"How to Prepare Your Site for a Container Cover Installation"

ou’ve ordered your container cover. It’s been engineered for your location, manufactured, and it’s on its way. Now what?

Site preparation is the most important thing you can do before your kit arrives. Get it right and your installation will go smoothly in a day or two. Get it wrong and you’ll lose time and money fixing problems that could have been avoided.

Here’s exactly what to do to prepare your site.

Step 1: Get Your Containers in Position

Your containers are the foundation of your cover. Everything else depends on them being in the right place.

Before your kit arrives, your containers need to be:

Positioned at the correct spacing for your cover width. This is the measurement we engineered your cover to — don’t guess, confirm the exact spacing with your order documentation before placing your containers.

Squared to each other. Use a measuring tape diagonally corner to corner to check. Both diagonal measurements should be equal. If they’re not, your containers are not square and your cover won’t go up correctly.

Facing the same direction. The container doors and ends should align properly for your intended use and for end wall installation.

Step 2: Level Your Containers

This is the most critical step and the one most often overlooked.

Your containers must be level — both individually and relative to each other. An unlevel container causes the entire cover structure to rack and twist, which makes installation difficult and can compromise the structural integrity of the finished cover.

Use a long level or laser level to check. If your ground is uneven, use concrete blocks, timber pads, or compacted gravel to level the containers before your kit arrives. This is far easier to fix before the kit is on site than after.

Step 3: Prepare the Ground

Your containers don’t need a concrete slab — but the ground under and around them needs to be stable and well-drained.

Gravel pads are the most popular choice across Canada. They provide excellent drainage, stability, and a clean working surface. Compact the gravel thoroughly before placing your containers.

Compacted native soil works in many situations, particularly on farms and rural properties. Avoid soft, wet, or poorly drained ground — containers will settle and shift over time, which affects your cover.

If you’re on a site with frost heave risk — common across much of Canada — plan your ground preparation accordingly. Frost movement under containers will affect your cover over time.

Step 4: Plan Your Access

Think through how equipment and vehicles will access the covered space before your containers are set in stone.

How wide does the opening need to be for your largest piece of equipment? Do you need drive-through access on both ends? Where will your man doors and overhead doors be located?

These decisions are much easier to make before containers are positioned than after.

Step 5: Have Your Tools and Crew Ready

Most standard container cover installations require:

A small crew of 2-4 people. More hands make the work easier, especially when lifting and positioning roof panels.

Basic hand tools — wrenches, impact driver, ladder, tape measure.

For larger spans, a telehandler or boom lift dramatically speeds up installation and improves safety. Equipment rental is widely available across Canada — book it in advance.

Step 6: Review Your Installation Drawings

Your CNC container cover comes with project-specific installation drawings. Read them before your kit arrives — not after. Understanding the sequence of assembly before you start saves significant time and prevents mistakes.

If you have questions about your drawings, call us before installation day. We’re here to help.

One Last Thing — Check Your Weather Window

Installation goes fastest in calm, dry conditions. Canadian weather being what it is, plan for a weather window and have a backup plan if conditions change on installation day.

Questions Before Your Kit Arrives?

Call CNC Container Covers at 1-800-768-6592. We’re Canada’s only dedicated container cover specialist and we’re here to make your installation as smooth as possible.

Get a free quote at containercover.ca. Shipping coast to coast — every province and territory in Canada.