Cladded Shipping Containers

How to make a shipping container not look like a shipping container - choose wood cladding!

Containers Direct are the industry leading experts in providing high quality, visually appealing cladded shipping containers. We use a variety of wood types, to best help blend your container into its surroundings, and fulfill any planning permission requirements in rural locations. We can clad any container, whether it's a simple storage unit, a container office or a unique container conversion.

Cladding can be used to disguise your container, if a metal box is not in keeping with the overall aesthetic of your site. Schools, playing fields, gardens, allotments, rural and Greenfield sites are key candidates for cladded containers. Take a look at our standard cladding types below:

Our 'Rustic' cladding is a rough sawn, white spruce cladding. The timber is tanalised to make it more durable and longer lasting. This is our budget cladding option, suitable for a wide range of applications.

'Clean Cut' cladding is the same as our Rustic option, but with one planed edge giving a smoother finish to your container. We would suggest this as a medium upgrade for customers looking for a more polished look for their shipping container.

The 'Shiplap' cladding is slotted together meaning no corrugation is visible, completely disguising the fact that there's a shipping container underneath! This gives a seamless appearance to your container, recommended for bespoke, high end conversions.

Our cladding comes from natural woods, which will produce natural variations of half an inch to an inch and a half in between each section. This replicates the organic appearance found in nature and adds to the charm of a cladded container.

Our Premium Cladding Options

Although we offer three standard types of cladding, we understand that sometimes it's a bespoke and unique finish that our customers are looking for. We also offer the below types of cladding for our shipping containers as premium finishes, and are happy to assist in sourcing any other bespoke requirements.

NB. There will be a supplementary charge applied to cladding around apertures (e.g. for additional doors, windows, vents etc.), and for extra wide containers. Please speak to our sales team for more details on our pricing.

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Cladded Shipping Container Case Studies

Cladded shipping containers are rising in popularity alongside the growth of the "pop up" industry. This trend has seen shipping containers converted for use in retail and catering industries especially, and the better your container looks, the more of a talking point it becomes, which of course is good for business! Wood cladding gives that little bit extra and as you can see from our conversion work on display, it can transform a container from a basic metal box into a unique unit, whatever its purpose! We can clad any size container, whether it's a standard used 20ft shipping container, a used 40ft shipping container, new, or cut down to a specific size, as we do with our 10ft shipping containers.

new build cladded garage container case study

Take a look at some of the most engaging work we have undertaken in recent years. With detailed pictures, step-by-step guides, and in-depth insights into many projects, our case studies cover a wide range of applications.

Our Case Studies

Planning Permission

Wood cladded shipping containers give an aesthetic that blends in with the natural beauty of rural surroundings, and can satisfy most planning permission conditions that may arise from planting a metal box in a the countryside. We have clad boxes for a garden centre shop in Snowdonia National Park, and a large double garage in the beautiful rural village of Beckington Mill, Somerset. We also offer a bespoke matching and sourcing service if you have specific planning permission requirements. For instance, we sourced Siberian Larch for cladding the garden centre shop, in order to satisfy the rigorous planning permission conditions. However, we would always recommend checking your council's specific planning permissions before purchasing your container, just in case.

How We Clad Shipping Containers

Our expert fabrication team transforms plain steel containers into stylish, insulated units using high-quality timber or composite materials. Each build is finished to withstand years of outdoor exposure while improving both insulation and appearance.

Timber and composite cladding options available
Improves thermal efficiency and weather resistance
Custom colours and finishes to match your surroundings

Watch the short video to see our process in action — from frame preparation to final installation.

Learn More About Cladded Containers

The Cladding Process

We attach batons to the steel walls of the container, and then attach the timber in vertical sections. The pictures below show the process of cladding undertaken with Siberian Larch which we specially sourced for the Camlan Coffi Garden Centre shop. Please note that once cladded, container doors will open to a maximim of 180 degrees.

Optional Extras

We offer a range of optional extras for our cladded shipping containers to help ensure your container is perfect for you.

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.

Read All Testimonials Here

"From start to finish Neil was excellent; his advice and patience were first class, returning all calls and contacting us when promised. This resulted in us getting exactly what we required, even down to cutting the lead time to suit our schedule. Many thanks to Neil and all the other staff members we dealt with, who were polite and helpful at all times." A J Roofing Limited
20th November 2025
order - a Used 10ft Container

"We are very pleased with our container. The guy who delivered it was brilliant, very skillful and professional. Many thanks" Mick
17th November 2025
order - a Used 10ft Container

"The product (flat pack container 4m) is excellent. I already have one that I bought 18 months ago which has been secure and kept everything stored in great condition. I needed another storage container so came straight back to you. The lead time was even quicker than the previous time which was great. The delivery was slightly tricky but the driver (Steve) was cheerful and helpful and managed the job safely , even in the pouring rain at the time. Overall, great product and delivery and very satisfied." Michael Spencer
12th November 2025
order - a 4m Flat Pack Container Store

"Great service, fantastic from start to finish. Delivery driver was absolutely brilliant and couldn't be more helpful. A real pleasure to do business with." Looe Community Academy
5th November 2025
order - a 'Once-Used' 20ft Container

"You have proved to be excellent. You are pretty competitive and always provide a container of good quality exactly to our spec. Cory and the team have proved to be good sounding boards for ideas and able to provide lots of practical advice too." City of Edinburgh Council
24th October 2025
order - a Used 15ft Container

"Very pleased with service, right through the process including making arrangements for an earlier delivery day." Mark Yemm - Westons Cider
24th October 2025
order - a Used 30ft Container

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.