Shipping container in the garden

JohnBoy

Hi,

When we move in to our new house there's gonna be a fair bit of work to be done over the next twelve months or so.

we'll be doing most of this work ourselves and as such we're gonna have a fair few tools and the like.

I don't want to have to designate a room in the house as a workshop, however there is no garage.

The house is on a half acre site so I could build a garage, however, the house is at 90 degrees to the road, and as such doesn't obscure any of the back garden, hence a garage will be subject to planning, which will demand a slate roof and lovely rendered block walls to match the finish of the house.

(ie not cheap)

I also tend to work on cars a bit in my spare time, so this furthers the need for secure tool storage.

Now we're probably not going to spend much more than two years at this house, and if that plan were to change then this one would too.

So I'm thinking of buying a twenty foot container (or possibly two side by side even) They actually won't be visible from the road as they're only 8'6" tall, there's two levels to the site and there's a hedge between the two, however would I technically need planning for one?

I assume I could get away with one, for at least a year, especially as it will be hidden from the road.

I'll paint it so it looks OK, as ok as a 20 foot container can look, anyway can i expect grief from the planning people? I'd view it as a temporary structure, but does such a concept actually exist in planning?

I know it's a bit white trash, but I can't think of any suitable alternative (and I don't think a wooden garden shed is a secure place for storing tools)

johnnyrotten

Its not a permanent structure so you will probably be ok. How much is it costing you to buy?

Alun

You might also want to consider the logistics of getting rid of the thing 2 years down the line when you want to sell the house. I can't see having a shipping container in the garden, however tastefully 'decorated', as a positive selling point, personally

JohnBoy

Don't know the cost yet, seen prices anywhere from 600 to 1200, but shipping has to be quoted afterwards, plus as alun points out the cost of moving it on afterwards also has to be considered.

I'll probably be in a similar situation again in the next place, and the eventual plan is to end up on a farm where it wouldn't be that out of place

eddiej

Dont know if it is not a permenent sstructure. In legal terms it would be ie you could burgle a shipping container but only theft in a tent (tent not permanent) not sure if same applies in planning. Though saying that have one on farm and no worries though way in from road and cant be seen Just dont go doin any electrics in it:)

RuggieBear

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=256434&highlight=container

just might be of interest

JohnBoy

Ruggie: Is there anything you can't buy on boards?????


Eddie: an auld extention lead across the yard and it'll be grand

JohnBoy

Just got a call from a company that advertise on google, just for ****s and giggles

reckoned on up to two grand delivered to south tipp from dublin, of that delivery was five to six hundred of that amount.

also these were for basically good as new containers, really intended for shipping use as opposed to storage. still it's good to have a starting price to work down from.

http://www.candssheds.ie/prices.htm want two grand for a tinfoil shed of similar size

so it looks semi attractive

CJhaughey

johnboy
I think there is a crowd just outside ballineen/enniskeane selling containers and mobile homes.
I'll try and find out more.

JohnBoy

Sweet,

keep me posted

Victor

If its on wheels, it isn't permanent. However, planning wise, that might affect site usage.

I think up to a year / while doing reovations might be fine, after that you might be pusning things.

squire1

I wouldn't worry about planning Johnboy. They council are not going to bother you about it. Even if they do they worst they can do is get you to move it.

Might be good to move it out before you try and sell the house.

Never seen one with wheels.

eddiej

Squire1 "I wouldn't worry about planning" they must be the most famous last words there is ALWAYS someone out there who dont like the look of whatever it is you do and will complain its Ireland we live in

JimmySmith

Just plonk it where you want it.
My dad got a 20 ft one about 4 years ago. He covered it with fence panels and then planted creepers around the edges. For the first 2 years it looked like a garden shed. After that the plants had grown and it looked like you were walking into a bush when you went in. Couldnt see the container at all.

He sold the house recently and the new owners were really happy with it.

Soledad

We have one while we are building and it is a godsend to store stuff that would otherwise have walked. Got no complaints so far.
We intend to hold onto it until we build a garage in a few months time.....

