Waltham Abbey

The build

From a steel chassis to a home from home.

Matt built Waltham Abbey by hand, in the evenings and at weekends. Here's how it started: a bare chassis, a lot of timber and a garden that needed some work.

The black steel chassis and the first timber sections strapped onto a flatbed truck, with Matt standing on the back
Step 1 Delivery day The steel chassis and the first timber sections arrive on the back of a truck, with plenty of help from the kids.
The chassis on its iron wheels in the garden, with fresh timber posts and the curved roof bows waiting nearby
Step 2 In the garden The chassis rolls into place at the bottom of the garden, the ground gets levelled and the curved roof bows wait their turn.
The timber wall frame and arched roof of the shepherd's hut standing on its chassis in the garden
Step 3 The frame goes up Floor down, walls framed and the arched roof on. For the first time it really looks like a shepherd's hut.
A closer view of the finished timber frame, with the floor boarded and tools laid out inside
Step 4 Ready for the next stage With the skeleton finished, the hut was ready for cladding, insulation and everything that makes it cosy inside today.

See how it turned out

Take a look inside the finished hut: the bed nook, the little kitchen and your own shower room.

Inside the hut

Come and see it all for yourself.

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