Shipping Containers for Sale in Virginia Delivered Statewide

Virginia pricing starts at $2,147 for a 20ft Wind and Water Tight container delivered in Norfolk, per Container One's prices as of 6 August 2026. On that date the same unit was $2,147 delivered in Virginia Beach and in Richmond, even though Richmond is roughly 96 miles from the depot and Norfolk is about 6. Price moves with size, grade and what is in stock, so the number that matters is the one quoted to your ZIP code. Every figure above includes delivery.

Virginia splits this into two questions, and one of them has the same answer everywhere in the Commonwealth. The building code question is settled statewide: Section 102.2 of the Virginia Construction Code provides that the Uniform Statewide Building Code supersedes local building codes, and Section 108.2 exempts one story detached storage sheds and similar uses from permit application where the building area does not exceed 256 square feet. A 20ft container is about 160 square feet and sits under that line. A 40ft is about 320 and sits above it. That is true in Norfolk, in Richmond and in Wise County alike. The zoning question is the opposite and it is where the real variation lives. Norfolk names shipping containers in its ordinance and lists the districts that allow them. Virginia Beach runs a Portable Storage Container Permit through its Zoning Administrator. Richmond requires a certificate of zoning compliance for almost anything three feet or taller that you set on the ground. One call to whoever issues your zoning approval, with the parcel address in hand, is how to settle it.

Level and firm, with water running away from it rather than under it. A container carries its entire weight through four corner castings, so it needs solid bearing at those four points rather than along a wall. Across Tidewater, including Norfolk, Virginia Beach and the Peninsula, the soil is sandy over a high water table and the concern is how much weight the ground can carry and how far it will settle, so blocks, timbers or a compacted gravel pad under the corners keep the box level and the floor out of standing water. Inland, the Piedmont turns to clay that is firm when dry and greasy for days after a hard rain, and the same four supports do the same job for a different reason. Along the Interstate 81 karst belt there is a third question worth asking before anything is set down: has this spot held a loaded truck or a piece of equipment before.

Delivery timing depends on location, payment, weather, container availability and site access. Container One's Delivery/Dispatch department schedules the date after payment is received and the site is reviewed.