How big is a 20ft container, really?

Picture a single garage - then stack it

A 20ft container measures 20ft by 8ft: roughly 160 sq ft of floor, the footprint of a single garage. The bit people underestimate is the height - with around 8ft 6in of clearance and solid steel walls, you can stack safely to the ceiling. Loaded properly, the usable space comfortably beats two full Luton van loads.

The whole house test

The question we get most at the Brighouse yard is "will my house fit?" For a typical 2-3 bedroom home around Brighouse, Rastrick or Elland, the honest answer is yes: sofas and mattresses stood on end down one side, white goods and furniture at the back, and a wall of boxes - 80 to 100 of them - filling the rest. One of our customers stored a full house move with us for months while renovating and described the unit as "clean, dry and secure... just about perfect."

Judging your load without a tape measure

• One-bed flat: fills a third to half the container - plenty of spare room for the garage overflow too
• 2-3 bed house: a comfortable full load with sensible stacking
• 4-bed house: usually still one container if you stack high and stand furniture on end - ask us and we'll talk it through honestly
• Business stock: shelving down both walls with a middle aisle turns it into a mini warehouse

Why one size beats a menu

Storage places with seven unit sizes make you guess - and most people guess small, then pay to upsize. One decent-sized container means no guessing, no upgrade dance, and one flat monthly price.

Three packing rules worth stealing

• Stand sofas and mattresses on end - the floor runs out long before the ceiling does
• Load what you'll want first at the door end - the kettle should never be at the back
• Label box sides, not tops - stacked boxes only show you their sides