History Of Quonset Huts
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by: fredthompson
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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.
During the First World War Nissen huts were designed by the British. First Quonset hut was manufactured at Quonset point therefore, these huts are named so. The site where the Quonset hut was first manufactured is located in a village in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Quonset hut was designed when the United States Navy needed simple buildings in 1941, which could be designed without any skilled labor. A renowned construction company; George A. Fuller was given the contract of Quonset hut. The company designed a simple Quonset hut within 60 days of contract.
The original Quonset hut had16 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. The old Quonset hut could be placed on wooden flood, concrete or pilings floors.
Nowadays, Quonset hut has become very popular among the individuals 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.
A floor space of about720 square feet or 67 m² is provided in each hut. For the protection of the house from the weather there are optional four foot overhands at each end of the entrances. This enhances the protection from extreme weather conditions. Today, Quonset hut is also manufactured 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. Many of those Quonset Huts is still used in United States for commercial purposes like offices. 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.
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