make a little money then park the equipment back in the " bank " when done . Pretty good investment for the long term .
DAMMMM.. look at the head room in Graham's pic.. you really get an idea of how tall it is w/ the car in there.. That's impressive.. I wonder how "the cage" is mounted to the containers??
Well there are the pin anchor holes in the top corners of the boxes, could be bolted down to those easy enough.
I'm not necessarily recommending this make, but this sort of design where it covers from the outside of the containers. It helps to reduce condensation in the containers and give extra covered storage on the tops of the containers. Most are fixed to a metal toe plate which fixes in the holes in the top corners of the container. Some have clamps along the edges as well to help the wind loading. Graham
I was wondering.. My neighbor is a contractor and I was looking at his the other day.. He ran a, what looks like a 2x6 along the outside length of each container and thru bolted them in, along the outsides. And that's where his truss's attach to.. Makes for a clean attach point w/ a very nice overhang.. and keeps from drilling abunch of holes in the top of the container to attach the steel truss's.. I'm no builder by any stretch of the imagination..
That's what I would do if I were using wood trusses. The trusses could easily be attached with hurricane clips. If I were using metal trusses I would probably use a 6" channel and weld it to the box then attach the metal trusses, just my opinion.
I built a couple container barns. Both had 12 feet between containers, which is not much. I welded some flat steel straps to hold 2x4's on the roof, then attached trusses to them. On one of them I framed a steel roof system, had 8 in 12 pitch and a loft in between. You could buy a couple of the "high cube" containers which are 9 1/2 feet tall, if that would be enough for the loader. The advantages I see is very good security for stuff inside the containers and no need of a concrete foundation. In cold climates where complex foundations are called for, that can save you a lot. Without a side door somewhere, a 40' container is kinda like a long hallway, which is not ideal for storage.
After parking up your loader in your container shed you can retire to your container house!
What the hell, that's pretty awesome! and fire resistant
The central double height hall would make an ideal space to park your loader. Graham
It might be a little tricky to hang a picture in that container house! Very cool thought! The building inspector would have a heart attack if he saw that in the U.S.
I'm not sure about the configuration of the homes but there are plenty of container homes in the U.S. Imagine how many homeless we could help out, for the cost of 1 space shuttle?? Personally I don't think its the cost of rehab. as much as, land and location.. Sorry.. got alittle off topic..