Mini Storage Building Design Tips for All Types of Mini Storage Buildings
Mini storage buildings are known for inexpensive and quick construction. They often pay for themselves in 5 years or less, making an excellent business investment generating passive income. These mini storage building design tips will help clarify what it takes to build a successful mini storage building.
Pre-Engineered All Steel Construction
Mini storage buildings typically have interior framing of all steel 16 gauge red iron (not galvanized or painted) steel beams and pre cut for easy assembly. All erecting drawings are easily interpreted for building and engineer stamped for codes and loads for your state.
Mini Storage Unit Size Mix
One of the most important mini storage building design tips is to study the local mini storage building competition to understand what size units are in demand for your area.
Understanding what is in your region will give you more insights on how to stand out, and gain a competitive advantage when you design your mini storage complex or buildings. It is cost effective to keep all unit widths and lengths divisible by 5’ because of the on center framing design of a mini storage building.
For example some common size units are 5’x10’, 10’x10’, 10’x15’, 10’x20’, and 10’x30’.
Roll Up Door Size
Roll up door sizes are typically 2’ less than the width of the units and 18” lower than the eve height. The reason the door should be 2’ less is to utilize a mullion wrap panel between the unit doors. A mullion type panel comes only in 1’ and 2’ widths and wraps the door jambs giving the opening a finished look.
Mini Storage Building Single Slope Or Gabled
Typically a single slope building is used at property lines for utilizing building placement with the high side having the roll up doors.
Gabled mini storage buildings have roll up doors on both sides. Single slope buildings can also be used in place of fencing on the exterior of the property. Guttering is cheaper for a single slope mini storage building since the building will only require one side of gutters.
Mini Storage Building Eve
Height and Roof Pitch
The eve height of a mini storage building typically should not exceed 16’ on single slope and 14’ on gabled mini storage buildings. The reason for this is the interior framing can only be engineered to support 16’ or less. If the eve heights exceed the mini type construction a commercial type metal building would be required.
Commercial buildings are more expensive because of heavier framing and the need for beefed up foundations. Typical mini storage building sizes and heights are 20’x100’x8’6” to 10’ tall or 30’x100’x8’6” to 10’ tall.
Roof pitches on mini storage buildings are typically ½” rise per 12” to center of building. This is commonly stated as 1/2″:12”. Other pitches can go 1” or 2” per 12” rise. These are commonly stated as 1:12 pitch 2:12 pitch.
Mini Storage Building Outside Skin
One of the key mini storage building design tips is the outside skin. Typically the skin on the mini storage building is 26 gauge metal paneling with multiple color
choices, and can include gutters and downspouts of the same material. One can also cover the outside with block or other materials, as requested or required by local official regulations.
Roof systems are generally all metal 26 gauge metal screw down paneling typically galvanized, commonly referred to as galvalume.
Another choice is snaplock standing seam, commonly referred to as ultra deck roofing (shows no fasteners, using a clip down system) and is typically used in high snow areas. A snaplock roof is more expensive than a standard screw down roof. You also have a choice of colors for roof systems in lieu of galvalume.
Pre-engineered steel mini storage buildings are quick to build and inexpensive. Understanding these design tips will help in the buildings of your next mini storage facility.
