Welcome to ratherheath.com, hand crafted shepherd huts

Here at Ratherheath huts we are a small family business which started in 2021.  As a qualified electrician and farmer I was searching for a diversification as my electrician business had stopped due to covid and being unable to enter customers houses. An idea was discussed amongst family and friends and Ratherheath was created. The idea was to build bespoke huts  from reclaimed and upcycled materials. And what a business it has turned out to be!

It started.....

I pulled an old hay trailer into the yard, collected a variety of materials which we had stored for many years set myself a budget to build my first hut.

My partner Sarah is a whizz on the sewing machine and has a great vision which helped immensely along the way, my son who is currently training to be a architect who showed inspiration in the build and a daughter who became a extremely hard working labourer, it was fun, great family time, memories were made and little the love and joy and achievement turned into my dream job, if you call call doing what you love everyday a job.

All of our huts are built using as many upcycled products and materials as possible to make our brand as green and sustainable as possible,  this can be challenging at times, I cannot nip to the suppliers for 1 more piece of wood! So I use local farm sales, building refurbishments etc as local as possible and this is what gives each hut its own individual style and character.

I am currently on hut no.7 and still as passionate and enthusiastic, every hut is individual and different, which is one of their greatest selling points. 

the huts all start their life being a hay trailer literally a trailer that goes behind a tractor where bales of hay are loaded on on those summer evenings and taken back and stored in the bars.  As agriculture has progressed, most bales are now huge round versions covered in plastic the use for the old trailer has faltered.  I can give them a new lease of life, extending out to make the base slightly larger and building on top. We buy various sizes from 14, 16 to 18 feet long to start our builds on.

Once the shell is constructed I start to make the bed area, I often make this raised to allow for storage underneath, kitchen and living space, and bathroom.  

We don't just build accommodation huts we have built home offices, therapy hut, children's play huts, converted horse trailers into coffee bars. and   have refurbed a catering trailer for another customer, we are always busy.

The latest creation is one I may find hard to part with..... a trailer with a hot tub, sauna and a plunge bath! Always trying to keep my creations unique and adventurous!

The majority of the work is carried out by myself with my partner Sarah's added help and advice and needle skills for those all important finishing touches. I have a gas certified engineer who helps with the boiler for hot water if required, a local transport company who will not only deliver / move our huts they will also help position them too if required and brilliant web designer who has helped us put all this together.