When Jeffrey first started contemplating building a garage for his Toronto-area home he looked into how much a traditional structure would cost. The estimates were more than he had bargained for, and a less conventional idea started to form.

“Shipping containers were something on my mind at the time,” Jeffrey said.
“The shipping container looked like a good way to go, because essentially you're
getting the structure already kind of out of the box if you will.”

Of course, such an idea wouldn't be as simple as dropping a shipping container in his backyard and calling it a garage. The project included a lot of brainstorming, planning, welding, wiring and the installation of a bifold door from Schweiss Doors.

“What I realized going down this path,
is that there is a lot of customization to
make the container a suitable garage,”
Jeffrey said.

It started with finding the right container, or in this case containers. Jeffrey needed two to get the width he wanted, and he also purchased high cube shipping containers which are taller than standard shipping containers. He found what he was looking for at Tanner Self Storage in Tottenham. The containers were in good condition, having only been on one overseas journey.

“A lot of times containers come in and they've only been shipped from Asia once because it is too expensive to ship them back. That means you're getting a fairly clean container that hasn't been abused for 10 years and rusty,” Jeffrey said.

Prior to the containers being delivered to his home, Jeffrey created a foundation to place the containers on. Once in place work began on turning two containers into one garage. The containers were pushed together, the center walls were removed, and the entire structure was joined together. The two containers created a space that was 20 feet long, 16 feet wide and 9 ½ feet tall.

With a fresh coat of paint, the Schweiss bifold door melts into the container. Jeffrey said it is like having a secret door.

Jeffrey had to add some extra structure to the container garage so it would be strong enough to hold the Schweiss bifold door. He had a steel header and side columns added to the containers.

Every garage needs a garage door and from the start of the project Jeffrey knew he wanted to do something special. People initially believed he was going to use the original container doors as the garage door. However, doing so would have created a very tight squeeze when moving a car in and out of the space.

The custom bifold door for Jeffrey's garage was shipped from Minnesota on a flatbed truck to Canada. Oriole Landscaping, who installed the door, had to take it off the truck and put it on a smaller truck to go the last few blocks to Jeffrey's house.

Oriole Landscaping brought the bifold door right to the container garage, unloading it from their truck because the large semi couldn't fit down the alley.

After researching potential door options, Jeffrey decided a bifold door would fit his needs the best. A major reason he went in that direction was the space he would save in his garage because he wouldn't need to install rails for a roll up door. The bifold was installed on the outside of the garage.

“You don't have to worry about the garage door infringing on your inside space,
you've got more storage,” Jeffrey said.

He also liked the design of the door, and how with the right cladding it could nearly disappear when closed.

“It is almost a secret door,” Jeffrey said.

Jeffrey realized that getting his door wouldn't be as simple as buying a traditional roll up door. He would need to order from a company that had experience with untraditional projects, where every single door is a custom door down to an eighth of an inch. He found what he needed with Schweiss Doors.

Jeffrey said the installation of the bifold door went well and Oriole Landscaping did a great job.

“Everything was so automated, Schweiss Doors made the whole ordering process very,
very easy. From the initial ordering to the assembly, for everything there is a process, and
it is incredibly well documented, with drawings and instructions that are really easy to follow,”
Jeffrey said. “For somebody who has never done this before, and for a product that can be
very complicated, it was great to see and very nice to be able to follow those directions.”

Jeffrey worked closely with the team at Schweiss Doors, to make sure the door was designed to fit his needs. The custom bifold door is 14-feet-and-1 ¾-inches wide and 6-feet-and-5 ½-inches high. Jeffrey also added electric photo eye sensors and a door base safety edge as extra safety precautions.

The photo eye sensors stop the door from closing if something breaks the light beam between the two sensors, which satisfies the building code requirements for all doors installed on a residential garage. The door base safety edge is an electrical sensing switch across the bottom of the door which stops a closing door and returns it to a fully open position if the sensing switch comes in contact with an obstruction.

Schweiss Doors also helped Jeffrey engineer how he would need to modify the containers so they would be strong enough to hold the bifold door. First, he had to create the opening for the door by removing the back metal panels from the containers. Jeffrey then added a 6-inch by 4-inch steel header and two 2-inch by 4-inch vertical columns to the container garage to act as the structural column and header for the door frame.

“It is very beefy. I have no worries about the garage door, and having seen it in operation
for two years, the structure doesn't creak or bend or anything,” Jeffrey said.

Jeffrey said the door and the extra support added to the containers has made a very beefy garage door set up. He likes how the door does not infringe on any of the interior space of the garage.

Since Schweiss Doors is located in Minnesota and Jeffrey lives in Canada, delivery was a bit more complicated than if he had purchased a door domestically. He had to work with a customs broker to make sure the import process was followed correctly. He also had to find a company that would be able to deliver his door the last few blocks to his home, as the large flatbed truck that transported the door from southwestern Minnesota to southeastern Ontario couldn't fit down the final street and alley way.

Luckily Oriole Landscaping was able to not only deliver the door to the garage site, but also installed it. Jeffrey said the entire installation process went well, with Oriole Landscaping understanding the installation plan Jeffrey and Schweiss Doors had come up with for the door.

“I was fortunate enough to be able to hire them and get them to not only offload the door but understand how I wanted it installed, welded and set up so that the door would work according to the design,” Jeffrey said.

Once the door structure was installed Jeffrey turned to cladding it. He didn't have to search far for the perfect choice. He just reinstalled the metal sheeting from the container that he had cut off to the bifold door frame and gave it a new coat of paint. Jeffrey wanted to keep his garage looking like the containers it originally was.

What Jeffrey likes about the door is its functionality and strength. He also greatly appreciates the people from Schweiss Doors that he worked with. Someone was always available to answer his questions or help him figure an issue out.

Leaning into the container aesthetic, Jeffrey clad the bifold door in the metal sheeting that was removed from the containers when the back ends were cut open to make room for the door.

“Schweiss Doors was fantastic, because I would have a question and I would send an email
or call, and they were so patient and would respond. It was great, wonderful,” Jeffrey said.
“Everybody who was involved with the support process was absolutely great about making
sure that the door got installed properly and that may questions got answered.”

Even though the container garage project was probably a bit more complicated than a traditional garage would have been Jeffrey is happy with the final product, including the Schweiss bifold door. Since installing his door Jeffrey said he has recommended Schweiss Doors to several people.

The community around him are also fans of this unique garage and its special door.

“All the neighbors are absolutely fine with it. I've gotten nothing but compliments,”
Jeffrey said, especially from contractors and construction workers. “They always
stop, and they honk, and they say, ‘awesome garage door.’ They really appreciate it.”