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Shipping Container Buyer’s Guide

Buying a shipping container is straightforward once you have settled four questions: what size, what condition, how it gets on site, and whether you need anyone’s permission to put it there. This guide walks through all four from a UK perspective. If you would rather just talk it through, use the quote form and we will advise.

1. Choosing a size

Standard external dimensions

Container sizes are quoted in feet because that is how the shipping industry works, but the useful figures for planning a UK site are metric.

  • 10ft container — roughly 3.03m long × 2.44m wide × 2.59m high. About 16 cubic metres. Useful where space is tight, but the price per cubic metre is poor and stock is less common.
  • 20ft container — roughly 6.06m × 2.44m × 2.59m. About 33 cubic metres. The default choice for domestic, farm and small-site storage, and the easiest size to deliver.
  • 40ft container — roughly 12.19m × 2.44m × 2.59m. About 67 cubic metres. The best value per cubic metre if you have the space and the access for a longer lorry.
  • High cube — the same length and width as the standard equivalent, but 2.90m tall externally instead of 2.59m, giving roughly 2.69m of internal height. Available in 20ft, 40ft and 45ft.

Internal dimensions matter more than external

Internal width is around 2.35m and internal height around 2.39m in a standard container, or about 2.69m in a high cube. Door openings are narrower than the box itself — typically about 2.34m wide and 2.28m high (2.58m in a high cube). If you are storing a vehicle, a fork-lift-loaded pallet stack or racking, measure the door aperture, not the internal space.

Rules of thumb

  • A 20ft container holds roughly the contents of a three-bedroom house, or about 10 to 11 standard UK pallets on the floor.
  • A 40ft container holds roughly 20 to 21 pallets on the floor.
  • Choose a high cube if you plan to fit racking, insulate and board out the inside, or work standing up in it. Insulation and a floor covering can easily take 100mm off the head height.
  • Two 20ft containers are often more practical than one 40ft — easier to deliver, easier to place, and they can go in different parts of a site.

Our detailed guide to what size shipping container you need compares every size with internal dimensions, real-world capacity and the access each one demands.

2. Choosing a condition grade

Condition is where most of the price difference sits. In brief:

  • New / One-Trip — effectively new; has made a single loaded voyage. Clean paint, tight doors, no significant repairs.
  • Cargo-Worthy (CW) — used, structurally sound and certified fit for international shipping. Cosmetically it will show its age.
  • Wind and Water Tight (WWT) — used, dry inside, doors work, but not certified for shipping. The mainstream choice for static storage.
  • As-Is — sold exactly as it stands, with known faults declared. Cheapest, and appropriate only if you are prepared to repair or you do not need it to be watertight.

Our Condition Guide sets out each grade in detail, including what you should and should not expect on arrival. Our guide to new versus used containers explains where used stock comes from and how each grade ages in UK weather.

3. Delivery and site access

More container deliveries fail on access than on anything else. Work through this before you order.

Offloading methods

  • Tilt-bed (side-loader / hook-lift) lorry. The standard, lowest-cost method. The bed tilts and the container slides off the back as the lorry pulls forward. It needs a straight, firm run behind the final position — roughly the length of the container plus the lorry again.
  • HIAB / crane lorry. A lorry-mounted crane lifts the container over obstacles and places it precisely. It needs stable ground for the outriggers plus clear airspace overhead. A HIAB cannot normally lift a 40ft container in one piece at reach — ask us before assuming.
  • Flatbed / trailer with customer offload. Cheapest haulage, but you must provide a suitable telehandler, fork-lift or crane and a competent operator. The container must come off within the driver’s waiting time.

Access checklist

  • Approach width. Allow about 3.5 to 4.5 metres of clear width for the vehicle, plus room for wing mirrors and gates that open outwards.
  • Straight run. For a tilt-bed delivering a 20ft container, allow roughly 20 metres of straight, unobstructed space; for a 40ft, roughly 30 metres or more.
  • Overhead clearance. Minimum about 4.5 metres. Watch for BT and power lines, tree branches, barn entrances, bridges and car park height barriers.
  • Ground conditions. A loaded lorry weighs up to 44 tonnes. Tarmac, concrete and compacted hardcore are fine. Wet grass, soft verges, freshly laid block paving, drain covers, septic tanks and soakaways are not.
  • Turning and reversing space. The lorry must be able to leave. Cul-de-sacs, tight farm yards and terraced streets frequently defeat an artic.
  • Parked cars and street furniture. On residential deliveries, arrange for neighbours’ vehicles to be moved. Bollards, low walls and street trees are common obstructions.
  • Restrictions. Weight limits, width restrictions, weak bridges, red routes, timed loading bans and school-run congestion all affect what can be sent and when.

