Long Term Storage in Damp Barns
 

Although not leaving for two years I've been giving a lot of thought to what I'm going to do with my 'stuff' when we go. Now a lot of it can be disposed of via ebay, charity shops and friends, but there is stuff that I want to keep.

Storage in storage type places seems ridiculouly expensive, but I do have the luxory of knowing a few people with enclosed barns, sheds and outbuildings where I could store for as long as I wanted. Now once this stuff is there I should imagine it isn't going to get a whole lot of looking after, so it's probably going to sit in place for 3 years or longer. I suppose the sort of things I'm thinking about is sofas, cloths, beds etc etc. Does anyone have any ideas about the best way to protest this stuff?

Something about a hoover and some clingfilm is ringing a bell somewhere, but perhaps that was jsuta bad dream?

Oh - and one final thought, I suppose I can't rule out the fact there will be rats, mice and god knows what else in these barns .....

I had a similar problem a few years ago when I sold my house. I ended up buying one of those 40ft shipping containers (the one that sits on a trailer, towed by an articulated truck), and had it delivered to my parents place, which is a farm, with a yard with plenty of space. I sat if there on a few concrete blocks to allow airflow under it (stops the thing rusting from the gruond up), put all my stuff in, put a power connection to it, drilled a hole in the floor (the wooden bit, not the steel bit), and put in a dehumidifier on "permanent", with the hose going out the hole, and sealed up the hole with mastic and a little broken glass to stop the local rodents getting a free ride.. I turn on the dehumidifier for a few weeks over winter, and I got rid of as much of the soft furnishings as possible (beds, couches, etc). The rest of the stuff is in boxes, as airtight and watertight as possible, but I'm trying to clear it, bit by bit. It's well lockable with about 4 standard padlocks too, just in case.

I picked up the container about 3 years ago for €1250, and delivery cost me another 200. The driver had a bit of a job getting it in the farm entrance though (I honestly think i would have done a better job myself in backing it in the entrance!).

I used to have a rat scarer (one of those ultrasonic emitters) plugged in, until someone plugged out the power all summer, and there was no damage whatsoever, so I figured there was no need for it, cos there was no way for them to get in once the doors were closed.

Hope this helps..

Food for thought
 

Thanks Phoenix thats certainly given me food for thought. It something i could easily do, and although the initial outlay would be a bit lumpy, its goign to be a permenant solution.

Haven't looked at all, but where does one go to aquire a Container? My folks are in Cornwall, which could cause an issue or two, but lets not get ahead of myself yet ........


Thanks again - I've always wanted to own a container :)

I think I saw mine in the Buy&Sell.. the indigenous equivalent of "Loot" in the UK.

What happens is that the containers are only certified for a specific period (labelled near the door somewhere, I think), and once that's approaching, the companies sell them off, rather than having to scrap them later at cost. They made some cash back, and the driver gets a nice little bonus too, cash in hand.

Check for rust in and around the doors mostly (with the doors open), and underneath, if you can get a peep under there. The doors can be quite stiff, so be prepared with a bit of WD40 and some muscle power to swing them for 15 minutes to loosen them up. Remember they were exposed to a lot of salt spray, so you may want to wash and spray the thing too.. although in my case, there was plenty of rain to wash off the salt before it did any real damage.

They do 20ft containers as well.. might suit your purpose better, but will probably not be much cheaper, and delivery (and getting in entrances, etc) is likely to be the same.

You could agree a deal with someone whereby they house the container for a period (say 5 years), and then they get to keep it. Farmers always love having a bit of extra storage space.

Colm (aka Phoenix)

A small point, re running a dehumidifier in the winter. They dont work well when it gets cold, I had thought to use them to keep places warm and dry, but once it gets down to about 10C ambient they dont really de humidify.
You might want to think of a sectional building, they did not use to need planning permission. I had a 20x10 shed, which I double glazed with perspex sheet, insulated the walls, floor and ceiling, and left a small nightstore heater in it. ( on a wall thermostat) It made great storage, and later den. I may do the same here to keep the bike in, because somewhere warm is a great incentive to do work in the winter.

Sea canisters are the best storage IMHO. I´ve been using them for years, both for dry, secure storage and as remote workshops. They seal really well and usually heve creasote wood floors that don´t rot and are annimal proof. I found them to be a good investment, with at least a 70% return value if you want to sell it later.