Preparing the Ground for Your Container
Ensuring the container is sited on hard standing and level ground is very important.
Uneven ground can lead to containers "racking out", which can cause issues with properly opening and closing the doors. Racking out occurs even if just one corner of the container isn't level, particularly if the contents of the container are then unevenly distributed; the container will twist slightly which places the doors out of alignment, making them difficult to close.Pre-delivery preparation
Standard Shipping Containers
Standard Shipping Containers bear their weight entirely through the corners and so placing concrete slabs underneath the four corner posts, or using railway sleepers underneath the corners of your container, will typically prevent racking out and keep your container level and secure.
Modified Shipping Containers
Where you are having modifications made to your container e.g. personnel doors, S1 Side Doors, large apertures or windows etc., you will need to place supports underneath the bottom rails of your container. When installing such modifications the bottom rail can sometimes deflect slightly, particularly directly beneath the doors/windows/apertures, and so this additional support is crucial to ensure the container remains perfectly level and all features retain full functionality.
New Build Containers
If you have purchased a New Build Container, we recommend that you place your unit on a level hard standing platform supporting the entire base of the unit. This is because these containers are domestic units only and require full support to ensure they remain level.
Railway sleepers
Post-delivery checks
When the container is delivered, before the haulier leaves site, an easy way to check the container is levelled properly is to full open and close all of the doors. If you're experiencing issues at this stage, the likelihood is that the container isn't 100% level. The haulier will stay on site for up to half an hour to ensure the container is fully level, and can lift the unit back up again while small corrections are made to make sure everything works. Pieces of flat timber can be inserted under the corners of the containers if you're experiencing issues to level the container out. We recommend you have a few pieces ready before the haulier arrives in case these are needed.
If You Have Any Questions
Testimonials
As a long established and reputable shipping container company, we want to instil confidence in our customers that we can deliver on our promises, and provide high quality products and service.But don't just take our word for it, see for yourself what our past and present clients have to say about Containers Direct.
Committed to Quality
We are ISOQAR Approved and certified to ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems, demonstrating our commitment to excellence. We are also members of MakeUK, who champion British manufacturing, and the Container Self Storage and Traders Association (CSTA), representing global operators and innovators. In addition, we are registered members of JOSCAR, the Joint Supply Chain Accreditation Register.
