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Had no idea shipping container roofs could collapse under snow load
I was reading through some building codes online last night after my neighbor asked me why I was insulating my container roof a certain way. I stumbled onto this stat from some engineering site that said a standard 40 foot high cube container roof is only rated for like 5 or 6 pounds per square foot of snow load. That caught me off guard because I always figured these things were built tough since they stack them on ships and trains. Here in Minnesota where we get those big wet dumps of snow, that's practically nothing. My buddy Dave up in Duluth had a container he was using for storage and the roof caved in after a heavy storm two winters ago. He just thought it was a fluke but now I'm wondering if he even checked the specs. I'm going to add some extra roof framing to mine before I put the insulation on. Has anyone else run into this problem with snow states?
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oscarwilliams7d ago
Whoa wait, 5 or 6 pounds per square foot?! That can't be right, can it? I always thought those things were built like tanks since they stack them like Legos on cargo ships. That's practically nothing for snow, especially the wet heavy stuff we get here in the northeast. My neighbor used a container for a workshop and he just threw some 2x4s across the top for a roof overhang, never thought about the actual load. I gotta text him right now because we're supposed to get a big storm this weekend and his setup is exactly like your buddy Dave's. That's honestly scary how little weight they can actually handle.
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nancy37d ago
Yeah, it's kind of wild isn't it? I had the same reaction when I first looked into it. You just assume those things can take a beating since they're literally stacked in giant piles on ships. But the reality is the roof is made from thin corrugated steel with a lightweight frame. They can support a lot of weight from the corners during stacking, but the flat roof spans are way weaker. It's honestly terrifying how many people throw a heavy snow load on top without realizing the danger. I hope your neighbor checks his setup before the storm hits.
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