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The Ultimate Guide on Our Materials

Updated: Oct 15

Shepherds huts are a charming blend of tradition and craftsmanship, and the materials used to build them play a key role in their lasting beauty and durability.


Let's take a closer look at some of the finest materials that go into creating these timeless structures, from the rich tones of Douglas fir cladding to the resilient corrugated steel roofing. Whether you’re drawn to the natural elegance of oak or the practicality of plywood, the right materials can make all the difference in ensuring your shepherds hut stands the test of time.



Douglas fir cladding

Douglas fir is extremely durable, has a brilliant strength-to-weight ratio, flexible and weather resistant. These are the key reasons we clad our huts in Douglas fir!


Of course alongside these strong attributes comes its natural beauty. When un-weathered, it remains a beautiful orange grainy timber. When weathered, it ages into a sleek silver. Douglas fir can battle all weathers, un-treated, for about 30 years !



Oak

Strong, hard, heavy and dense with very close grain and, due to its high tannin content, very resistant to insect and fungal infestations.


It's no coincidence that Oak is in our name! We decided on it because of the pure strength and resilience of Oak. A material that we love using throughout our huts, from the flooring to the shelving.



Medium density fibreboard (MDF)

Some of the most helpful things in life were created by accident and MDF is one of them! In 1925 William mason was trying to turn discarded wood chips into insulation, he accidentally forgot to shut down the machinery and it continued to work overnight, turning the wood chips into a thin, durable sheet.


Since then, MDF has evolved and has become very useful to the modern carpenter. Often used for bespoke furniture and much more. We use it on our shepherd huts internal walls, beed and butt style. The ‘moisture resistant’ variant of MDF is used to increase longevity and strength.


Corrugated steel

Low maintenance is a perk of the corrugated sheets that can’t be over-looked. The roof of a shepherds hut can be challenging to clean due to its unique curve, therefore we feel the corrugated sheets make this job a whole lot easier and less frequent; this is just one of many advantages.

Durability is also a necessity, our huts can be put in the most revealing places which is why our external materials are so important.


Plywood

Plywood is wood veneers bonded together to produce a flat sheet. Plywood is well known for its strength, 18mm ply can take a load of 500kg per square metre!


We have carefully selected our materials to create the most robust Shepherds Huts in the business, but the best part is that our huts are completely customiseable so you can create the best combination for your needs. Check out our huts today and contact us to begin creating your very own tiny home.

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