Size guide
Storage unit sizes, from a closet to a house move.
The sizes people ask for in Canada are practical: 5×5, 10×10, 10×20, and 10×30. Ceiling height is the measurement they forget.
This page is for choosing a footprint. The companion guide, What fits, is about packing once you are in the doorway with a dolly. People arrive with two questions: which size to rent, and whether the dresser will go through the door. Searches for a size “near me” stay on this page. A separate address for every size in every city would not help you measure a mattress.
Read the footprint as a room
A 5×5 is a large closet. You will not walk around inside it once it is full. Pack it from the back. A 5×10 lets you stand in the door and reach. A 10×10 is the first size that feels like a room, and only if you leave a path. A 10×15 is the size people invent when a 10×10 looks tight and a 10×20 looks expensive. A 10×20 is garage-like on the floor. A 10×30 is long enough to disappear into if you pack badly. Larger is not always easier. A long unit packed to the ceiling with no aisle is a tunnel.
Height changes what the floor can hold
Two 10×10 units with different ceilings are different products. Ask for the clear height. Mattresses, headboards, and disassembled tables care. If the site offers a high-ceiling or “stacked” description, ask whether you are expected to use the upper volume safely. Do not plan to climb a pile of boxes.
Door, floor, and the largest object
Measure the largest object and the door, not the average box. A sofa that does not turn a corridor does not care that the unit was cheap. Ground-floor and drive-up units solve stairs. They do not solve a door that is narrower than the item. If a vehicle is the largest object, stop and read vehicle storage. A 10×20 described for furniture is not automatically a car bay.
How size relates to price
The rentals page explains invoices. Size is the main driver. People search size and price together, including odd footprints such as 10×25. Use the nearest standard size as a planning tool, then ask the operator what they actually build. Buildings are not required to share a national grid. If a facility only offers 5×5 and 10×10, a theoretical 5×10 will not appear because this page mentioned it.
For a packing narrative, room by room, use the what-fits guide. For the product decision, stay here, then enquire with the size and the city.
What is the most useful all-round size?
A 10×10 is the usual starting point for a one-bedroom household, if the ceiling is ordinary and you keep an aisle.
Is a 5×5 worth it?
Yes for boxes and a short list of furniture pieces. No for a move of a full apartment.
Are sizes identical across Canada?
The names are common. The clear height and the door are not guaranteed. Measure with the operator’s sheet, not with a blog.
Which size fits a car?
Do not infer it from a household size. Rent vehicle storage and ask for the stall dimensions.
Where do I see what fits?
The storage size guide walks through household loads. This page is the size menu.
How to stop renting the wrong footprint
List the five largest objects and their dimensions, including the mattress and the sofa. Compare them with the door, not only with the floor area. If any object is a vehicle, leave this page. If the list is mostly boxes, a 5×5 or 5×10 may be enough and a 10×20 is an empty expense. If the list is a one-bedroom, start at 10×10 and only step up when the aisle disappears in your sketch. Draw the sketch. A rectangle on paper takes ten minutes and saves a month of a size you cannot walk.
Near-me versions of these sizes are the same sizes. They do not get their own URLs. Tell the enquiry which city the unit has to be near, and which size you drew. Operators do not share one national grid. Ask what they actually build before you treat 10×15 as a promise.
Enquiry
Send the size you think you need, and the largest object.
Name the city and the month. Availability is not displayed on this site.