The soffit board should have at least an inch air gap in the middle of it, covered with wire mesh which allows air to flow in and out of the roof. Attach a fascia and soffit board underneath your trusses. To do this your trusses should overhang the container as shown below. The final stage is ensuring your roof has sufficient ventilation. Coated steel will be the most durable, however galvanized metal sheets are very easy to fit and are also quite durable. To cover your roof, you can use either shingles, galvanized metal sheets or coated steel sheets. This figure varies regionally as it takes into account natural stresses imposed on your roof such as rain, wind and snow loads. This professional engineer will be able to advise you about the exact load bearing requirements needed for your roof. This is when you will depend on your structural engineer for specifics.

Next, your trusses need bracing to protect you again the wind. For this step, you can just add 20 foot long purlins onto the trusses and you’re done. Attach purlins or steel bars for structural support across the trusses to complete the roof’s structure. Now, the roof’s basic structure is starting to take shape. On each side of the container roof attach a wooden beam into the steel plates. To install a shed style roof on your shipping container, weld right angled steel plates across the length of the shipping container on both sides. The long, sloping roof also lends itself well to solar panels.

A roof like this can be made and installed in a couple of days. The advantages of using a shed style roof are that it is extremely cheap and very simple to build. Different Roof Styles ShedĪ shed style roof, shown below, is essentially a sloped roof. Having a roof with an overhang keeps the rain from running down onto your windows and removes the need for a drip bar above the windows.

When making this decision, consider that having a roof allows you to insulate inside of the roof which will help to maintain and keep the inside temperature consistent. However, in the long run installing a roof and insulating it could save you money in energy bills.īecause hot air rises, the majority of the heat lost in your home will be due to it escaping through your roof. Clearly, not roofing your container will save you money initially. The choice of whether to add a roof to your container or not is made up of both personal preference for the style and also the cost.

Shipping container roof construction