A Quonset hut is a lightweight hut made up of prefabricated structure. The prefabricated material is made up of corrugated galvanized iron. Quonset huts are designed like the 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. Quonset Point 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 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 earlier Quonset hut was framed with 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 doors and the windows of the hut were made up of plywood. The interior of Quonset hut was kept isolated to stop rain. 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.
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 shows that these houses are very comfortable and protective from 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.
Because of the flexible interiors these houses are in demand. Interior space can be used for various purposes like offices, bakeries, residence. During Second World War 150,000 to 170,000 Quonset were manufactured. After Second World War these houses were sold to the people for $1000 each. Some Quonset huts are still used for commercial buildings in United States. Therefore, Quonset hut is a simple hut and it is very useful for various purposes.