Seattle Storage Containers: Rent, Buy and Modify

Rain makes the container choice

Anybody who has opened a storage container in a Seattle February knows the smell. It rains for months, the air never dries out, and the steel sweats. Condensation, container rain, drips off the ceiling onto whatever you stored. Cardboard goes soft and tools rust.

Fixes exist. Vents near the roofline let air move. A layer of spray foam or panel insulation keeps the steel from getting cold enough to sweat. A small dehumidifier works if you have power. Pallets and shelving keep your goods off the floor. If you are storing anything you care about, ask for the vented or insulated version, or at least a wind and watertight container with good door seals, rather than an as-is box that has already spent years in a yard.

The other rain problem is the floor. Most container floors are marine plywood, and if the box sits flat on wet ground the plywood absorbs water from below. Blocking the corners on concrete blocks or timbers lets air circulate under it, and a gravel pad keeps mud from splashing against the doors. Moss will grow on the roof if you let it, so it helps to have the box sited where it gets some daylight.

Port access helps on price

Seattle sits next to the Northwest Seaport Alliance, which runs the Seattle and Tacoma container terminals. A big supply of containers arriving and retiring nearby usually means better availability and fairer pricing than in inland cities. Used cargo-worthy boxes are easy to find, and one-trip containers are available if you want a clean unit.

Plenty of buyers here work in shipping and import themselves, so they know the grades well. If you are not one of them, remember the short version: one-trip is nearly new, cargo-worthy is structurally sound with some wear, wind and watertight means it will keep the rain out, and as-is can mean anything.

Prices do not follow a single rule. Seattle has high land and labor costs, so delivery tends to cost more here than in Tacoma or Everett. A provider based in Kent or Auburn may reach Seattle and the Eastside at a lower rate than one based in Ballard, because they run trucks all day and the Kent Valley is close to Interstate 5 and State Route 167.

Containers converted to offices and studios are a small market here too. A box delivered finished can save weeks of site work.

Tight streets, hills and soft ground

Delivery in Seattle is harder than in most metros. Neighborhoods like Ballard, Capitol Hill, Fremont and West Seattle have narrow streets and steep grades, and few places to set a 40 foot box. Alleys can be too tight for a truck to turn. Tilt-bed trucks need a straight run and overhead clearance, and the Seattle tree canopy gets in the way more than people expect.

On the Eastside, in Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond and Sammamish, lots are bigger but many sit on slopes, and the wet clay soil gets soft after a long rain. Put the box on gravel or timbers, not lawn. If the site is awkward, a 10 foot or 20 foot container is easier to place than a 40, and some providers can bring a smaller truck for tight spots. Send photos of the site with your request.

If you are in the Eastside suburbs, check with your city about setbacks, because some require the container to sit a set distance from the property line. A couple of feet can decide which spot works.

Who is using them here

Construction is the big driver. Seattle, Bellevue and Redmond have had cranes up for years, and every active site wants a lockable box for tools and materials. In the industrial Kent Valley, around Renton and the Boeing plant, warehouses and manufacturers use containers for seasonal inventory and parts overflow. Breweries and food producers in the SoDo and Georgetown neighborhoods use them for dry storage. Shoreline, Burien and Edmonds homeowners put one in the driveway during a remodel.

Hospitals and tech firms occasionally rent a container for records or equipment while an office is reconfigured.

Bothell has light industrial space, and small manufacturers there rent containers when a production run outgrows the building. Sammamish and the Plateau are residential, so most boxes there sit on a driveway or acreage during a build, and the neighbors will have opinions.

Permits and quotes

Seattle and the suburbs all have their own rules about containers on streets, in driveways and in residential zones. Some cities require a permit for any container left in the right of way, and some neighborhoods are strict about how long a box can sit visible from the street. Check with your city before you schedule delivery. A jobsite box usually travels with the project permit.

When you compare quotes, make sure delivery and pickup are both on the page, and that the container grade is spelled out. Ask whether a vent kit and a lock box are included or extra. The lowest line item is sometimes the worst box, and in this climate that costs you in rust.

One last Seattle habit: ask about the pickup date when you book the drop. Projects run long, and rain delays push everything back. A rental with a flexible end date and no surprise extension charge is easier to live with than one that expires on a fixed day.

Looking for a different city? Here are some nearby.

Other Seattle business topics.