We desperately needed a guest bedroom but an extension was unaffordable and couldn’t be planned and completed in the few weeks I was aiming to take off work between two jobs. I was also looking for something worthwhile that I could do within this time and a Shepherd Hut seemed the perfect solution. Of course there were plenty of jobs that could or should have been done in or around the house but most of these were either too big or too boring to consider.
We did look at other companies some of which do offer cheaper huts but kept coming back to Blackdown , the traditional oak chassis and cast iron wheels supported a level of quality not matched by most other manufacturers. This combined with the option to build the hut myself made the choice straightforward.
A visit to the workshop confirmed what I had read. The hut being finished at the time was stunning and the quality of materials and workmanship was excellent. We settled on a 16 ft hut with oak chassis . I was also extremely pleased when Will agreed to let me work for them for free for a few days , I even promised not to chop my fingers off.
I took delivery of the hut as a complete self build in February and it took me about a month to complete, working on it most week days. You might be quicker but I would plan on allowing that sort of time. If you can only spend evenings and weekends then it will take a bit longer but the result will be worth it.
Even having spent some time working with the extremely helpful and professional team at the workshop, I still ended up calling and texting with various technical questions some daft and some not so daft. The support throughout has been fantastic with my calls always quickly and helpfully answered . The quality of the materials is superb. The oak flooring, for example with its mix of board widths has produced a stunning result , the boards could have all been the same width but it would not look as good and this shows the degree of thought that has gone in to producing these huts. The quantities were right with just enough over to allow me to correct the odd mistake here and there.
The result is a great looking hut which will last, it is incredibly warm and comfortable and far too good for guests. A stolen night in the hut is like I night on holiday. Finished and ready for our guests The first morning, with our guests still asleep.
I would just like to say that I have no conflict of interest and no financial involvement with Blackdown Shepherd Huts unless you count me paying them for a hut. So everything above is based on my experience of dealing with Will and George and I believe they deserve to do well.
