Site access: what to check before your cabin delivery
A few checks before delivery can help avoid delays and extra delivery costs. Please make sure the vehicle can safely reach the delivery area and that you have suitable equipment ready to offload the cabin.
Access and turning space
Check the width of gates, entrances and any narrow parts of the route. Look out for parked vehicles, skips, sharp bends and other obstacles that could prevent our delivery vehicle from reaching the unloading area.
If access is restricted, contact us before your delivery date so we can discuss the site conditions and confirm whether delivery is possible.
Overhead clearance
Check for low branches, overhead cables, arches and other obstructions along the route and above the unloading area. The vehicle needs sufficient clearance to approach safely and position the cabin.
Ground conditions
The access route and unloading area should be firm and reasonably level. Soft or uneven ground can prevent the delivery vehicle from reaching the site safely. After heavy rain, check unmade roads and ground that may have become soft.
Offloading equipment
Our driver delivers the cabin but does not offload it. You must arrange a suitable forklift or crane, together with an operator, to unload the cabin at the delivery site.
Before delivery, check the cabin’s weight and dimensions on its product page and make sure your equipment can safely lift it. Please also have the unloading area ready when the vehicle arrives.
You can check delivery charges by postcode on our delivery page. Scottish islands, Northern Ireland and other locations requiring a ferry are quoted individually.
A failed delivery costs a day and a re-delivery charge, and almost every one we have seen could have been avoided with five minutes of checking. Four things decide whether a cabin can reach the spot you want it in.
Width and turning
An articulated vehicle needs roughly 3.5m of clear width and a good deal more to turn. Gateposts, parked vans and skips are the usual culprits. If the approach is tight, tell us before the day: some of the range can go on a rigid lorry instead, and the flat pack units go through a standard gateway on a pallet.
Height
Overhead cables, tree branches and low arches catch people out more often than width does. A HIAB needs clear air above the drop point as well as along the route, because the crane arm goes up before it goes across.
Ground conditions
A loaded lorry on soft ground is a recovery job. After heavy rain, an unmade access road that was fine in June may not be fine in November. If in doubt, put down a temporary track or bring the delivery to the hardstanding and move the unit yourself with a telehandler.
Who offloads
This is the one people assume. Most of our cabins arrive on a HIAB and the driver offloads them. Some units — the wider offices, the larger containers — need a crane or a forklift that you provide. Every product page states which applies under Offload Requirement, and it is worth reading before the day rather than on it.
Delivery charges by region are on the delivery page, and postcodes that need a ferry are quoted individually rather than put on a standard tariff.