Short answer
There is no single number that is safe for every site. Multi-storey container buildings are built from flat pack units, 5975 × 2435 × 2810 mm each, which we design to stack and join into blocks with outside stairs and walkways. How many levels your building can have depends on the structural design for your site, and we confirm it on your drawing.
Why We Do Not Quote a Standard Floor Count
A container house is not an ISO shipping container. Shipping containers are built to a common standard for stacking on ships; a container house is a building with doors, windows, wall panels and people inside, standing on your ground in your weather. The safe number of levels for our 5975 × 2435 mm flat pack units comes from a structural design that looks at all of that together. Be careful with any fixed level count offered without a drawing for your site.
What Decides the Number of Levels
- The unit type - flat pack units are the standard choice for stacked blocks
- The base under the corner posts and the ground it sits on
- Wind and local building rules at your site
- The use - dormitories, offices and classrooms in a multi-storey block carry different loads
- Stairs, walkways and fire escape routes
Which Units Stack
| Type | Stacking | Unit size |
|---|---|---|
| Flat pack | Built to stack into multi-storey blocks | 5975 × 2435 × 2810 mm |
| Folding | Confirmed per project | 5900 × 2450 × 2500 mm |
| Expandable | Confirmed per project | 20 ft opened: 6300 × 5900 × 2480 mm |
Unit sizes from our catalogues.
Flat pack units bolt together, not welded on site, so a block can be taken down and rebuilt more than ten times. Four workers assemble one unit in about three hours.
How We Plan a Stacked Block
- We draw the layout from your number of rooms and site size
- Base positions are sized for the stacked load; strip footings are usual for multi-storey blocks
- Outside steel stairs, walkways and washroom units are placed on the drawing
- Lifting needs are confirmed with the layout
- The number of levels is written on the quote drawing
Stacked for Shipping Is a Different Question
Some buyers mean how many units stack on a truck. A 17.5 m truck carries 17 folding units against 9 flat pack units; for containers, we confirm the count on your loading plan.
Who Builds Stacked Blocks
Contractors building worker camps and site office blocks, schools and clinics, and dealers supplying them. Occupied multi-storey buildings usually need local building approval, so check with your local building authority before ordering. We are the factory, with production bases in Shandong and Guangdong. Send your site size and number of rooms, and we send a layout drawing and a container loading plan with the FOB China quote within one working day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can expandable units be stacked?
Stacking is confirmed per project. Flat pack units, 5975 × 2435 × 2810 mm, are the standard choice for stacked blocks.
Do stacked container houses need a crane?
Lifting needs depend on how many units are stacked and the site; we confirm them with the layout drawing.
Can I add another level later?
Only if the base and frame were designed for it. Tell us at the start, and we show the planned levels on the drawing.
Why Buyers Choose Cabinrise
We are a container house manufacturer with production bases in Shandong and Guangdong, China. Expandable, folding and flat pack houses, offices, guard houses and toilet units all come from our factories - so a whole camp, office block or home can be one order, drawn on one layout and shipped to your port. Every quote comes with a layout drawing and loading plan, standard sizes can be mixed in one order, and you are welcome to visit the factory or tour it by video first.
- Factory-direct from Shandong and Guangdong
- Layout drawing and loading plan with every quote
- Mixed sizes in one order
- Factory visits and video tours welcome
- Written and video installation guides