Container Shelters

Large-span cover, with no steel portal frame and no concrete slab underneath it. Two rows of shipping containers stand parallel, one either side of the area you want covered, and a domed tensile membrane is mounted over the top to bridge the gap between them. Because the frame footings bolt or weld straight onto the containers, the containers themselves are the foundation: no groundwork at all, and the entire structure can come down and move on.

Spans and dimensions

• Width: 6–16 m (20–52 ft)
• Length: 6–30 m and beyond (20–98 ft)
• Support: two parallel rows of containers, or walls, posts, or free-standing
• Ranges: Premium, custom manufactured; Platinum, pre-made in set sizes

The containers keep working while they hold the roof up

This is the part that makes the arrangement efficient rather than merely cheap. While they are acting as the foundation, the supporting containers remain fully usable as storage, a site office, a break room or a first aid room — so the same footprint delivers both covered space and enclosed space. Stacking two containers per side raises the walls beneath the membrane for more headroom and doubles the enclosed container volume at the same time.

What can be specified

• Spans between two rows of containers — no portal frame, no slab, no groundwork
• Durable tensile membrane construction
• Frame footings bolt or weld onto the containers themselves
• End walls available where a fully enclosed structure is wanted
• Stack two containers per side for additional height
• Equally sited on walls, on posts, or free-standing with no containers at all
• Low radiant heat transfer, with full sun block-out available
• Permanent or transportable models
• Wide range of colours
• No exposed beams for birds to roost on

Wind and snow loading is configuration-specific

This is the one specification that cannot be quoted generically. Wind and snow-load ratings depend on the span, the membrane grade and the anchoring method, and a 16 m span behaves very differently from a 6 m one on an exposed site. Send us your site conditions, intended span and whether you want end walls, and the certified rating for your configuration is confirmed before you order rather than assumed afterwards.

Choosing between a shelter and an enclosed building

A shelter earns its place when you need large-span cover quickly and cheaply, because the containers do the structural work. What you give up is climate control and full security, since the volume beneath the membrane stays open unless end walls are ordered. For an enclosed and serviced space a converted shell answers better: see our container workshops, or a container site office where staff have to be accommodated. Material wanting ventilation and containment rather than shade belongs in gas cylinder storage containers instead.

Delivery, siting and cover

Delivery is free across the UK, including Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey, and the price shown is the total payable — no VAT is added at checkout. Because span, length, end walls and wind rating are all matched to your site, these are made to order: work to the specialist lead-time band in our shipping policy. The supporting containers must stand level and parallel before the membrane frame is fitted, so prepare that ground properly. Fabrication workmanship is covered for 12 months. Separately, you have 14 days to change your mind under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 and a 30-day right to reject faulty goods under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Talk to our team, giving the dimensions you need and telling us what containers are already standing on the site.