Storage units come in a range of sizes, and it’s important to choose the right size so you don’t end up paying for more space than you need. But how do you estimate what size unit you need? We have created a useful guide to help you decide when you’re looking for self storage options in somerset.
Step 1. Evaluate what items you need to store.
The best place to start assessing the capacity of self storage unit size you need is to decide how much stuff you have to store. The easiest way to do this is to make a list of the items you plan on putting into storage. It helps if the smaller items are already in boxes, and don’t forget to label the boxes and make a note of their content.
If your inventory includes any bulky items it is worth considering whether or not they can be disassembled before going into self storage. This can save on valuable storage space, and of course, save you money. A word of caution though, make sure the furniture is designed to be taken apart re-assembled easily! Pro tip: If a piece of furniture has lots of parts you can use small stickers to help identify them for easier re-assembly when you take the item back out of storage.
Step 2. How to measure your belongings.
If there aren’t too many bulky items it may be possible to place the belongings into a single pile and measure their overall length, width, and height. If this isn’t practical you can measure the items individually as you add them to your list and then calculate the overall size. Pro tip: Don’t forget to add extra room in each direction so you have plenty of space to move around the items inside the unit.
Step 3. How to calculate the space you need.
To find the right storage unit size you will need to have the following measurements.
Firstly you will need to know square feet or ft2. Put simply, this is the overall floor area your items take up. For example, if you have a pile of items 5 ft wide and 10 ft long that would total 50 square feet (50 ft2) of floor space.
Secondly, cubic feet or ft3 are a measurement of a container’s volume i.e. they take into account the height of the items too. This time you would measure in all three directions: length, width, and height. So using the same example above, a pile of items 5 ft wide and 10 ft long, with a height of 5ft would have a volume of 250 cubic feet or 10 ft x 5 ft x 5 ft = 250 ft3. If you prefer to work in metric units, 1 ft is 30.48 cm.
If all this has you scratching your head then contact us and we will be happy to help you out.
Step 4. Select your storage and contact us.
After you have measured everything and calculated the volume you will need to determine what size storage option best matches your needs. At Sparkford Storage we offer a range of sizes and types of storage, from crates and cubicles to storage containers and lock-up garages.
As a rough guide, a crate holds about the same contents as a garden shed or small room. Cubicle storage can hold between 400 and 1700 cubic feet, or the equivalent of roughly from 2 to 5 transit vans.
We offer friendly advice on the best self storage options for you in Somerset. Either use the Contact form on our website or give us a call on 01963 440045.