20 Foot Storage Container Rental in Philadelphia

A container is the cheapest security on a job site. Tools left in a house with no locks, materials stacked in a yard and a truck bed full of equipment are what disappear on a Philadelphia job site. A steel container with a lock box over the padlock is a much harder target, and the crew stops losing the first hour of every day loading tools in and the last hour loading them out.

It also protects the materials. Cabinets, hardwood, drywall and trim that sit in an open house with no windows or a wet basement get damaged before they're installed. In a container they stay dry until the day they're needed. Shelving along one wall keeps fasteners, fittings and boxed fixtures off the floor and easy to find.

On a rehab where the materials arrive early, the container is the staging area: deliveries go in as they come, and the crew pulls from it in the order the job needs.

A whole-house renovation means the furniture has to go somewhere while the floors are sanded, the walls are opened or the kitchen comes out. A 20 foot container in the driveway or the side yard holds it close by instead of across town in a storage unit, and it's there when the work is done.

The same goes for a move with a gap between houses, a house being staged for sale or a family clearing out a parent's home. Load it at your own pace, keep the key, and call for pickup when you're done. If the next stop is another address, the container can be moved there with its contents.

On private property, a container sits on a driveway, a yard, a lot or a job site behind a fence. It needs a flat, firm spot and room for the delivery truck to back in, tilt its bed and slide the container off. A paved or gravel surface is best; a lawn works when it's dry and firm. The doors need clear space to swing open, so leave room in front of them.

On the street, it's a different matter. Philadelphia's Code has a chapter on portable storage units (Chapter 11-800), and placing one on a street needs a permit from the Streets Department, which can refuse it where the container would interfere with traffic. For a short stay at the curb, the Streets Department's Temporary No Parking permit covers a storage container for up to five calendar days, and the city asks for the application at least four business days ahead. A container that has to stay longer belongs on private property.

Most rowhome blocks have no driveway, which is why a container on a rowhome job often goes in a rear yard reached from an alley, on a nearby lot, or inside the fence on a larger site. Tell us the address and where you'd like it, and we'll tell you what works and what the city requires before delivery.

Every container comes with doors at one end and a place for your own padlock, so you keep the only key. A lock box welded over the lock rods covers the padlock's shackle so bolt cutters can't reach it, which is worth having on any job site. Shelving and lighting inside are options on the quote.

If you need doors on both ends, so a container loads from either side or nothing at the back gets buried, a double-door container is available. If the load is tall, like doors standing on end or shelving to the ceiling, look at the 40 foot high cube on the 40 Foot Storage Container Rental page.

The 10 foot container fits where a car would park, and it's the choice for a tight lot with a few pallets of material or a single trade's tools. The 20 foot is the standard: enough for a full rehab or a house's contents on a footprint most sites can take. The 40 foot is for commercial and multifamily jobs, equipment storage and anyone who needs twice the room. See Storage Container Rental in Philadelphia for all the sizes side by side.

Containers rent by the 28-day period and keep going until you call for pickup, with no long lease. A three-month rehab pays for three periods; a two-year building project pays month by month. Delivery and pickup are on the quote, and renewals bill every 28 days by card or bank autopay, so nobody chases an invoice mid-job.

Add a dumpster for the demo and a porta potty for the crew, and the whole job is on one quote and one invoice, with one number for every change.

A steel container keeps rain and snow out, but a Philadelphia summer brings humidity, and on a cool night after a hot day the inside of the steel can sweat. Anything that minds moisture, like hardwood flooring, drywall, cabinets, upholstered furniture and paper, should sit on pallets or shelving rather than right on the floor, with a little space between it and the walls.

Leave the doors closed in the rain and open them on a dry day to air it out. A box of moisture absorber in the back corner helps on a long summer rental. On a winter job, bring in anything that can freeze, like paint, caulk and adhesives, or keep it in a heated space instead.

The container arrives on a tilt-bed truck that backs up to the spot, raises its bed and lets the container slide down onto the ground. The driver needs a straight run behind the spot, clear space overhead and a firm surface for the container's corners. Tell us which way the doors should face, toward the house, the street or the work, because once it's down it stays that way.

If the ground is soft or uneven, boards or blocks under the corners keep it level so the doors open and close properly. Pickup is the same in reverse: empty the container, lock it and call, and the truck takes it away on the day you choose.