Quonset Huts

08/30/09

A Quonset hut is a lightweight hut made up of prefabricated structure. The prefabricated material is made up of corrugated galvanized iron. These huts are much similar to Nissen huts and their designs are also based on Nissen huts.

Nissen huts were developed by British during the First World War. The name 'Quonset hut' is given because of the site, Quonset Point where these houses were first manufactured. The site where the Quonset hut was first manufactured is located in a village in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. The need of Quonset hut was felt when in 1941 United States Navy demanded a lightweight building which could be designed without any skilled labor or which can be shipped very easily. A renowned construction company; George A. Fuller was given the contract of Quonset hut. The first Quonset hut was manufactured after the 60 days of contract.

Quonset hut is a very simple building and the first Quonset hut was a 16 by 36 ft or 5 by 11 m structure. The original Quonset hut was manufactured with the steel members with an 8 ft or about 2.4 m radius. The sides of Quonset huts were made up of ridged steel sheets. The two ends of the Quonset huts were made up of plywood in which doors and windows were made. The interior of the house was insulated so that maximum protection could be given. In addition, the interior of the house had pressed wood lining and a wood floor. Old Quonset huts were designed so that they could be placed on concrete, pilings or even directly on the wooden floor.

With time Quonset huts became popular among the public as well. Most of the Quonset huts are designed with a standard size of 20 by 48 ft or 6 by 15 m with 10 ft or 3 m radius.

The size of the floor space is about 720 square feet or 67 m². In all of the entrances there are optional four foot overhands. This shows that these houses are very comfortable and protective from weather conditions. Because of the different requirements of the people, Quonset hut is also available with 20 by 40 ft or 6 by 12 m and 40 by 100 ft or 12 by 30 m.

Quonset hut is also in demand because it has flexible interior space. The interior space is open and it can be also used as barracks, latrines, housing, bakeries, medical or offices. During Second World War 150,000 to 170,000 Quonset were manufactured. At the end of the war the United States military sold the huts to the public for $1000 each. Some Quonset huts are still used for commercial buildings in United States. Hence, we can say that Quonset Huts are very simple but useful houses because they can be used for various purposes like from commercial use to residential use.