Used portable cabins for sale
Tell us the size, the layout and the budget. We will tell you what we can source, what condition it is in, and what it costs — the cabin and the transport priced separately so you can see both.
Second hand portable cabins, 2nd hand office cabins, refurbished units and ex-hire stock, delivered anywhere in mainland Britain. Also asked for as portable buildings, prefab cabins or temporary buildings — same thing, and we source all of it.
How we work
Why there is no stock list on this page
Used cabins do not sit still. A unit that is available on Monday is often gone by Thursday, and a page full of last month's stock wastes your time and ours. So we work the other way round: you tell us what you need, and we tell you what is actually available this week.
That includes units in our own yard, units we have committed to buy that are not collected yet, and units we know we can get hold of quickly. It also means we can be honest when the thing you want is not around — which happens, particularly with larger open-plan units in good condition.
We price the cabin and the transport separately. Haulage depends on where the unit is going and how the lorry gets in, so it is quoted as its own figure rather than buried in the price of the cabin. You can see exactly what you are paying for the unit and exactly what it costs to get it to you.
Sizes
What a used portable cabin usually looks like
A rough guide to the sizes that come up most often, and what people generally use them for. Widths are almost always 9ft or 10ft.
| Size | Typical layout | Commonly used as |
|---|---|---|
| 10ft × 8ft | Single room | Gate hut, security point, small store |
| 12ft × 9ft | Single room | One or two person office, drying room |
| 16ft × 9ft | Open plan or one partition | Small site office, canteen for a handful of operatives |
| 20ft × 9ft | Open plan, or office plus store | Site office, meeting room, mess room |
| 24ft × 10ft | Open plan or split | Main site office, canteen, training room |
| 32ft × 10ft | Two or three rooms | Principal contractor office, multi-room welfare |
Sizes are nominal and vary between manufacturers by a few inches either way. If the cabin has to fit a specific footprint, measure the space and tell us the maximum, not the target.
Buying used
What actually matters when you look at a used cabin
The roof
The single most expensive thing to put right and the easiest to overlook, because nobody climbs up. Standing water, patched felt or soft spots mean the deck underneath may already be gone.
The floor and corners
Press the floor near the door and in the corners. Softness there is water that has been getting in for a while. Corner posts that have been clipped by a forklift affect how the unit lifts.
The electrics
Working is not the same as certified. Everything we sell is electrically tested and certified before it leaves us and the paperwork goes with it — anywhere else, ask what test paperwork exists before you commit.
Windows and doors
Steel personnel doors take a beating and drop on their hinges. Shuttered windows seize. Both are fixable, both are cheaper to sort before delivery than after.
Insulation and condensation
Older units with thin insulation are cold and sweat badly in winter. If the cabin is going to be occupied all day through a British January, this matters more than the paintwork.
Lifting points
Corner lifting eyes need to be sound if the unit is ever going to move again. A cabin that cannot be lifted safely is a cabin that becomes someone's disposal problem later.
No catalogue — a conversation
Tell us what you are looking for
Used stock turns over too fast for a price list to be honest for long. Give us the shape of what you need and we will tell you what we can put our hands on, what condition it is in and what it costs, with the transport priced separately.
If you have a unit to trade in against it, tick the box — part exchange usually improves the number in both directions.
- We will say if we cannot source it, rather than string you along
- Cabin and transport priced separately, so you can see both figures
- Refurbishment to your spec is usually possible before delivery
Questions about buying a used cabin
Is a second hand portable cabin cheaper than a new one?
Usually by a wide margin, and the gap is widest on units that are structurally sound but cosmetically tired. What you give up is picking the specification down to the last detail. A second hand cabin is whatever it already is, and it can normally be moved a great deal sooner than something that has to be built. There is more on how to judge one on our second hand cabins page.
What sizes of used portable cabin can you get?
The common sizes are 12ft, 16ft, 20ft, 24ft and 32ft long, usually 9ft or 10ft wide. Smaller 10ft units come up for guard huts and stores. Anything wider than 10ft becomes an abnormal load and changes the transport cost, so it is worth telling us the size early.
Are used cabins insulated and wired?
They are wired to 240V with lighting, sockets and usually a heater. Insulation depends on the age and the original specification of the unit, so we will tell you what the actual cabin has rather than guess from the type. Ours are mostly refurbished and every unit is fully electrically tested and certified before it leaves us, with the paperwork going out alongside it.
Can a used cabin be refurbished before delivery?
Usually yes, and it is often the sensible option. New flooring, a repaint, replacement windows or a fresh partition layout cost far less than the difference between a tired unit and a new one. Tell us the finish you want and we will price it in.
How is a portable cabin delivered and sited?
On our own Hiab lorry, which lifts the cabin off the trailer and places it where you want it. You need firm level ground and enough room for the lorry to get within reach. If access is tight, tell us and we will look at it before quoting.
Do I need a base or foundations?
A cabin needs to sit level on something solid. Concrete sleepers, railway sleepers or a hardstanding are all common. It does not usually need engineered foundations, but soft ground in winter causes more problems than anything else we see.
Do I need planning permission?
It depends entirely on where it is going, how long it stays and what it is used for. Temporary site accommodation on a construction site is treated differently from a permanent office in a yard. Check with your local planning authority — we cannot advise on it.
Selling a cabin rather than buying one?
We buy units in every week — single cabins, multiples, or a whole fleet coming off a finished contract. Send photographs and we will price it.