Getting Your Site Ready for Cabin Delivery
One of the most common questions we get asked after someone has chosen their cabin is: ‘What do I need to do before it arrives?’ Here’s a cheat sheet for what to sort before your cabin arrives.
1. Check your access
The first thing to confirm is whether a delivery vehicle can get to your site. Our contractors use a specialised 4WD ute and trailer system with a motorised trolley, which means we can reach almost anywhere you can drive to – but the access does need to meet some basic requirements.
Minimum clearance needed:
- Width: 3.5m
- Height: 3.5m (note that the cabin on the trailer reaches approximately 3.7m, so overhead clearance is important)
- Optimal clearance is 4m x 4m, which makes for a much smoother delivery
For reference, the cabin itself is 2.7m wide (exterior wall to exterior wall), with a roofline of 3.1m including soffit and guttering.
Things to check along your access route:
- Gate widths – measure them, don’t estimate!
- Overhead power lines and trees
- Tight corners or narrow sections of driveway
- Low-hanging soffits or rooflines on nearby buildings
If your access is borderline, get in touch before delivery day and we can talk it through. In some cases, a Hi-Ab crane can be used to lift the cabin over obstacles that a standard delivery can’t clear – reaching up to 10m.
2. Prepare your site
Once the cabin arrives, the team needs enough room to manoeuvre it into place. Allow at least half a metre of clear workspace around where the cabin will sit. This means trimming back overgrown hedges, moving garden furniture, and checking for anything that could obstruct the positioning process.
Think also about:
- Sight lines and privacy from neighbours
- Where doors and windows will face
- Sun orientation – which way will the cabin get morning light?
- How the cabin will sit relative to your house and any outdoor areas
It’s much easier to think through these things before the cabin arrives than to wish you’d placed it differently afterwards.
3. Sort your base
The ground where your cabin will sit needs to be as level as possible. As a guide, we allow for no more than a 300mm difference in ground level from one end of the cabin to the other. Our team will level the cabin on delivery, but the base itself needs to be reasonable to work with. If your section has a significant slope, don’t assume it’s a problem – but do let us know before delivery day and we’ll see what we can do. There are solutions available depending on the degree of slope and the site conditions.
4. Plan your power connection
All Hire A Hut cabins are wired by licensed electricians and come with an electrical certificate of compliance. Each cabin includes a 20-metre, 16 Amp electrical lead. Ideally this is plugged into a caravan outlet, but a 10 Amp adaptor is supplied for use with a standard power point.
This means you need a power source within 20 metres of where the cabin will sit. If your intended placement is further than that from your nearest outlet, plan for this in advance – either by having an additional outlet installed or by adjusting the cabin’s position.
5. Water and waste – if your cabin needs it
If your cabin includes a bathroom or kitchenette, you’ll need to arrange water and wastewater connections.
Not sure if your site is ready?
Use our Cabin Fit Check to run through the key requirements, or get in touch, and we’ll help you assess your site before delivery day. A quick chat early in the process will make delivery day as smooth as possible.