Quonset Huts and Metal Structures
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by: fredthompson
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Throughout WWII, almost 200,000 Quonset huts were produced in the United States. The Quonset huts offered the U.S. military a quick and easily erected option that could be shipped and utilized anywhere. Quonset huts are prefabricated semi circular structures that were modeled after similar structures created by the British in WWI. The hut is named after Quonset Point, where it was first created in Rhode Island. Quonset huts had the advantage of a lot of open space inside, due to the galvanized iron cross section design. The flexibility and simplicity of the huts allowed the military to have immediate solid structures for medical facilities, vehicle repair shops, barracks and storage. They offered a step up from the combination of tents and wooden platforms that were previously used for such purposes. The Quonset huts produced during the war were sold to the general populations for about $1000 each after the war. Since then, Quonset huts not produced by the military have been manufactured and utilized for a plethora of commercial and residential uses.
Quonset huts provided the foundation for the modern prefabricated steel building of today. Because the arch design of Quonset huts meant that the walls were curved where they met the floor, it was difficult to place furniture and machinery against the walls. The design was later reconfigured with short straight walls on the side that made sense for uses that could not utilize the curved space on the original design. An added bonus of the new design was that the components of the structure disassembled into more pieces and was not as heavy. And many metal building makers today still utilize the arched construction of the original Quonset huts.
How easy it was for unqualified people to put the structures together and the fact that the Quonset huts could be packed up and shipped easily are the qualities that make the metal buildings of today so advantageous for consumers. Steel buildings, much like Quonset huts, can be assembled with a handful of people without special equipment. Steel buildings are used for a wide variety of commercial and residential purposes. They serve as hangars, auto repair shops, hobby shops and equipment storage. They are more economical than traditional buildings and require little maintenance. The Quonset huts are the great grandparents of the metal buildings of today.
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