What you should know before renting our container
It usually takes a little more than just picking up the phone and ordering a storage container. At Porta Stor we want to make sure you are prepared. Here are a few of the most common things to look for to make the process of ordering a storage container as smooth as possible.
a. What size do you need? b. Do you need racks? c. Be sure to measure five extra feet. d. Which way should the container face? e. Do you have any gates or overhangs? f. Is the area clear? g. Does the driveway need to be protected? h. Know where your sprinklers & gas meters are. i. Is the area wide enough for our truck?
Look below for the explanations.
a. First things first, what size you need can depend on a lot of factors. If you are going to be remodeling a portion of your home or cleaning out your garage you might only need a 12 foot container. If you are moving and need to store all your household items you might need a 26 foot container. Our 12ft container fits the equivalent of a studio apartment whereas our 26 foot container can hold an average 3 bedroom home. Our 20-22 foot containers hold an average 2 bedroom home. This can vary from person to person depending how much furniture they have therefore we can’t guarantee that these averages are 100% accurate.
b. Do you need racks? A lot of people ask us what our racks are. Basically they’re a shelving system, the racks are easily installed on the sides of the container. You then provide your own plywood to place on them, which creates a shelving system. They are great if you have smaller items that need to be off the ground. These are popular for office use and long term storage too. We offer our pipe racks on our 12, 22 and 26 foot containers free of charge in either half set or full set.
(Racking System)
c. Once you figure out what size you need and if you need those racks it’s time to figure out if you can fit the container on your property. The container will need to stay on your property and cannot be placed on the street unless you receive a permit from your city. Most people have their container placed on their driveway. When measuring the length of your driveway to see which container might fit, you’ll want to measure for an extra five feet than the actual container size. This is because most people want the doors facing the garage, and the doors swing out four and a half feet. You’ll need that extra space so your doors don’t hit your garage when you open them. Having them open fully is important when packing or unpacking your container. You can always have the doors face the street if you don’t quite have enough space. Say for instance you need a 20 foot container but your driveway is 23 feet long, you can still fit the container but only if the doors face the street. Also keep in mind if your garage door is the type that swings up when opened that can remove an extra foot or two of space when measuring. You don’t want to get the container and find out that even though you can open those doors all the way your garage door won’t!
(This 12ft container just fits in this driveway with a little room to spare for the doors to open towards the garage.)
d. Which way do you want the container doors to face? We ask this because our 12 & 20 foot containers have doors on one end. You won’t need to worry which way the doors face if you order our 22 or 26 foot containers because they have them on both ends. Depending on the length of your driveway and/or which way you want the doors will depend which way the 12 or 20 foot container will face. Just like we mentioned above you will want to measure first to make sure it will fit.
(12FT DOORS ONE END)
(22FT DOORS BOTH ENDS)
e. Some people have gates or fences at the end of their driveway or in another area where they might want to place the container. You will want to make sure your gate measures at least 12 feet wide otherwise we cannot fit our truck without knocking it down. We won’t deliver a container if the gate is less than 12 feet wide unless you can remove it, which is usually not that easy. If your gate has an overhang it needs to be at least 14 feet high. Some properties have trees with large branches over driveways or low power lines. You will need to make sure they are at the 14 foot clearance or more otherwise we won’t be able to deliver. Be sure to check if any of these apply to make the ordering process go smoother. You can take a look at our truck measurements page to see all of the lengths and heights of our trucks with and without the containers.
(one of our delivery trucks)
f. Making sure the area is clear of any obstructions makes it easier for both of us. If your driveway is smaller in width you will want to make sure you park your car(s) on the street until we finish delivering the container. Other obstructions that could be in our way would include trash bins/containers, trees in pots and statues. The most common is cars so be sure you move them before we deliver.
g. Does the driveway need to be protected? This question comes up quite a bit. We have very careful drivers that take great care when unloading the containers, but our containers are heavy and metal and so there is a possibility of them slightly scraping the driveway. If this is a concern then you would want to provide plywood so it can be placed where the container is going to sit. This will protect the driveway from any small scrapes. If you are placing your container on dirt there is a slight possibility that over time the container can sink, especially after a rain. Plywood placed on the dirt can help prevent this. The sinking could cause the doors to hit the dirt and not open all the way. If your container is on dirt and does sink we will come out and fix it free of charge.
(26ft container on wood to protect driveway)
h. When we deliver containers sometimes we need to drive our truck over the sidewalk or onto the grass to deliver the container straight. You’ll want to be sure and take note if there are any sprinklers, gas/electric meters or small decorative gates/items that could potentially get run over or hit. Our drivers are very careful and would never hit any meters or anything else they can see visibly. Sprinklers tend to be very small and unnoticeable and so there’s a greater chance they get run over and break. Be sure to check the surrounding area and note if anything could get run over. If it can’t be moved let us know it’s there when ordering.
i. Sometimes the areas we deliver to are in a tight spot and our trucks can’t always back up into the driveway if there are obstructions in the way. The most common are cars. If delivering to a tight street or alleyway there needs to be enough clearance to allow the truck to back the container into its location. If you’re unsure if there’s enough space because of a wall, fence, cars in the way or other obstructions, call our office. We can take a look at your property and have our expert drivers determent whether or not they can maneuver the area. Most of the time it’s not a problem but if it is it can usually be fixed by moving cars or items out of the way on the day of delivery.
Well that’s it! These are the most important things to look for before having a container delivered do your property. We are always happy here at Porta Stor and our knowledgeable office-staff can help you with any additional questions you might have, so call us today to order your storage container!