The Many Different Types Of Container Flooring
Monday, 24th August 2009
Standard shipping container flooring usually consists of marine hardwood plywood made from Apitong or Keruing in 25-30mm thickness. It is occasionally varnished but with costs being kept to a minimum these days it will usually come in a plain finish and treated. Timber plank flooring can be seen on older containers but the trend these days is more towards plywood.
The hardwood used in containers however is in danger of running out and many container companies have run trials with alternatives. Bamboo flooring is one such alternative, quick to grow and comes in similar size boards to plywood.
Other companies have tried steel floors in containers, usually consisting of steel plates with a non slip pattern and painted.
The crossmembers running horizontally underneath the container which support the flooring take much of the load weight. However the gap between them means that whatever type of flooring is laid on top must be fairly strong,as the containers are rated to carry as much as 30 tons, and quite often forklifts will be used to run cargo inside.
Refrigerated containers have aluminium flooring, usually consisting of “T” section planks running the full length of the container. These planks are slightly raised and allow for air flow to keep the cold air circulating and also prevent any build up of meat by products. In certain cases reefer containers have flat aluminium chequer plate flooring and this is often found in containers destined for domestic use.