diff --git a/core/docker.go b/core/docker.go
index b0c8380..7d374ca 100644
--- a/core/docker.go
+++ b/core/docker.go
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 const LatestTag = "latest"
+const GracefulShutdownTime = 20
 
 type Docker struct {
 	endPoint string
@@ -85,11 +86,16 @@ func (d *Docker) cleanContainers(p *Project) error {
 	for _, c := range l {
 		if c.IsRunning() {
 			Debug("Stoping container and image", "project", p, "container", c.GetShortID(), "end-point", d.endPoint)
-			if err := d.killContainer(c); err != nil {
+			if err := d.stopContainer(c); err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
 		}
 
+		err := d.waitForGracefulShutdown(c)
+		if err != nil {
+			Error(err.Error(), "project", p, "container", c.GetShortID())
+		}
+
 		Debug("Removing container", "project", p, "container", c.GetShortID(), "end-point", d.endPoint)
 		if err := d.removeContainer(c); err != nil {
 			return err
@@ -99,9 +105,8 @@ func (d *Docker) cleanContainers(p *Project) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (d *Docker) killContainer(c *Container) error {
-	kopts := docker.KillContainerOptions{ID: c.ID}
-	if err := d.client.KillContainer(kopts); err != nil {
+func (d *Docker) stopContainer(c *Container) error {
+	if err := d.client.StopContainer(c.ID, GracefulShutdownTime); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
@@ -455,15 +460,33 @@ func (d *Docker) restartLinkedContainers(p *Project) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+func (d *Docker) waitForGracefulShutdown(c * Container) error {
+	timedOut := 0
+	isStillRunning := false
+	for isStillRunning = c.IsRunning(); isStillRunning && timedOut >= GracefulShutdownTime; {
+		<-time.After(time.Second)
+		timedOut++
+	}
+	if isStillRunning {
+		return errors.New("Graceful shutdown timed out on container")
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 func (d *Docker) restartContainer(p *Project, c *Container) error {
 	if !c.IsRunning() {
 		return nil
 	}
 
-	if err := d.killContainer(c); err != nil {
+	if err := d.stopContainer(c); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	err := d.waitForGracefulShutdown(c)
+	if err != nil {
+		Error(err.Error(), "project", p, "container", c.GetShortID())
+	}
+
 	if err := d.startContainer(p, c); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}