How to Attach Beams to the Corners of Shipping Containers
As I have talked about earlier I have a thief problem at the land. In this post I am Attaching Beams to Shipping Container Corners so I can add a palisade style gate between the two boxes so I can fence the area between them in.
Since I have 2 40 foot boxes, and they are siting parallel to each other and 20 feet apart, if I add gates to secure the area between them I will greatly increase my secure space.
Their are also other reasons you may want to add beams to the corners of your containers, one good one would be to add a roof. (which is also in the plan.
Now the way I did this is not the best way, I had bought a long slab of cold rolled steel that I was going to cut and make a long rectangular washer to securely attach the beams, but for much less I found large washers that when installed grabbed the edge of the holes in the corners of the boxes by about 1/8 in on each side.
This is not enough for long term, but since the boxes are only sited temporarily, and I plan on connecting the beams together over the top of the box, I feel this will work.
The Process
I set flat bricks next to each box corner, and measured the distances for the holes in the timbers.
Using a 1/2 drill bit I drilled through each timber – once at the bottom and another at the top.
By driving the bolts through the holes so that the threads went inside the corners of the boxes, I ensures I would not have bolt ends interfering with the travel of the gate.
The hard part was the bottom connections. The hole was too small for my hand and it was very difficult to ensure get the washers on the bolts, and then ensure they grabbed the sides of the corner box as I tightened them. After several hours of cursing my wife tried it and her small hand actually fit inside. She was able to set a pole in 10 minutes versus the hour it took me.
The top connections were simple because they were open and I could fit my hand down from the top.
I like this method because I do not want to modify the boxes in any way until they are sitting in the permanent location and I cover them with sandbags and cement. (not a bunker!).
Now you can see how I go about attaching beams to shipping container corners.