JohnBoy

Soledad wrote:

We have one while we are building and it is a godsend to store stuff that would otherwise have walked. Got no complaints so far.
We intend to hold onto it until we build a garage in a few months time.....

whereabouts are you in the country? how much did yours cost?

keep me in mind when the time comes to dispose

Soledad

Will have to ask my husband those questions because as far as I am concerned it just turned up one day!
We are in Cork.....not sure what he plans to do with it.

JohnBoy

Well soledad, I'm buying in ballyporeen, so not a million miles away. remember me when the time comes to dispose.

GreeBo

Couldnt you jsut get a big shed?
I mean argos do a "garage" version that you can drive your car into, surely that would be big enough to hold your tools etc?
You could put it at the side of that house that faces away from the road...

tcoen

Containers are the height of fashion now. Search on google for design ideas. Timber clad they would be nice and sturdy.

homerhop

GreeBo wrote:

Couldnt you jsut get a big shed?
I mean argos do a "garage" version that you can drive your car into, surely that would be big enough to hold your tools etc?

I wouldnt put a dog in one of them, they are pure dirt . You will pick up a container for a few quid more and it will be a far securer structure.Also I wouldnt worry about selling it on as there is always a market for containers for storage on sites.

GreeBo

homerhop wrote:

I wouldnt put a dog in one of them, they are pure dirt.

why not?
&
why?

JohnBoy

I'm with homerhop.

for simialr money to an argos/B&Q/cheap steel shed/wooden garden shed I can get a container, which is a hell of a lot more secure.

I am not putting a few grands worth of gear into a shed that can be opened with a tin opener.

the steel ones are flimsy and the wooden ones even more so

A container with a properly shielded lock/door opening can pretty much only be gotten into using heavy machinery, ie an oxy acetyline torch or a con saw

I would however be willing to put a dog in one, with some modifications

chuckles30

I know this is a bit off the point but maybe one of you may know the answer. I am in the process of buying a house in a new development. Is it ok to put a wooden garden shed in the garden or would I need to get planning permission. It's probably going to be along the lines of the wooden ones in argos etc but will be shopping around for best value & quality. I know people have raised security issues about these, but I'm not going to have anything of huge value in it, just paint cans, gardening tools etc.

Victor

Your ordinary garden shed won't need PP unless you literally have a tiny garden.

The potential problem the OP has is if the council perceive the container to be an eyestore and / or the first of many.

JohnBoy

The main problem I have is that my house is at 90 degrees to the road. the site is roughly 150 feet square but the house is back in one corner.

See the attachment.

road is red
site boundary is blue
house is green
pink is the proposed container

not exactly to scale but close enough.

From the governments planning leaflet on exemptions
"You can build a garage, carport, shed, greenhouse, kennel
for domestic pets etc., as long as it does not extend out in
front of the building line of the house and does not exceed 4
metres in height, (if it has a tiled or slated pitched roof), or 3
metres (if it has any other roof type). The floor area
limitation for exempted development is 25 square metres.
The structure may not be lived in, used for commercial
purposes or for keeping pigs, poultry, pigeons, ponies or
horses. Garages, sheds etc. to the side of the house must
match the finish of the house. You cannot reduce the open
private space, reserved exclusively for the use of the
occupants of the house, at the side or rear of the house
below 25 square metres.
house are exempt."

ie you can pretty much build what you want behind the house, but if it's to the side of the house then it's gotta look like the house.

now the layout of my site means it'll be to the side of the house. that was the root of my concern.

victor (there may be in time, if the first one looks ok, a second) maybe

chuckles30

Thanks victor. As gardens go nowadays, mine is big, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Victor

What about one of these?

JohnBoy

one on the left is a possibility, one on the right is too close to the kitchen door.

however my proposed location isn't as bad as it seems, the site is on two levels, and that area is nearly 3 feet lower than the road, possibly four feet, and there's a bit of a hedge between the two levels

dras

Not necessarily of interest but containers are strong enough to withstand about 3ft of soil without any reinforcements. If anyone is building on a site with a bit of a slope or escarpment then burying the container with topsoil on 3 sides is an option. The top can have a minimal topsoil covering that could be grassed. There are several websites (one particularly good US one) that go into the engineering details.

CJhaughey

I would imagine rust would be a big problem for any container that is buried in Ireland.
Far better to just plant around it and disguise it that way.