By Patrick Galvan, Storage.com
A construction project requires weeks—sometimes months—of commitment and hard work. In addition to erecting a good-looking structure, construction contractors constantly worry about the transportation, maintenance, and safety of their equipment. Whether it’s a hammer or a forklift, construction equipment needs to remain in good condition when not in use.
For a construction contractor, there’s nothing more aggravating than stalling production due to damaged or stolen equipment. Fortunately, a 10×20 climate-controlled self storage unit can easily solve these problems.
Why Should You Use Self Storage for Construction?
Without storage, construction contractors and employees have to haul equipment to and from a worksite every single day—or, worse, leave it at the site and hope nothing gets damaged by weather, vandalized, or stolen.
“We’ve found that using [self storage] is both viable for secure storage and handy,” says JJ Kortan, Director of Business Development for Ronco Construction in Omaha, Neb. “Typically, when using a storage locker, we’ll house any and all light tools required for the job. Regarding heavy equipment, we keep most of it in the secured lot of a storage facility.”
What Can You Store in a Self Storage Unit?
“Self storage is definitely useful for construction workers,” says Bob Braun, a regional manager with The Lockup Self Storage in Northfield, Ill. “They can use it to store anything from tools to bags of concrete that need to stay dry.”
For most construction contractors, a 10×20 unit is the perfect size. It’s enough space to store tools, tool boxes, wood, metal rods, and other necessary materials for construction work.
Also, if contractors need a place to store a small pickup truck or forklift, it should be able to fit in a 10×20 storage unit with the other supplies and equipment. Just be sure to place tools and supplies that are used more frequently toward the front of the unit, in case you don’t need the pickup or forklift on certain work days. Then, you won’t have to rearrange everything just to grab something small when you’re in a hurry.
How Can Self Storage Protect Your Equipment and Supplies?
According to Braun, the wiring and batteries in electrical tools and vehicles can be damaged when exposed to extreme cold or heat. And when left in humid environments where moisture is allowed to develop, metal tools will rust, and wood materials will start to rot. For construction companies, this means repairing, replacing, or just plain losing money on unusable tools and supplies, none of which is good for contracting budgets.
This is where getting climate-controlled storage can be of great help. With climate control, a storage unit’s interior temperature and humidity levels are moderated so that they can’t rise or fall beneath a certain setting. Although climate-controlled storage is typically more expensive than standard storage, the protection it provides is well worth the additional costs, especially since you won’t have to replace any equipment or supplies due to damage.
Another thing to consider is a storage facility with additional security features that can help protect expensive tools, equipment, and supplies from potential thieves. Gated access, video surveillance, on-site management, well-lit property grounds, and individually-alarmed units are among the many great security features offered by storage facilities. Of course, not all of these will be available at every storage facility, but even having one of them protects your contracting materials from harm.
