There are two popular options for adding affordable storage on your property—shipping containers and storage sheds. While sheds have been used for generations to store equipment and more, the idea of using shipping containers for this same purpose has gained popularity. Each of these two options can be a winner, but it’s important to consider the pros and cons of each to determine which option is right for you.

American Steel Carports, Inc. has a variety of metal shed options that are affordable, durable, and fully customizable. Use our Build & Price Tool to explore the many possibilities for your new structure, and receive an instant quote!

Consider Size

Thinking about the size of your desired storage space will go a long way toward determining which of the two is best for your needs. As you might imagine, shipping containers can be rather large—they tend to range from 8-feet to 40-feet in length, are about 8-feet wide, and are approximately 8-feet tall (depending on the model). The larger ones are more common, so that may be the only option available in your area when looking to purchase a used shipping container.

If you don’t need something as large as a standard shipping container, you’ll want to look instead to a storage shed. These tend to be smaller in size, and when you order from American Steel Carports, Inc., you can customize the dimensions to fit perfectly on your property. Also, shipping containers are rectangular, but sheds can be designed with many different layouts.

Think About Aesthetics

Shipping containers aren’t designed to be pretty. They have a job to do—transporting goods safely from one place to another—and it doesn’t matter how they look along the way. Typically, they are painted a bland color and marked with the name of the shipping company. That’s fine when they are on trains or boats, but you might not like how they look in your backyard.

This is another way that metal storage sheds have an advantage over containers. The sheds we offer are available in many different colors, meaning you can nicely match the finished product to the rest of your property. You can also add nice touches like accent trim pieces and even exterior Wainscoting.

Custom Door Selection

You won’t have any choice regarding access to your shipping container. These containers come with large swinging doors on the back that are typically the same size as the container itself. If you need to move large pieces of equipment in and out, those doors might be just fine.

But what if you want to use this space for storage? Those big doors will feel like an unnecessary hassle. A custom metal shed can be fitted with the exact type of doors you need. You can add a regular walk-through door or a rollup door with dimensions to suit your requirements. Windows can also be added if you plan to spend time in the shed and would like some natural light.

Other Uses

Both shipping containers and storage sheds can work nicely for storing extra items that don’t fit in your garage, barn, or anywhere else on your property. But what if you want to use this new space for more than just storage? If you would like a workshop space, for instance, you’ll need something big enough to handle your projects. Or, you might want to transform at least part of this new space into an office.

Whatever the case, a metal storage shed is going to be more flexible as a space that can serve multiple purposes. As mentioned earlier, shipping containers are rectangular, and the big ones are much longer than they are wide. That’s fine for storage, but not such much for doing other tasks, as the narrow side-to-side dimension could be a limiting factor. By custom designing your own metal shed, you can select the perfect dimensions to allow you to do whatever you’d like in the space.

Purchase a Shed from American Steel Carports, Inc.!

We hope we’ve helped you decide whether a shipping container or a storage shed is right for you! If you’d like to order a reliable metal storage shed from American Steel Carports, Inc., use our Build & Price to start designing a structure to meet your exact needs!