Preparing the base

A container carries its weight on the four corner castings. Set it on something firm and level: a concrete pad, compacted MOT Type 1 hardcore, concrete blocks or railway sleepers under each corner. Getting it level matters — a twisted container will not close properly, and doors that will not shut are the single most common complaint from customers who put a box straight onto soft ground. Leaving a small air gap underneath also reduces corrosion and condensation.

For the full picture, read our guide to delivery access, craning and ground preparation. Regional constraints — Highlands and islands ferry sailings, London weight and emissions restrictions, narrow rural lanes — are covered under delivery areas.

4. Planning permission and rules in the UK

This section is general guidance, not planning advice. Rules differ between England, Wales and Scotland, and the local planning authority always has the final say — ask them if in doubt.

When permission is usually not needed

  • A container placed temporarily on a domestic property, or on a construction site for the duration of the works, is generally treated as a temporary chattel rather than a building operation.
  • On agricultural land, storage containers used for genuine agricultural purposes often fall within permitted development rights, subject to size, siting and prior notification requirements.
  • Containers used as movable storage on commercial premises, not fixed to the ground and not connected to services, are frequently acceptable without a formal application.

When permission is usually needed

  • The container becomes permanent — fixed to a foundation, connected to electricity, water or drainage, or converted into an office, dwelling, shop or workshop.
  • The property is a listed building or within its curtilage, in a conservation area, National Park, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or the Green Belt.
  • The container is visible from the highway on a residential frontage, or in front of the principal elevation of a house.
  • You are stacking containers, or the installation materially changes the use of the land.
  • Your deeds or lease contain restrictive covenants — these are separate from planning and are enforced privately.

Other checks worth making

  • Building regulations apply to habitable conversions and to some workspaces, independently of planning permission.
  • Business rates may become payable if a container is a permanent structure used commercially.
  • Insurance. Tell your insurer. Contents in an outbuilding are often covered differently from contents in the house, and some policies require specific lock types.
  • Fire and dangerous substances. Storing fuel, gas cylinders, agrochemicals or waste has its own regulatory regime.

Our guide to planning permission for shipping containers in the UK goes through homes, farms and business sites separately, and explains what the “28-day rule” actually does and does not permit.

5. Security, ventilation and condensation

  • Locks. Fit a closed-shackle padlock inside a welded lock box. A standard padlock on an exposed hasp is an invitation.
  • Ventilation. Every container has small vents, but they are sized for cargo in transit, not for a sealed store in a damp British winter. Additional louvre vents are inexpensive and worth specifying.
  • Condensation (“container rain”). Warm moist air meets a cold steel roof and condenses. Manage it with ventilation, a raised base, desiccant, and by never storing damp goods. If you are storing anything moisture-sensitive long term, budget for insulation.
  • Timber floors. Marine ply floors in used containers have usually been treated with pesticides for import purposes. That is normal, but it is a reason not to grow food in or store loose foodstuffs directly on an untreated used floor.

6. Buying checklist

  1. Confirm the size and whether you need a high cube.
  2. Pick a condition grade that matches the job and the budget.
  3. Measure the access route and identify the offloading method.
  4. Prepare a firm, level base.
  5. Check planning, covenants, lease terms and insurance.
  6. Get a written delivered quotation. The figure quoted is the total payable, and no VAT is added at checkout.
  7. Read the Terms and Conditions, Delivery Information and Warranty Policy before paying.

Which category should you look in?

Once you know the size and grade you want, these are the parts of the catalogue that match the most common answers:

Next steps

Browse containers for sale or request a delivered quotation. Still have questions? Try the FAQ or contact us.