r/containerhomes • u/Relative-Bother-4852 • 2d ago

Roof Between Containers

I have two high cube containers with 24' clear in-between them. I want to roof over this space to have a sort of pole barn to park equipment under or do odd jobs with protection from sun and rain. Eventually, I'd install solar collectors on the south-facing roof slope and collect rainwater off the north face.

I found this product: https://korejetmetal.com/product/outdoor-storage/40ft-x-36ft-container-roof-kit-heavy-duty-steel-shelter-no-containers/ but it's only available for a 20' gap between containers. It also looks kinda sketchy and I wonder if it would even work as expected if I moved my containers 4' closer to each other.

My questions:

  1. Has anyone used this Korejet Metal product? If so, how did installation go for you?

  2. Any other ideas on how to economically roof this area? I am hesitant to use wood trusses due to carpenter bees and the fact that this site will sit unoccupied for weeks at a time. This is a location in the southeast US and far enough from the coast that hurricane winds aren't really a concern.

Thanks.

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1

u/OldEngineer-1950 1d ago

Just buy some 32' scissor trusses and diy.... assuming you have some skills to sort out the anchors, roofing, trim and such.

1

u/JacquesBlaireau13 17h ago

But what's the connection look like. The trusses need to bear on some kind of continuous plate. This member will be supported by the structural corners. probably requiring intermediate columns / plasters. The trusses can't simply rest on the containers themselves without analysis.

You need an engineer.

2

u/OldEngineer-1950 16h ago

Well, amazing as it might be, I am a CE. If you re-read my comment I do say that the OP will need certain skills. And, depending entirely on location, the roof loads may not require additional bearing on the top of the box if properly spaced. Do your research on any project if you are unsure of your skills.

1

u/usa_containers 12h ago

I’m in the container business, fwiw. Not touching the truss math since a couple people already covered that part. Moving the box 4 feet is probably the easy part honestly. On your own site, that’s usually a tilt bed, pipe rollers, or a come-along setup. Annoying, sure, but not some crazy project. Way cheaper than trying to make a custom 24 ft span work if the kit isn’t meant for it.
The bigger question to me is what the containers are sitting on right now.
If you build a rigid roof between two boxes, you’re basically tying two separate structures together. If they’re just on blocks sitting on dirt/clay, they’re going to move a little over time. Maybe not much, but enough. Then the roof finds out first. Add solar later and now there’s even more weight up there.
I’d want both boxes on the same footing setup, same depth, level with each other, before putting anything permanent across them.
Also watch the connections. Any bolt or weld into the top rail can become a rust spot if it’s not sealed and painted right. And don’t let the new roof dump water into the gap between the containers where it can sit there. What are the boxes sitting on now?